Just don't give up, you will get there.
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Setting the Bevel with the Burr Method
- Thread starter Slash McCoy
- Start date
So I just want to give a 
to Slash on this maybe not for coming up with it but for posting it in a easy to understand way. I have been trying to get this whole bevel thing down for a while and not really knowing what my final product should look/feel like. But after this method of setting the bevel its quite clear that I have found it and can move forward in my progression. Hopefully I will be good enough to come up with something worthy of a shave in the end, cause ultimately that is what we are all looking for right.
Happy Honing
to Slash on this maybe not for coming up with it but for posting it in a easy to understand way. I have been trying to get this whole bevel thing down for a while and not really knowing what my final product should look/feel like. But after this method of setting the bevel its quite clear that I have found it and can move forward in my progression. Hopefully I will be good enough to come up with something worthy of a shave in the end, cause ultimately that is what we are all looking for right. Happy Honing
Just bought an old Columbia Cutlery company straight off the bay for practice. Struggled with burr setting. The steel in this thing laughed at my Arkies when trying to raise a burr. Had to drop down to an India stone. Next I had to fight a very stubborn foil edge that x strokes on Akies wouldn't remove. I tried multiple Washitas, a soft and hards of every stripe. Went to a coticule on slurry to get it done. After the foil was gone the Arkies finished it up nicely. Weird. 2 points I'd like to make.....I would have been lost without a scope to diagnose this, and if you don't get things right at the start, you'll be making your life more interesting than you want to. I've only done this a couple times but I'm getting better. With lots of practice I am becoming more and more proficient. Thank you Slash!
- Thread starter
- #45
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
I agree 100%. Even coarser if there is a lot of work to do. The trick is to know when to stop, and let finer grits start cleaning up. If I ever were to post the grit of the coarsest abrasive I have ever used on a razor, half the members would succomb to an attack of the vapours.
Can you beat my 60 grit bench grinder wheel? 
- Thread starter
- #47
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Lets just say your 60 grit bench grinder wheel doesn't have me beat, and leave it at that.Can you beat my 60 grit bench grinder wheel?
I've gone as low as 140 diamond plate not the atoma because the matrix is like a wood chipper to steel. But I have a plate from cktg , not a dmt that I've used many times. I just stay away from the edge. Get the bulk done and when I'm close enough switch to my chosera 600. There's a million ways to do this.
Niiiice!
Many claim that too course of stone at bevel set causes edge flaking. Have you seen this with any blades?
kelbro
Alfred Spatchcock
Yes, many times.
- Thread starter
- #52
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Of course. That's why very coarse media is used only when a lot of steel has to come off, and why it is important to start progressing to the 600-2k range before the bevel is fully set.
- Thread starter
- #53
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
For anyone needing a plate for the sandpaper, TAP Plastics has decent prices on 3/4" (actually only 0.708") thick acrylic. You can get four 3x12 pieces cut for $31.52, shipped within 2 days of ordering. Great for pasted balsa or for lapping film, as well as sandpaper so four is a pretty good order.
This thread has answered every question I had about setting a bevel, from what grit to use to when is it set. I now know I have more than enough stones with all the right grit to restore and sharpen the 25 vintage razors I've collected over the past 6 months. Time to stop spending ALL my weekends at flea markets looking for razors and stones and start learning how to restore them. Thanks a lot.
- Thread starter
- #55
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Are you already shaving with a straight razor? Even though the bevel setting process is pretty straightforward, without at least some experience using straights, you are missing some important knowledge. Even more important as you run your progression, and refine the bevel to a nice shaving edge.
One last bit of advice. Pick just one razor and hone it. Preferably one in decent condition, hollow ground, fairly straight edge, no major dings, nor worn to half its original dimensions, but not a particularly valuable one either. IOW, an easy one to hone but reasonably expendable. Make your mistakes on this one, if any are to be made. Shave successfully with it before you start on the rest.
I have never tried a full face shave with a straight razor, only one pass WTG. I don't have a razor that has been honed by a professional but I have one or two that I may send out to be done. Having a properly honed razor for comparison is a must. Some of my razors are "good for learning" and some are "Don't touch that until you know what you're doing". This is something I'm taking my time learning. It's more about restoring than shaving, for me right now, but if I'm going to restore a razor I want to do all of it right.
Noob question here. Planning to try the method with some old vintage razors. Ordered lapping film 5u, 3u, 1u and making balsa strops with .5, .25, and .1 diamond paste. What grit sandpaper should I use to set my bevel? Was thinking 1000. Once my bevel is set can I just jump to the 5u lapping film?
I haven't used wet dry for honing for years, but I would recommend 600 for bevel setting. The sand paper dulls fairly rapidly so using 1000 can be very slow and use a lot of paper. I would follow the 600 with 1000 and 2000 grit.
I would agree with Slash also for those guys just starting out. Don't try to hone a large number of razors at once. Pick one or two to be your testbed razors and stick to those until you have a better grasp of what needs to be done and how. Then proceed to hone the crap out of those two over and over again until you know what you're doing.
I have been using 30u film for bevel setting but have quit. It doesn't seem to stand up to aggressive treatment too well. I now mostly use an inexpensive 1K King and it has worked fine. I do a bevel set on any new to me razor - one exception was a NOS Bengall I recently acquired that had what felt like a 12K factory edge on it right out of the box. I only had to use a pasted balsa progression on that one.
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