Well - at least in my opinion, the 9 is the most important... however with that said - for your intended use, a 4 sided strop isn't going to be optimal, and I recommend 9 micron with paddle strop with some give.
Sharpening Pierre Thiers 1884 difficulties
- Thread starter kingreverent
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Well - at least in my opinion, the 9 is the most important... however with that said - for your intended use, a 4 sided strop isn't going to be optimal, and I recommend 9 micron with paddle strop with some give.
I would keep at it with the coticule. Unless the edge has been abused you should never have to use the 4K on it. I find with most TI's I do coticule honing for about 80-90 strokes to refresh an edge. I know guys claim 10 strokes but I don't know how they do it. Diamond pasted strops will do the job faster. For some razors like the TI damascus and the Iwasaki they are almost mandatory but in general I find when I use the .50 and.25 diamond though I get a very sharp edge the edge just doesn't seem to last as long as with a hone.
I agree with you... however - one caveat.
If I start out with a hone - then move to pastes, the fine edge doesn't last long.
If I start with pastes (9 micron then down) I get an even stronger edge, that lasts longer than anything I can create with ANY hone (and i've got near 50 hones).
Personally... I am quite the fan of 9 micron diamond paste, and it has radically changed how I sharpen razors... and to a certain extent knives.
While it isn't a very "fun" shave - I've been meaning to shoot and post a video of me shaving with a Busse 7inch survival knife I sharpened ONLY with diamond pastes.
As my tests will show (I really need to put the finishing touches on this) in the dovo special "8-ways" I consistently get the best results from pure diamond pasted razors.
Aside from ebay razors, and razors that need major work - at least for me, hones are a thing of the past.
Joel, I really respect the fact that after learning the fundamentals of honing, you have gone off and developed a method of your own that you think is supperior to the normal stone method. I don't think that it is a good idea to just accept the standard method without questioning it and considering that the best. With that said I believe that the standard methods are standard for a reason, in most cases because they are very good and consistent.
You definately have more experience with honing than me as I have probably only honed a couple hundred razors; however, I have found that I preffer the edge created by a high quality stone more than that of a high grit diamond paste (granted I have never gone below 3 micron). For me, the quality of an edge is not all about sharpness, it is about both sharpness and smoothness. There is no question that diamond paste can produce very sharp edges; however, I have found them to be not as comfortable to shave with compared to an edge created by a high quality stone and carefully finished with a coticule or escher (I have only gone to .5 micron diamond and chromium, not .25). Many people complain about the edge longevity of .25 finished edges.
For now I am going to continue using my stones because they work very well from me; however, I am always open to trying new methods. Maybe if I sent you a high quality razor (like a TI Frameback) you can sharpen it using your diamond paste method. Then I could compare the edge to those that I get off my stones and give you my impressions.
You definately have more experience with honing than me as I have probably only honed a couple hundred razors; however, I have found that I preffer the edge created by a high quality stone more than that of a high grit diamond paste (granted I have never gone below 3 micron). For me, the quality of an edge is not all about sharpness, it is about both sharpness and smoothness. There is no question that diamond paste can produce very sharp edges; however, I have found them to be not as comfortable to shave with compared to an edge created by a high quality stone and carefully finished with a coticule or escher (I have only gone to .5 micron diamond and chromium, not .25). Many people complain about the edge longevity of .25 finished edges.
For now I am going to continue using my stones because they work very well from me; however, I am always open to trying new methods. Maybe if I sent you a high quality razor (like a TI Frameback) you can sharpen it using your diamond paste method. Then I could compare the edge to those that I get off my stones and give you my impressions.
Send me a razor (with return shipping and a label) and i'll happily do a diamond paste number on it!
I wouldn't suggest a frameback (if it is in fact a "true" frameback) - a standard razor would/will work best for comparison. Also - since it is diamond paste, it has its limitation (basically the edge on it has to be reasonable - IE something like you would see from a razor that showed up "new" from dovo, or TI)
