Honing questions.

[Walker]

After inspecting my honing work with my loupe i noticed microscopic chipping. Is this a sign of overhoning? If so how do i fix it?

The blade cuts hair on my arm but it doesn't "pop" the hairs. It could be a lot sharper. Do i go back to a lower grit stone and reset the bevel? Or do i just keep using the coticule to polish the blade more to make it sharper? If this was an ebay special i would just keep honing but it's a Le Grelot and i don't want to remove anymore metal than i have to.

 

[life2short1971]

You might try adding a piece of tape for a steeper bevel.

 

[gary haywood]

i have the same razor , mine came new with some slight chips. water on coticule will not remove chips.
create a slurry on your coticule , and hone away untill the micro chips have vanished, be patient. once the chips have gone , start with a nice milky slurry and hone away adding one drop of water as you go along , do this untill you are at the point of water and finish with 50 laps on fresh clean water. this is the dilucot method. strop and test shave . if your not quite there , then you can finish on sharpening paste ti's respond very well to sharpening paste . these le grelots shave very nice once honed . i shave of mine with coticule edge and it is a very smooth edge . i have a lots experiance with coticule , so with some patients you should get there. i no tape is aslo recomended but i have found tape has not been needed. ti rasoir pate works wonders also. i have 6 ti's and they can be brisk shavers especialy from new . i totaly rehoned all six on my coticules and they all shave very smooth now .

 

[Luc]

First, I'm not a honemeister and only have 2 stones so I am in no way an expert in this.

After which grit are you looking at the edge? I saw a high grit can cause micro-chips and subsequent stones will slowly smooth out the edge and eat those micro-chips.

 

[Walker]

First, I'm not a honemeister and only have 2 stones so I am in no way an expert in this.

After which grit are you looking at the edge? I saw a high grit can cause micro-chips and subsequent stones will slowly smooth out the edge and eat those micro-chips.

This was after using the coticule. I went through my Norton progression (1k,4k,8k) and using the coticule as my finisher i tested it on my arm hair and noticed it wasn't shaving very well so i got my loupe out to check the edge. Thats when i saw the chipping.

 

[Disburden]

How many laps were done on the 8k norton stone? That hone can overhone an edge very quickly if you passed the edges peak on the hone. If the edge has a ton of chips, id just start over, then you can hone all over again.

After 1k bevel should cut arm hair easily
4k the arm hair should cut easily at mid length but more smoothly
The 8k should be used until you can cut arm hair at mid length but it'll be a silent cut not as grabby and loud as the 4k test.

Check in scope after each stone.

 

[Walker]

How many laps were done on the 8k norton stone? That hone can overhone an edge very quickly if you passed the edges peak on the hone. If the edge has a ton of chips, id just start over, then you can hone all over again.

After 1k bevel should cut arm hair easily
4k the arm hair should cut easily at mid length but more smoothly
The 8k should be used until you can cut arm hair at mid length but it'll be a silent cut not as grabby and loud as the 4k test.

Check in scope after each stone.

I used the 1k until it started shaving arm hair then moved to the 4k/8k using the pyramid technique starting at 15 then 10, 5,3,1. It worked great on my Boker Arbolito buy appears to be to much for my Le Grelot.

 

[SliceOfLife]

It's possible to chip an edge on high grit stones if crap gets on the stone. Even dust particles. You're dealing with a really sharp edge at that point. You can also microchip an edge if you vibrate it too much when honing on low grits. I assume the reason is that it will catch microscopic imperfections in the hones surface.

However, nine times out of ten it means there was microscopic pitting in the bevel that likely had been hidden by the scratch pattern of courser stones, then as you refine the edge, it narrowed enough that the pitting got punched out (like a hanging chad). I'd guess this is the problem if you're dealing with a vintage. Best solution is a full rebevel. Depending on how bad the bevel looks (polished like the razor is now), I will often grind back an edge on my 220 grit stone to ensure I get to unflawed metal before wasting my time honing again only to rediscover the pitting on a polishing stone. First step is to wipe the blade well and then eye the bevel at 400x. If you see any black spots, that's a sure sign that pitting is your problem.

 

[jendeindustries]

+1 on what Slice of Life said.

FWIW, Micro chipping can also be caused by pressure.

 

[Disburden]

I've also read new ti razors can chip easily.

 

[Walker]

I've since taking one of my coticules and just using water and the weight of the razor made a few laps, checked with the loupe, few more strokes etc. It's gotten sharper and there aren't as many chips in it now. The only real test will be to shave with it. If it still isn't up to par i'm going to re-do the bevel again.

 

[Pete_T]

Out of curiosity, had you checked the edge in a loupe before your finisher?

 

[Walker]

Out of curiosity, had you checked the edge in a loupe before your finisher?

No, I don't know which stone caused the chips. I looked at the edge before i started but didn't check it again until i finished the progression and noticed it wasn't as sharp as it should have been. I just got my loupe so i'm always forgetting it when i hone.

 

[azmark]

I've only noticed issues of micro chipping at the finishing stages. Dull the knife on a glass and begin resetting the bevel at the 1k and the view the edge then proceed without the pyramid. I really enjoy the pyramid starting from 15 but it's also the one method that doesn't give me consistent sharpening to where an edge has its potential.

I would use the advice Disburden posted to find the sweet spot for that razor.

 

[Walker]

Sounds great guys. I'll give it a shot and let you know how it goes.

 

[Munxcub]

...After 1k bevel should cut arm hair easily
4k the arm hair should cut easily at mid length but more smoothly
The 8k should be used until you can cut arm hair at mid length but it'll be a silent cut not as grabby and loud as the 4k test.

Do you know if there is something roughly equivalent to this in terms of moving from stage to stage doing a dilucot on a coti?

like heavy slurry until cut arm hair easily, dilutions should cut arm hair at mid length, half strokes on water until silently cutting arm hair at mid length?

eta: I just made up that as an example of what I'm asking.

 

[Walker]

I've since tried shaving with it after just polishing the edge on a coticule but it didn't work. I had to finish the shave with my Boker Arbolito so, using the Unicot method i've re-honed my Le Grelot. I'll try using it tomorrow to see how it performs. The chips are gone after honing using the Unicot.