New razor isn't cutting it

[Ironw]

I bought a red imp 33 off ebay a while back and just got around to using it, but it's just not shaving real well. I've bought from this seller before and that razor was SHARP, and while this one appears sharp through my loupe it's just not giving me a great shave. It's pulling and tugging, and skipping.

So here's what I've done:

I shaved with it again with the same soap/ brush and maybe slightly better prep. Same result.

I shaved with it a third time with different soap. I was getting pretty much the same results so I also tried adjusting the angle which didn't really help either.

Then just for good measure, I shaved with a different razor and got substantially better results.

So here's my question before I take my new red imp to the hone, which I'm only moderately experienced with. Should I go all the way back to 1000 grit and set a bevel? Should I just hit it with my 12k finisher and retest? Or maybe 8k then 12k?

 

[Empire straights]

If it were me I'd go to an 8k and spend some time on that, then move up. Maybe drop to a 5k if that doesn't work. I'm assuming the bevel is set if it looks good under a loupe. It can't be too dull if it's cutting facial hair but tugging. Once you finish, work that edge on the leathers longer than you normally would and see what that gets you.

 

[Gamma]

There is another recent thread revolving around a similar quandary.

The bottom line here, is that whichever path you take, it will be fine. It doesn't 'have' to be done any one way.

If your stones good quality, and they are flat, and you have a complete progression so you can go from bevel to finish, there is really no harm in setting a bevel and progressing. You 'might' not need to do that, but it certainly won't hurt. Someone might complain about unnecessary wear from a full honing.. meh...blades wear, it's part of the game, you're not going to bevel set it 100x in a week, one session is no big deal so long as you don't assassinate the spine by mismanaging pressure.

Incrementally, if you try the 12k and it needs more, you can try 8k, 12k.
Should not be doing a ton of work there, few passes either side of the coin.
A 5k, 8k, 12k process can usually clean up any blade that is a little off.

The old-school method was usually 8k, 12k, or 8k, Chromox, or similar. Almost any approach will get you 'there'.

A lot depends on your stones, your skills, how out of the ballpark the blade is, etc.

Me, I don't like guessing so I just hone from the bevel-set so I know the bevel/edge is on-point.
That's me though. Most of my honing is on Jnats though, so the process is different.
But a lot of users like to go one step at a time in reverse to see where the success factor lands.
It's all good.

One thing to know, though - is whether or not the blade was honed on tape by that seller.
Since you know that sellers edge, might be good to know what he finishes with; if he is finishing on a 20k Gokumyo, but your finest stone is an 8k Norton, you won't have the same level of refinement.

 

[Ironw]

Thanks for the feedback, I think I'll start with 8k/12k and see what happens. Worst case I'll go back to 1k if that doesn't work, no harm done.

I do know that the seller taped the spine and hones with a jnat stone.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I always set the bevel on a new to me razor. Then I should never have to do it again, so the wear is insignificant over time. If you are comfortable with honing, that's a good approach. If very little work is needed at the 1k or 2k stage, then you'll know, and you can bump up to the next grit.

Less experienced honers might want to start with the finisher and see how that does. A 12k finishing stone or a 1µ lapping film will be reasonably gentle and if that's all you need, then you won't have removed any steel you didn't have to remove. Also a beginner making mistakes won't make them as badly. Try using a sharpie marker on the bevel and go just a couple of laps, so you can see where the steel is making contact with the stone and where not.

Either way is not a dealbreaker. The choice is not super critical.

I myself never use tape unless the bevel angle is excessively acute. You do it like you feel it. Switching to, or from, what the original honer did, is not a really big deal. Just a few dozen laps at most, typically, to readjust the bevel. It is nice to know whether tape was used or not, just to know what to expect. It is also nice to know the bevel angle. There is a lot of wiggle room between too acute and too obtuse, but at the extremes, it can affect the shave or the honing results, and it is a factor that you can influence by taping or not taping.

 

[Frank Shaves]

Not sure how much experience you have honing and the condition of your Red Imp. If you are new to honing, get yourself a beater or two off eBay for the purpose of learning to set bevels. Would be a shame to put unnecessary wear on a razor that is valuable to you.

 

[Ironw]

I took the razor to my 8k then 12k, then stropped it and shaved with it tonight. It was considerably better but still seemed lacking on my second pass (atg). Honestly that could be my technique, or that I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have.

It would probably be in my best interest to get more honing experience before I go any further with this razor myself, then decide if I'm going to reset a bevel or if i just need to finish it better. I've got a couple others that aren't nearly as nice to practice with.

 

[Empire straights]

Thanks for the feedback, I think I'll start with 8k/12k and see what happens. Worst case I'll go back to 1k if that doesn't work, no harm done.

I do know that the seller taped the spine and hones with a jnat stone.

Gamma is right. There is no *one* way to do it. On my biggest problem razor I researched fixes, tried multiple different things and eventually decided to just rub it on a washita until it *FELT* right. It took about 40 min of grinding but it got there and once it did the rest took maybe 5 min.