I am relatively new to straight razors shaving. I'm just over 100 shaves in. I wasn't in a hurry to learn honing. I just wanted to learn the stropping and shaving part first, and to see if I was in this for the long hall. Well I did make up my mind and I decided I was in it for the long hall. So I did buy me some stones. I haven't used them yet because I am waiting on the old beater razors to come in that I ordered, because I don't want to ruin my good ones while learning to hone.
I have run into a bit of a dilemma though. I bought my Ralf Aust razor new and it was shave ready. I successfully stropped and shaved with it 64 times without rolling or dulling my edge. At shave 65 I did a refreshing on a balsawood strop with crox. It did wake up my edge and make it like new again, and it shaved very well for another 6 shaves. Today's shave I did my normal stropping routine, and I always check the hht test before and after a shave and it failed the 1st 3/4, of the blade.
I don't have any magnification yet, but I did look at the apex under a strong light source. Its does appear to have glimmers of light catching in spots on the apex. I don't understand what went wrong, because I'm OCD as crap, but that don't mean I didn't mess up though!! I always strop using a light touch with a taught strop. I never rinse under the facet, because of the fear of dinging the edge, so I wipe the lather in a stropping motion on a soft sponge. I always post strop to insure the edge is dry. I always oil the blade with ballistol. My routine has never changed. I have read of guys getting over 100 shaves without touchups.
So did I over do it when I did my refreshing on the crox? I did do 80 or so laps. I was thinking can crox cause a wire edge? Did I create a wire edge, and the edge just crumbled? I was reading on the PDF of Iwasaki honing guide. He stated that stropping with crox does remove the wire edge, but using it on wood he suggested that it causes the blade to chip, so he recommended some kind of cloth?? I don't know if I created a wire edge or not, but something went wrong?? Any suggestions on what might have went wrong?
I indeed have lots to learn, but I wouldn't think that crox would cause a burr, because in the knife world we use stropping compounds to remove burrs all the time. Ive read of people saying or watched videos of people saying only do like 10-20 strokes on a 12k, or 3-4 strokes on a 16k, because of microchipping or wire edge will occur on you razor. So How can a person achieve a 16k edge by only doing 3-4 laps?? I'm my mind their is no way that those stones are that fast. I have also read of some experienced razor ssharpeners say that some stones its impossible to over hone. For example they said that they have used a certain natural finishing stone and no matter how many strokes they do they can not over hone, but when you are using a very high grit synthetic stone, you can experience over honing past 3-4 strokes on a 16k?? That don't make sense to my manic mind lol!!
IMO one can over hone on a knife, razor or any tool with "any stone", if you use to much pressure. I can understand staying on the bevel setter until its set, but why lesser strokes as you increase higher in the grits? In my mind there is no way 3-4 strokes on a 16k stone will give you a 16k grit level of an edge?? I do understand over honing . If you was wanting to get technical look at it this way
I would consider this: (even though I don't agree with what In typing below) "Looks like to me you've already took your edge as far as its going to go at bevel set. Meaning if you go any further that there will be a wire edge, because you have met on both sides to form what I call invisible sharp/apex."
How I see and I maybe wrong, but as you are refining the edge with higher grits, you would lighten on the pressure to almost zero pressure. Anything above the bevel setter is what I call "honing"/ polishing, and the bevel setter is actually "sharpening". So keep the touch light and you will not have a wire burr or false edge?? Yes these fine stones remove metal, but nothing significant. Stropping on plain linen will actually remove some metal, because overtime the linen becomes black from swarf, and you can even see fine metal particles in your plain leather if you look close enough. If the leather and linen doesnt remove anything even on a molecular level to enhance or improve our edges then why do we use them?? Leather has just enough silicates to burnish/ polish our edges even way above a nano of a measurement. Very fine stones like a 12k or even a 30k can't remove that much material to cause a burr if used the correct way, as far as correct pressure. Can they?? I think of it this way try and set an bevel with a super high grit synthetic, and see how long it takes. I maybe wrong, but that's how my mind sees it.
I have run into a bit of a dilemma though. I bought my Ralf Aust razor new and it was shave ready. I successfully stropped and shaved with it 64 times without rolling or dulling my edge. At shave 65 I did a refreshing on a balsawood strop with crox. It did wake up my edge and make it like new again, and it shaved very well for another 6 shaves. Today's shave I did my normal stropping routine, and I always check the hht test before and after a shave and it failed the 1st 3/4, of the blade.
I don't have any magnification yet, but I did look at the apex under a strong light source. Its does appear to have glimmers of light catching in spots on the apex. I don't understand what went wrong, because I'm OCD as crap, but that don't mean I didn't mess up though!! I always strop using a light touch with a taught strop. I never rinse under the facet, because of the fear of dinging the edge, so I wipe the lather in a stropping motion on a soft sponge. I always post strop to insure the edge is dry. I always oil the blade with ballistol. My routine has never changed. I have read of guys getting over 100 shaves without touchups.
So did I over do it when I did my refreshing on the crox? I did do 80 or so laps. I was thinking can crox cause a wire edge? Did I create a wire edge, and the edge just crumbled? I was reading on the PDF of Iwasaki honing guide. He stated that stropping with crox does remove the wire edge, but using it on wood he suggested that it causes the blade to chip, so he recommended some kind of cloth?? I don't know if I created a wire edge or not, but something went wrong?? Any suggestions on what might have went wrong?
I indeed have lots to learn, but I wouldn't think that crox would cause a burr, because in the knife world we use stropping compounds to remove burrs all the time. Ive read of people saying or watched videos of people saying only do like 10-20 strokes on a 12k, or 3-4 strokes on a 16k, because of microchipping or wire edge will occur on you razor. So How can a person achieve a 16k edge by only doing 3-4 laps?? I'm my mind their is no way that those stones are that fast. I have also read of some experienced razor ssharpeners say that some stones its impossible to over hone. For example they said that they have used a certain natural finishing stone and no matter how many strokes they do they can not over hone, but when you are using a very high grit synthetic stone, you can experience over honing past 3-4 strokes on a 16k?? That don't make sense to my manic mind lol!!
IMO one can over hone on a knife, razor or any tool with "any stone", if you use to much pressure. I can understand staying on the bevel setter until its set, but why lesser strokes as you increase higher in the grits? In my mind there is no way 3-4 strokes on a 16k stone will give you a 16k grit level of an edge?? I do understand over honing . If you was wanting to get technical look at it this way
I would consider this: (even though I don't agree with what In typing below) "Looks like to me you've already took your edge as far as its going to go at bevel set. Meaning if you go any further that there will be a wire edge, because you have met on both sides to form what I call invisible sharp/apex."How I see and I maybe wrong, but as you are refining the edge with higher grits, you would lighten on the pressure to almost zero pressure. Anything above the bevel setter is what I call "honing"/ polishing, and the bevel setter is actually "sharpening". So keep the touch light and you will not have a wire burr or false edge?? Yes these fine stones remove metal, but nothing significant.
Stropping on plain linen will actually remove some metal, because overtime the linen becomes black from swarf, and you can even see fine metal particles in your plain leather if you look close enough. If the leather and linen doesnt remove anything even on a molecular level to enhance or improve our edges then why do we use them?? Leather has just enough silicates to burnish/ polish our edges even way above a nano of a measurement. Very fine stones like a 12k or even a 30k can't remove that much material to cause a burr if used the correct way, as far as correct pressure. Can they?? I think of it this way try and set an bevel with a super high grit synthetic, and see how long it takes. I maybe wrong, but that's how my mind sees it.
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