Honing Out Nicks

[Rik]

Greetings Gentlemen,

Recently I discovered a nick in one of my TIs. I don't know how it got there since I'm extremely carefully to protect the edges of my str8s. I shipped it off to Randy Tuttle to be honed after I removed the nick using my norton 1000 and 4000. In retrospect I probably should've taped the spine. So here are my questions as to removing nicks:

What steps do you take to remove nicks in an edge?
At what point do you place tape on the spine?
What tape do you prefer to use?

 

[rtaylor61]

I shipped it off to Randy Taylor to be honed...

I'm guessing you meant Randy Tuttle...or should I be watching MY mailbox???

Randy Taylor

 

[Rik]

I'm guessing you meant Randy Tuttle...or should I be watching MY mailbox???

Randy Taylor

You mean you haven't gotten it yet?!? Just kidding. You're correct I meant Randy Tuttle. Both he and Tony Miller joined our ranks today.

 

[rtaylor61]

You're correct I meant Randy Tuttle. Both he and Tony Miller joined our ranks today.

I noticed that...great additions!

Randy

 

[roughrider]

You used a 1K to get the nick out. I noticed that Norton sells a 220/1000 grit water stone. I wonder if the 220 can be used to take out nicks and estabish an edge on new blades or is it too harsh?

I don't know if I should get the 220/1000 or 1000/4000 when I buy my 4000/8000 stone. What do you guys think?

 

[Rik]

You used a 1K to get the nick out. I noticed that Norton sells a 220/1000 grit water stone. I wonder if the 220 can be used to take out nicks and estabish an edge on new blades or is it too harsh?

Don't use the 220. I've been told that it's too aggressive and bad things can happen quickly, ruining the razor.

I don't know if I should get the 220/1000 or 1000/4000 when I buy my 4000/8000 stone. What do you guys think?

I went through the same dilemma. I opted for the 220/1000 since can always use the 220 to lap woodworking tools. Either way you won't wear out the 1000g side.

 

[Laz in Tampa]

You used a 1K to get the nick out. I noticed that Norton sells a 220/1000 grit water stone. I wonder if the 220 can be used to take out nicks and estabish an edge on new blades or is it too harsh?

I don't know if I should get the 220/1000 or 1000/4000 when I buy my 4000/8000 stone. What do you guys think?

I agree with Rik. The 220 is a beast of a hone, and we ain't trying to put edges on Rambo knives after cutting through a tank....
If I had to go back, I would buy the 1000/4000 combo.

 

[Laz in Tampa]

Greetings Gentlemen,
What steps do you take to remove nicks in an edge?
At what point do you place tape on the spine?
What tape do you prefer to use?

I like to back-and-forth between the Norton 1000 and 4000 or 4000 and 8000.
About 10-12 passes on the coarser, then half or so on the finer. Do this a few times and check your progress. If the nick is large, 1k/4k, if it is smaller, 4k-8k.

I don't know why it works, but it seems like it gets rid of the nick MUCH faster than even the 1000 grit alone.

I dont tape the spine. But that's me.
Here's some info from a trusted source on taping:
http://www.classicshaving.com/articles/article/590351/4057.htm

 

[Rik]

If the nick is large, 1k/4k, if it is smaller, 4k-8k.

Laz, thanks for the tip!

 

[Joe Lerch]

Greetings Gentlemen,

Recently I discovered a nick in one of my TIs. I don't know how it got there since I'm extremely carefully to protect the edges of my str8s. I shipped it off to Randy Tuttle to be honed after I removed the nick using my norton 1000 and 4000. In retrospect I probably should've taped the spine. So here are my questions as to removing nicks:

What steps do you take to remove nicks in an edge?
At what point do you place tape on the spine?
What tape do you prefer to use?

I had a pretty big nick and I worked it out with the 4K side of a Norton using circular strokes. It was a lot of work. In the future I would probably do it wth a 1K stone. For sizeable nicks, I tape the spine with electrical tape to prevent excessive wear. The tapes comes off after confirming that the edge has formed.

 

[randydance062449]

The 220 is far to coarse for a razor. It will chip the edge. From a lot of experimenting I have found that the 1000 grit is as coarse as I will go now.
My general rule of thumb is to use the 1000 grit if the nick is visible to the eye or more than 1/4 of the width of the bevel. If its less than that then I use the 4000 stone.

I use tape on the spine for the big nicks. After the nicks are gone then I move from the 1000 to the 4000 and remove the tape. After 25 laps on the 4000 I check the bevel with a microscope. I will probably see two colors on the bevel. This is two seperate angles on the bevel. One is the 1000 and the other is the 4000. Continue on the 4000 until the bevel is all one color.
Now you have a nick free edge and a perfect bevel. Move on to the 8000 at this time.


Hope this helps,

You used a 1K to get the nick out. I noticed that Norton sells a 220/1000 grit water stone. I wonder if the 220 can be used to take out nicks and estabish an edge on new blades or is it too harsh?

I don't know if I should get the 220/1000 or 1000/4000 when I buy my 4000/8000 stone. What do you guys think?

 

[roughrider]

The 220 is far to coarse for a razor. It will chip the edge. From a lot of experimenting I have found that the 1000 grit is as coarse as I will go now.
My general rule of thumb is to use the 1000 grit if the nick is visible to the eye or more than 1/4 of the width of the bevel. If its less than that then I use the 4000 stone.

I use tape on the spine for the big nicks. After the nicks are gone then I move from the 1000 to the 4000 and remove the tape. After 25 laps on the 4000 I check the bevel with a microscope. I will probably see two colors on the bevel. This is two seperate angles on the bevel. One is the 1000 and the other is the 4000. Continue on the 4000 until the bevel is all one color.
Now you have a nick free edge and a perfect bevel. Move on to the 8000 at this time.


Hope this helps,

Thanks Randy. Great info.

 

[roughrider]

Randy, what kind of microscope do you use?

 

[randydance062449]

I use a 30X micronta that I bought at a garage sale for $1

One other thing I should add. Use a nagura stone on the 1000 hone and 4000 hone when removing nicks. It goes faster.

Hope this helps,

 

[Joe Lerch]

I use a 30X micronta that I bought at a garage sale for $1

I found that almost every Ebay razor has unevenness at 100x that affects its performance. Lynn noted something similar in a message about a month ago.

You wouldn't notice that because you start every Ebay razor with a new edge.

Once I've got a razor flat at 100x, I usually only look at 60x after that.