Should I Use The Local Sharpening Guy!?!?!?

[wdwrx]

I've edited this post to preserve what dignity i have.... I did have an interesting converstatoin today with the guy that sharpens my saw blades for me. On a whim i asked him if he could hone a straight razor and he proceeded to state "Sure". I asked him what he did to do so and he told me about his process kinda scared me! WTH is a lapping wheel??!! He was talking like he was gonna sharpen it up on a grinding wheel and then "polish the edge to... like... chrome".... on a lapping wheel.(?!)
This does NOT jive with anything I've read over the past month..... But he seemed quite confidant (I'm not sure how much experience he'd have.... I'm pretty sure there's only about one other guy in my town that shaves with a Str8.... And I KNOW he sends his away...) Power tools and razor honing isn't something I've seen together, even on YouTube.

 

[wdwrx]

Ha ha sorry for the double post.. I'd like to retract that last question.... As soon as I read it i realized that if I'd thought about it for just a moment I already knew the answer.

Ohh the dangers of posting after a coupl'a drinks..... I'm glad I havn't hurt any thing but me dignity
BTW if the Mods would kindly remove this thread my dignity would thank them!

 

[Kees]

Take a cheap ebay special to him and see what he can do.

 

[mdunn]

the guy can probably make your knife super sharp, but such different techniqes for a razor he looks like a fool!

 

[LaughingAtFate]

Get him to do the job on a cheapish Ebay job, Then get _him_ to shave with it, if he's apprehensive about it, I'd be walking away from his skills as someone to hone a razor.

if someone is to 'sharpen' my razors, They better have a damn fine idea as to what it needs, best way to determine that, is if they themselves actually shave with a straight.

Having said that, I hone my own.

 

[wdwrx]

Get him to do the job on a cheapish Ebay job, Then get _him_ to shave with it, if he's apprehensive about it, I'd be walking away from his skills as someone to hone a razor.

if someone is to 'sharpen' my razors, They better have a damn fine idea as to what it needs, best way to determine that, is if they themselves actually shave with a straight.

Having said that, I hone my own.

Good point.... I do have a junker I bought for practice; that would be a good one to try...
I thought it would be worth a phone call to the guy.... if he'd started talking things I'd heard, types of hones, what grit he finished with blah bla... I might have been tempted to try with the old one I've got. But he launched right away into talking about his grinding wheel and other power tools. I don't know much but I'm pretty sure I know not to use a grinding wheel on a vintage straight

Sometimes I still speak (type) before I think.....
I hope I can live that one down.......

Now if I could just remove that D#%&n exclamation point icon!

 

[Ray-man]

You seem to have some type of relationship with this man as far as the sharpening of your other tools are concerned. What point would be proven if you were able to embarress him, knowing that he most likely can't sharpen your razor?

Showing him that he is a putz and can't do something would most likely only result in your having to find someone else to go to. Send your razor to someone who can do the job, and if he asks about it, simply tell him you sent it off to a honemeister and leave it at that.

Just my humble opinion.

Ray

 

[superbleu]

Some very wise words Ray.

 

[ccgnet]

Be very very careful.

 

[wdwrx]

Thanks Ray,
It wasn't my point to embarrass him... Though if he really doesn't know how to hone a razor he shouldn't propound that he does.... that would seem to me that he's embarrassing himself. As a competent tradesman myself, if I say i can do something, I can... No equivocation. If I can't; I can't, and I make no bones about it. My noobish thought would be that an edge is an edge, cutting instruments vary only be degree (no pun intended) and if his breadth of knowledge extends as far into the knife sharpening world as mine does in carpentry there may be a good chance he knows at least something about it. I thought it was worth at least a phone call. From what he did tell me of his proccess, I am dis-inclined to believe that he does know what is required to hone a razor, however embarrassing him was not my intent.

I do regret starting this thread in the form of a question, as I mentioned earlier I blasted it out without really thinking about it and then was horribly embarrassed myself when I read it, though I am curious to see what he can do with my ebay junker..... If he could polish it up without wrecking it for $2, I would consider that money well spent!

I am glad that you did point that out though about embarrassing him... I hadn't considered that aspect of it. I'll be sure to tread very carefully.

 

[spanx]

I've edited this post to preserve what dignity i have.... I did have an interesting converstatoin today with the guy that sharpens my saw blades for me. On a whim i asked him if he could hone a straight razor and he proceeded to state "Sure". I asked him what he did to do so and he told me about his process kinda scared me! WTH is a lapping wheel??!! He was talking like he was gonna sharpen it up on a grinding wheel and then "polish the edge to... like... chrome".... on a lapping wheel.(?!)
This does NOT jive with anything I've read over the past month..... But he seemed quite confidant (I'm not sure how much experience he'd have.... I'm pretty sure there's only about one other guy in my town that shaves with a Str8.... And I KNOW he sends his away...) Power tools and razor honing isn't something I've seen together, even on YouTube.

I took a razor to a professional sharpener once to see if he could do better than me.He snapped the razor along the length of the blade while i watched.Since then no one sharpens a blade of any kind for me but me.

 

[professorchaos]

No!! Sharpening a straight doesn't have much in common with sharpening a knife. I've heard too many horror stories about what knife sharpeners can do to straights.

 

[wdwrx]

I hear ya. I hadn't thought much about the "commercial knife sharpening industry" before now, all my saw blades are dropped off and done with a CNC machine. I guess that I didn't think it unreasonable that someone in that trade might actually know about the care and feeding of Str8's; a guy doing that type of work for a living may have an interest in sharp things......

NTS this particular guy didn't get past the first "interview". Imaging my pleasure if he'd said something about being a Str8 user, or his gandaddy had taught him when he was little, or bragged about his collection of $1000 japanese stones.....or said "oh, I know Bill Ellis"......, A long shot for sure, but, enough said; rest assured that I'll never send a blade (str8 that is) to be "ground and then polished .... like..... chrome".

 

[SliceOfLife]

My guess is that he simply isn't aware of the mechanism of honing a razor. It sounds to me like he plans to bevel it and polish the bevel on a stropping wheel.

That would actually be a fine place to start with refining stones, but not shave ready certainly.

I don't doubt he'd be able to set a good bevel. I'd buy an eBay special to give him, just to see the results.