Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Welcome to the world of GD razors. What you have is not a stock GD66. It has been modified, but not all that well. OR maybe it is one of the new "W" series GDs. At any rate you can expect that sort of performnce, especially the first time you hone it. The jimps should never even be in contact with the film. Lead with the heel a bit and never let the shoulder ride up on the hone. This will elevate the heel up off the hone, and press the toe down onto it, resulting in a curved or tapered edge eventually, and cheating the heel so that it doesn't get sharp.
I bet you are bench honing, i.e. resting the plate on a counter, bench, or table. If you hone in hand you will have better feedback and you will quickly sense when you are pushing the shoulder and shank up on the hone.
As for getting the tip of the toe and heel sharp, there are two approaches. One is to roll the razor up a bit at one end of the stroke to get some love on the toe, and down for hitting the heel, with the toe elevated slightly. The other way is to just not worry about it. You don't need the last tiny fraction of an inch to shave. The rolling X stroke can give you an end to end shaveworthy edge but it can also easily be overdone and cause heel and toe to curve up even more. Straight honing will give you a more precise edge over 95% of the blade length and cause normal honing wear to give you an edge that becomes straighter and straighter over the years, eventually catching up with the unhoned tips so that they get some love too. Easier and usually in the long run, better.
It's just a GD. I say go back to the bevel setter and give it hell. Hone IN HAND. Use plenty of pressure initially, though. The idea is to remove all the steel that doesn't need to be there. Keep the shoulder off the hone. Lighten your pressure before you start up the progression.
If you don't have your balsa and diamond paste yet, then you should use the lather trick and also a half dozen laps over picopaper and some pull strokes too, followed by a half dozen of the lightest pressure laps you can manage. This will up the game a LOT, giving you a sharper, but also smoother edge.
If in doubt, read the entire thread again. ALL questions have been answered, even the ones you don't know to ask yet.
Film is just part of The Method. When you have it nailed, look into the other part. The balsa part.
I bet you are bench honing, i.e. resting the plate on a counter, bench, or table. If you hone in hand you will have better feedback and you will quickly sense when you are pushing the shoulder and shank up on the hone.
As for getting the tip of the toe and heel sharp, there are two approaches. One is to roll the razor up a bit at one end of the stroke to get some love on the toe, and down for hitting the heel, with the toe elevated slightly. The other way is to just not worry about it. You don't need the last tiny fraction of an inch to shave. The rolling X stroke can give you an end to end shaveworthy edge but it can also easily be overdone and cause heel and toe to curve up even more. Straight honing will give you a more precise edge over 95% of the blade length and cause normal honing wear to give you an edge that becomes straighter and straighter over the years, eventually catching up with the unhoned tips so that they get some love too. Easier and usually in the long run, better.
It's just a GD. I say go back to the bevel setter and give it hell. Hone IN HAND. Use plenty of pressure initially, though. The idea is to remove all the steel that doesn't need to be there. Keep the shoulder off the hone. Lighten your pressure before you start up the progression.
If you don't have your balsa and diamond paste yet, then you should use the lather trick and also a half dozen laps over picopaper and some pull strokes too, followed by a half dozen of the lightest pressure laps you can manage. This will up the game a LOT, giving you a sharper, but also smoother edge.
If in doubt, read the entire thread again. ALL questions have been answered, even the ones you don't know to ask yet.
Film is just part of The Method. When you have it nailed, look into the other part. The balsa part.
