Hoping to get suggestions and review on my technique. Some backstory is I’ve been practicing with a shavette for a while now but I wanted to get into straight razors since I have my own whetstones for chef knives. I bought a gold dollar to practice on and I used it the first time, that was dull as hell even though I bought it “shave ready” so I passed it on my 5k shapton and 12k naniwa gouken. This helped a bit but my shavette felt smoother so I knew something was wrong. I did a few things different this time, starting with dulling the blade and getting a new apex not that factory one it brought. I put a thin layer of electrical tape on the spine and with the 5k shapton I made a slurry before doing circles and then x strokes. I was in this stone for like 8 minutes. After this I would have wanted to go to an 8k but I haven’t gotten it yet. So I moved to my naniwa 12k and repeated the process with the slurry with the exception of doing the x strokes from hard pressure to lower pressure and then lower pressure and under running water. After this I went to my strip with 0.50 micron paste and did 25 passes each side. It felt a lot smoother on the skin without any shaving cream so I’m hoping for my next shave it will yield good results… any suggestions or tips? I know the 8k might help with the progression but it arrives in a week or so. Thank you in advance and it’s a pleasure to be a part of this community.
Suggestions and tips
- Thread starter Stapelfeld
- Start date
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
Knife sharpeners often have trouble with honing a SR. It's a different ballgame. It is best if you try to forget everything you know about knife sharpening and start again as a beginner.
www.badgerandblade.com
You will not get the same keenness on your SR as a Feather DE blade unless you are lucky. SR shaving is similar to a shavette but different. Some (many?) find a super keen SR edge too uncomfortable to shave with. I think it depends on what you used to develop your SR shaving technique.
The main thing is to hone lots of SRs. Each one is different and requires a slightly different honing technique. You will learn. It just takes time and practise.
Newbie Honing Compendium
I find myself often linking just a few threads rather than give a long winded explanation that takes me 15 minutes to type on my phone. So, here are my favorite threads to suggest that newbies read if they are interested in making their razors sharp. Lapping film, try it. Setting the Bevel...
www.badgerandblade.com
You will not get the same keenness on your SR as a Feather DE blade unless you are lucky. SR shaving is similar to a shavette but different. Some (many?) find a super keen SR edge too uncomfortable to shave with. I think it depends on what you used to develop your SR shaving technique.
The main thing is to hone lots of SRs. Each one is different and requires a slightly different honing technique. You will learn. It just takes time and practise.
- Thread starter
- #3
Yes I think you’re right about knife sharpeners having trouble with SR. For example with knife sharpening I never had to consider keenness but in SR this is a factor that I feel I must learn about. Basically I think I have to go back and rewire my brain and forget about knife sharpening when it comes to SR.Knife sharpeners often have trouble with honing a SR. It's a different ballgame. It is best if you try and forget everything you know about knife sharpening and start again as a beginner.
Newbie Honing Compendium
I find myself often linking just a few threads rather than give a long winded explanation that takes me 15 minutes to type on my phone. So, here are my favorite threads to suggest that newbies read if they are interested in making their razors sharp. Lapping film, try it. Setting the Bevel...
You will not get the same keenness on your SR as a Feather DE blade unless you are lucky. SR shaving is similar to a shavette but different. Some (many?) find a super keen SR edge too uncomfortable to shave with. I think it depends 9n what you used to develop your SR shaving technique.
The main thing is to hone lots of SRs. Each one is different and requires a slightly different honing technique. You will learn. It just takes time and practise.
I don’t know if this is of any help but all my whetstones are synthetic, shapton 5,000, shapton 8,000, and naniwa 12,000. (Also the diamond technology 0.50 micron paste)
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
Nothing wrong with synthetic. Some are even good for finishing, although for the keenest of edges, I prefer diamond pasted balsa strops (0.5μm, 0.25μm and 0.1μm). How to make and use them is all in the threads I linked to above. The threads are a long read but a fountain of knowledge. If you can follow instructions to the letter, things just work.
With knife sharpening you are working at the granular level, with SRs it's molecular.
With knife sharpening you are working at the granular level, with SRs it's molecular.
- Thread starter
- #5
Hey man thank you for all the links and advice you just gave me, I feel like I could spend my entire day just reading all of the things people in this community post. Very entertaining stuff, thank you again!
Welcome to the forum !!
Welcome aboard!
Hi and welcome to B&B.
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