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Stropping

If that's the site I remember, the images are interesting, but they're used to draw conclusions that disregard way too many variables.

Basically, the guy doing it would bust the crap out of edges on DMT's... put gouges in them that would be visible to the naked eye then image them and declare that DMT's always do that (another forum's admin used to claim DMT's were unusable for razors... but totally not because they sold Nortons... his reasoning was that they chipped razors). I compared his shots to mine, even did scale adjustments, and what he was seeing simply didn't happen. I even tried DOZENS of other DMT's from coworkers and friends and not a single plate caused what he was seeing.

I WAS able to reproduce it by deliberately burring the edge and snapping it off (any experienced honer could do this easily if they wanted to prove a stone was bad... it'd be unlikely but not impossible for an inexperienced honer to do it inadvertently a time or two on a DMT, repeatedly doing would require intent) I actually took shots around 1k on optical magnification that mimicked his SEM shots relative to scale by doing this just to prove that it was not an issue of differences is our magnification, viewing angle, etc. Finally, I was able to reproduce it by using a razor that had lost it's tempering likely from an overzealous restorer on a buffer. Very similar pictures were taken of the "torn" edge that happens when you hone a razor that's lost temper. I concluded that either he was deliberately destroying the dmt edges for some reason unknown to me. OR He simply was a terrible honer, almost legendary in how bad he was (doubtful). OR he was imaging razors that weren't properly tempered or had lost temper.

Rereading his technique, he was burring and snapping the burrs. What he describes as his method is basically the "technique" required to do that on a EE DMT plate. Pressing a thin razor into an EE with "a few hundred grams" (think about a pound) of pressure (And likely far more as people tend to massively underestimate pressure used honing... if I asked you to press something down with 1lb of force, I'd guess you'll hit closer to 3lbs... and to that his claims that it was insensitive to swings in pressure... there's not much controllable range in pressure between 1lb and minimal that you could practically achieve what he claims by hand... again suggesting his estimate of a few hundred grams is very low) is of course going to result in exactly what he describes (flexing the edge away from the plate... thinning to a burr, and ripping the burr off). His entire test is based around a technique that is essentially designed to destroy an edge on an EE... so my guess is he wanted clicks at the revelation that a 325grit edge was better than an 8000 grit one. The 325 is fast enough to give appropriate results when he finishes @ the appropriate amount of pressure. The 8k, though fast, isn't going to be able to fix a bevel he probably tore 1/4-1/3 of off at the start of the test in the amount of time he was honing @ appropriate amounts of pressure. Pretty simple, really.

edit: testing my pressure to burr on my EE and actually 1 lb isn't enough to damage an edge on an EE. It takes almost exactly 3lbs to start to pull up a serious burr on a random hollow ground I grabbed. He must have massively underestimated the pressure use.
 
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Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Oh - yeesh, sorry - (sheepish shrug) - Mods, please edit as you see fit.

I suspect this thread would be more noticed, and improve in its value to the B&B community were its title changed.

As I see it the thread is really about both Stropping & the Edge-On-Up Industrial Edge Tester.

Anybody have the juice to make that happen, or disagree with what the thread's title "should" be. This is not really a pure stropping thread as I see it.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
~400micron FoV iirc, so gonna be 400-3000x depending on your monitor and how much the forum resized these.
In order:
DMT 325
DMT 1200
DMT 8000
DMT 8000 edge I intentionally destroyed to prove that DMT 325s leave a better edge than DMT 8000's.
 

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Are those of you buying it getting the most expensive of the three models? Why? Where's the best price?

Thanks,

Jim
Yes, because 1 gram measurements are necessary to compare razor edges if they're in the 20's and 30's, as 10 gram differences would be massive. For pocket knives 10 grams would probably work. 50 grams seems of questionable usefulness. I only saw it at 3 places, all the same price.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
~400micron FoV iirc, so gonna be 400-3000x depending on your monitor and how much the forum resized these.
In order:
DMT 325
DMT 1200
DMT 8000
DMT 8000 edge I intentionally destroyed to prove that DMT 325s leave a better edge than DMT 8000's.

I don't get it. Not that you've explained it wrong, but I'm clueless here.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Yes, because 1 gram measurements are necessary to compare razor edges if they're in the 20's and 30's, as 10 gram differences would be massive. For pocket knives 10 grams would probably work. 50 grams seems of questionable usefulness. I only saw it at 3 places, all the same price.

Thanks. Makes perfect sense.
 
I don't get it. Not that you've explained it wrong, but I'm clueless here.
Sorry the context is that someone linked to an online blog by a guy who had access to a SEM at his job and took a lot of really nice SEM images of razor edges. I was cautioning that some of his results and conclusions are questionable, though the pictures are a great resource. Specifically, he has an article about how he gets superior edges from a DMT 325 (45 micron) plate than from a DMT 8000 (3 micron) plate. His images demonstrate a standard DMT 325 edge, but a MASSIVELY damaged and torn apart DMT 8000 edge. My post was addressing that, and I did some quick optically magnified images of edges off my DMT's to demonstrate that the damage he was producing on the 8000 was atypical and represented edge damage from either a very low grade or damaged steel, or deliberate abuse of the razor on the hone.

He is somewhat correct that the 325 is quite astonishingly a shave-capable edge (Similar to how a carefully used washita can produce a shave-capable edge) when used very carefully... But his results off the DMT 8000 aren't in line with those of anyone else I know. Essentially he demonstrated how a diamond plate can achieve edge thinning that most friable mediums can't with equivalent particle sizes; but convoluted that discovery by misusing higher grit plates and demonstrating that, like any honing medium, they can damage an edge when used improperly... and then failed to note that his methods were pretty obviously not the correct way to use the higher grit DMT's.
 
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Sorry the context is that someone linked to an online blog by a guy who had access to a SEM at his job and took a lot of really nice SEM images of razor edges. I was cautioning that some of his results and conclusions are questionable, though the pictures are a great resource. Specifically, he has an article about how he gets superior edges from a DMT 325 (45 micron) plate than from a DMT 8000 (3 micron) plate. His images demonstrate a standard DMT 325 edge, but a MASSIVELY damaged and torn apart DMT 8000 edge. My post was addressing that, and I did some quick optically magnified images of edges off my DMT's to demonstrate that the damage he was producing on the 8000 was atypical and represented edge damage from either a very low grade or damaged steel, or deliberate abuse of the razor on the hone.

He is somewhat correct that the 325 is quite astonishingly a shave-capable edge (Similar to how a carefully used washita can produce a shave-capable edge) when used very carefully... But his results off the DMT 8000 aren't in line with those of anyone else I know. Essentially he demonstrated how a diamond plate can achieve edge thinning that most friable mediums can't with equivalent particle sizes; but convoluted that discovery by misusing higher grit plates and demonstrating that, like any honing medium, they can damage an edge when used improperly... and then failed to note that his methods were pretty obviously not the correct way to use the higher grit DMT's.

Your analysis makes an awful lot of sense where the diamond plate pages are concerned. I've never really understood why he felt the need to spend so much time, effort, and space on hones he doesn't find particularly compelling.

Nonetheless, I do have to say that there's a lot of other information on his site. Viewed with an appropriate marriage of critical curiosity and skepticism, I learned quite a lot reading through his blog.

I can also attest that the conclusion he reaches with the seemingly counterintuitive "deliberately make a foil edge, then polish it off on denim" approach really does provide a very simple and effective way for me to repeatably produce an edge that, while unforgiving of even tiny technique errors, is nonetheless quite seriously sharp. Sharp enough to pass all of the standard "tests" as well or better than any edge I've achived with "The Method" and shave rather smoothly if I am careful.

I recently pulled the trigger on a Dan's black Ark to see if I can use that after the denim polish to make a more comfortable, forgiving edge that will still shave very sharp. I am hoping that I can then use a couple dozen laps on the black to maintain an edge when it inevitably starts to go a little southwards.
 
Hmm... Probably general straight or honing? Not sure which is more applicable for this device.

Dan, the issue I see with foiling an edge and polishing it off is pretty simple. You're dismantling the whole reason we switched from obsidian to steel knives. Obsidian is capable of being sharper than steel, but it's a HORRIBLE tool for shaving that hasn't been used for thousands of years because the edge is made by breaking the material. The technique you seem to describe is taking a material (steel) whose primary, almost sole advantage is that the edge it forms is easy for us to affect deliberately without compromising it... and finding a way to undo that advantage. At that point just shave with an obsidian knife... I mean really, it's probably a better option.

Where does he promote this technique? A quick browse of his site doesn't reveal it easily.

But in looking, just from reading a couple articles I can say this... he's going ultra-light on his low grit hones and ultra-heavy on his high grit ones. Wiping out 320 grit with 100 laps on 16k? Not with any normal honing method. I've done that test, unless you WILDLY increase pressure on the 16k vs the 320, the number of passes it takes is WELL over a thousand. It seems many of his articles are based around revolutionary discoveries that trace back to him honing in ways that make no sense. Yes, a 325 edge shaves better than an 8k if you stand on the blade when its on the 8k and lift it on the 325 so you get <micron cutting depth (which he actually comments on achieving off the 325). Yes, if you similarly go from a silly level of coasting on the 325 again to leaning your body into a 16k, you'll be able to polish the blade out quickly. The fact that these things are possible isn't new information. It looks like he tries to make it seem like they're implicit to the hones and not his methods however. Feel free to try to go from a 320 GS (used in a normal manner) to a 16k GS for 100laps (used in a normal manner). I've done it. It doesn't work... again, unless you're honing in a silly, back-breaking way that no one would ever use except to prove a point. It's a shame, he does do some tests that look valuable, and frankly I wholeheartedly agree with his overarching point in that article (that people are overly scared of large jumps in grit and buy too many intermediate hones as a consequence)... but his methods are so clearly set out to prove the hypothesis and not following proper scientific method, that you've got to take anything he "proves" with a grain of salt.


Edit: Reading in the comments he seems pretty open about the fact that he is trying to use the maximum pressure possible in that test (talks about the limits of pressure without flexing the razor off the hone)... I just suspect, as in the other article, he is unaware of the extreme amount of pressure he's actually applying (and as mentioned WILDLY underestimating it in the other article) and how out of the ordinary it is for most razor honers... so he should perhaps make a point of that before suggesting that 10 strokes on a 16k will wipe out most of the evidence of a 320grit hone. Oh and also he suggests there's no problem using Diamond plates dry. I don't generally try, it may be fine with the lower grit ones, but don't use the DMT EE dry with a razor... just don't. You will cook the edge so damn fast.

I can't speak for "the method" as people call it. I just hone. But I would put any properly honed edge up against a broken off foil edge for consistency (and therefore comfort) every single time.
 
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Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Sorry the context is that someone linked to an online blog by a guy who had access to a SEM at his job and took a lot of really nice SEM images of razor edges. I was cautioning that some of his results and conclusions are questionable, though the pictures are a great resource. Specifically, he has an article about how he gets superior edges from a DMT 325 (45 micron) plate than from a DMT 8000 (3 micron) plate. His images demonstrate a standard DMT 325 edge, but a MASSIVELY damaged and torn apart DMT 8000 edge. My post was addressing that, and I did some quick optically magnified images of edges off my DMT's to demonstrate that the damage he was producing on the 8000 was atypical and represented edge damage from either a very low grade or damaged steel, or deliberate abuse of the razor on the hone.

He is somewhat correct that the 325 is quite astonishingly a shave-capable edge (Similar to how a carefully used washita can produce a shave-capable edge) when used very carefully... But his results off the DMT 8000 aren't in line with those of anyone else I know. Essentially he demonstrated how a diamond plate can achieve edge thinning that most friable mediums can't with equivalent particle sizes; but convoluted that discovery by misusing higher grit plates and demonstrating that, like any honing medium, they can damage an edge when used improperly... and then failed to note that his methods were pretty obviously not the correct way to use the higher grit DMT's.

Thank you. Makes perfect sense to me now.
 
Hmm... Probably general straight or honing? Not sure which is more applicable for this device.

Dan, the issue I see with foiling an edge and polishing it off is pretty simple. You're dismantling the whole reason we switched from obsidian to steel knives. Obsidian is capable of being sharper than steel, but it's a HORRIBLE tool for shaving that hasn't been used for thousands of years because the edge is made by breaking the material. The technique you seem to describe is taking a material (steel) whose primary, almost sole advantage is that the edge it forms is easy for us to affect deliberately without compromising it... and finding a way to undo that advantage. At that point just shave with an obsidian knife... I mean really, it's probably a better option.

Where does he promote this technique? A quick browse of his site doesn't reveal it easily.

But in looking, just from reading a couple articles I can say this... he's going ultra-light on his low grit hones and ultra-heavy on his high grit ones. Wiping out 320 grit with 100 laps on 16k? Not with any normal honing method. I've done that test, unless you WILDLY increase pressure on the 16k vs the 320, the number of passes it takes is WELL over a thousand. It seems many of his articles are based around revolutionary discoveries that trace back to him honing in ways that make no sense. Yes, a 325 edge shaves better than an 8k if you stand on the blade when its on the 8k and lift it on the 325 so you get <micron cutting depth (which he actually comments on achieving off the 325). Yes, if you similarly go from a silly level of coasting on the 325 again to leaning your body into a 16k, you'll be able to polish the blade out quickly. The fact that these things are possible isn't new information. It looks like he tries to make it seem like they're implicit to the hones and not his methods however. Feel free to try to go from a 320 GS (used in a normal manner) to a 16k GS for 100laps (used in a normal manner). I've done it. It doesn't work... again, unless you're honing in a silly, back-breaking way that no one would ever use except to prove a point. It's a shame, he does do some tests that look valuable, and frankly I wholeheartedly agree with his overarching point in that article (that people are overly scared of large jumps in grit and buy too many intermediate hones as a consequence)... but his methods are so clearly set out to prove the hypothesis and not following proper scientific method, that you've got to take anything he "proves" with a grain of salt.


Edit: Reading in the comments he seems pretty open about the fact that he is trying to use the maximum pressure possible in that test (talks about the limits of pressure without flexing the razor off the hone)... I just suspect, as in the other article, he is unaware of the extreme amount of pressure he's actually applying (and as mentioned WILDLY underestimating it in the other article) and how out of the ordinary it is for most razor honers... so he should perhaps make a point of that before suggesting that 10 strokes on a 16k will wipe out most of the evidence of a 320grit hone. Oh and also he suggests there's no problem using Diamond plates dry. I don't generally try, it may be fine with the lower grit ones, but don't use the DMT EE dry with a razor... just don't. You will cook the edge so damn fast.

I can't speak for "the method" as people call it. I just hone. But I would put any properly honed edge up against a broken off foil edge for consistency (and therefore comfort) every single time.

The method I was trying to describe is on his page titled "Simple Straight Razor Honing". In it, he hones a pretty typical bevel at the 1k level. Then he jumps to 4k, and instead of 'typical' edge leading strokes, he does spine leading strokes. This draws the edge down to a very fine apex, but with a foil edge trailing after. He then prescribes a denim strop loaded with metal polish to polish off the foil edge. Finally, he prescribes diamond paste on leather for final finishing.

I've done as described. A dozen or so times now. It works as advertised. VERY keen edge that shaves comfortably when I am careful, but is exceedingly unforgiving of very minute errors. Reminds me very much of the description people give of a feather blade in a shavette.

I don't measure the force I strop on the denim with - I used his description of taping the other end of the denim to a desk and not stropping with enough force to pull the tape off, and I feel my way through about that much pressure. It works.

The edge this method produces not only shaves well, and aggressively, but also seems to last longer than the edges I was producing before that using films followed by pasted balsa.

I am moving on to the Dan's black Ark because I want that trifecta of additional comfort in the shave, better edge life between touchups, and a simple, single stone to touch up on. My journey into straight razor honing is really just beginning. I don't have nearly the experience you do, but I do have decades of experience sharpening knives of every description. Arkansas stones were my training wheels, and so going back to novaculite seems a comfortable coming home after lapping films and pasted balsa. If I am barking up the wrong tree, this would be a WONDERFUL time to tell me!
 
Have you tried a normal 4K edge to the pasted strops? Or hell make one of his 325 edges and go to the pasted strops. As long as you’ve got a bevel, pasted stropping can make almost any edge able to shave.

Arkansas shaves are nice. Good luck with it.
 
There is a website that has tested a lot of DE razor blades using this type of test. I am not sure whether it is the same instrument.
The test measures the force needed to sever a calibrated test medium.

Razor Blade Sharpness Testing » refined shave

I have found that my subjective evaluation of many of the blades tested by the author has correlated rather well.

While I have found that having objective numbers to assign to DE blades is quite useful in determining which blades to purchase, I am not sure that the test is quite a useful when honing straight razors. When honing, we need to produce an edge that is both sharp and smooth, so the only test that really counts is the shave test.


Great link thank you.

The biggest myth ever perpetuated on the internet regarding stropping is to use very light pressure, or weight of the razor only.
My Barber taught me how to strop. I showed him where I was at and he said - "you have to use some pressure when stropping"
Shaves exponentially improved from that point forward. Sixteen years later with no issues.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Great link thank you.

The biggest myth ever perpetuated on the internet regarding stropping is to use very light pressure, or weight of the razor only.
My Barber taught me how to strop. I showed him where I was at and he said - "you have to use some pressure when stropping"
Shaves exponentially improved from that point forward. Sixteen years later with no issue.

Intriguing.
 
Are those of you buying it getting the most expensive of the three models? Why? Where's the best price?

Thanks,

Jim

I just received mine today. Yes, I purchased the Industrial Edge Tester "PT50A" (it's more sensitive and expensive) model. I purchased it from sharpeningsupplies.com. The Edge-On-Up website had it listed from the same price.

I did tinker with it when it arrived but haven't spent much time with it yet. I probably won't seriously start to test it out until this weekend.

To do the quantity and type of testing I'm planning, I ordered A LOT more test media today. Testing can be quite expensive as the testing media is consumed.

When I get familiar with this tool, I start a thread.
 
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