The Key

[Seraphim]

Loupes and scopes can be helpful, but the best thing to do is get a razor you really don't care about and have at it with the 1k stone.

REALLY set the bevel on that sucker, since that is the KEY to getting a great edge. The best edges don't come from having the 75,000 grit stone hewn from the Japanese Alps as a finisher. It comes from making sure the bevel is set correctly in the fist place (I measure that by being able to cleanly cleave arm hair 2-3mm above skin level) coming off the bevel setting hone (for me a DMT 1200).

If you are trying to hone your Dorko, or some other precious metal, you most likely will be too horrified to spend enough time on the low grit hones, removing the proper amount of metal to set the bevel. I think this is why many folks, myself included, get some great shavers out of the $20 EBay finds (or GDs for that matter), since there is not much to be lost, you can really wail on that thing on the bevel setting hone.

Once the bevel is set, sure, it's nice to then refine it up to the point that you are using the 98,000 grit Sukihara that will make a Zen master weep and write a haiku about the shave he just had with it. But the key is the low grit hones.....

 

[dmcconnell]

Sage advice, I'm going to give that a whirl on some non-precious metal soon.

 

[sffone]

Thanks for the tip. In the future, I will be more mindful of this all-important first step.

 

[taffy]

I just bought a diamond 1 k stone, and boy as it helped

 

[mainaman]

Like this?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD2z2vJEpKQ[/youtube]

 

[ambrose]

I agree this is the key indeed 600 dmt for me

 

[Walter Sobchak]

Excellent advice. Thanks!

 

[Pumpkin]

Craig, thanks for the pointer!

I'm starting to build a small stockpile of GD's (don't worry, I'm nowhere near your level yet ) that I'll eventually have to start honing, so it's nice to get some input from the more experienced.

 

[holiday]

What happens when you need to set the bevel on said Dorko?

 

[Sticky]

Same principle here, too (usually a DMT 1200, sometimes 600).

 

[Seraphim]

What happens when you need to set the bevel on said Dorko?

By the time you get around to honing your beloved razor, you will have realized that sometimes tough love is what is required....and you will take that razor to the bevel setting hone until it knows who it's Daddy is!

 

[thanks]

Loupes and scopes can be helpful, but the best thing to do is get a razor you really don't care about and have at it with the 1k stone.

REALLY set the bevel on that sucker, since that is the KEY to getting a great edge. The best edges don't come from having the 75,000 grit stone hewn from the Japanese Alps as a finisher. It comes from making sure the bevel is set correctly in the fist place (I measure that by being able to cleanly cleave arm hair 2-3mm above skin level) coming off the bevel setting hone (for me a DMT 1200).

If you are trying to hone your Dorko, or some other precious metal, you most likely will be too horrified to spend enough time on the low grit hones, removing the proper amount of metal to set the bevel. I think this is why many folks, myself included, get some great shavers out of the $20 EBay finds (or GDs for that matter), since there is not much to be lost, you can really wail on that thing on the bevel setting hone.

Once the bevel is set, sure, it's nice to then refine it up to the point that you are using the 98,000 grit Sukihara that will make a Zen master weep and write a haiku about the shave he just had with it. But the key is the low grit hones.....

Some of my best professionally honed razors barely do this. Are there any other clear signs of a proper bevel that has been set? So far, this has been the most difficult point of honing for me. Setting a proper bevel probably isn't as hard as most think it is, but knowing when it's set is an almost impossible skill for me atm.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Seraphim must have thick arm hair.

 

[Sparq]

Some of my best professionally honed razors barely do this. Are there any other clear signs of a proper bevel that has been set? So far, this has been the most difficult point of honing for me. Setting a proper bevel probably isn't as hard as most think it is, but knowing when it's set is an almost impossible skill for me atm.

FWIW, Seraphim's arm hair test is the only "cutting" test I do when honing. I do not do any of the TPT, TNT etc - I find them too crude. If a razor does not cut hair above skin effortlessly, it is not ready for finer grits. When polishing, I observe how its cuts water on hone and how light gets reflected off edge with naked eye. When I run into problems and do not get what I expect, a reversed 28mm lens does a good job as a loupe.


PS: My arm hair is thin and pale and almost extinct on my left arm.

 

[danjared]

Seraphim must have thick arm hair.

I believe you mean that he had thick arm hair.

 

[Seraphim]

Bump for further discussion.

 

[Obiwan]

A great post worth the bump. Couldnt agree more.

 

[bad-bryce]

I have a DMT 1200 and wanted to know how many laps does it take to get the bevel done? Once the bevel is set, it should shave arm effortlessly? There is no forcing or anything like that? I tried this before and then went to my coticule after and was having a hard time getting an shaving edge on it.

 

[Seraphim]

No such thing as counting laps, it is a useless endeavor.


Stay on the 1k until the edge is sharp.

Could be 5 laps, might be 73 laps, or 112 or 537...


If your DMT is brand new, it may need to be broken in a bit before it will give you HHT results.

 

[Obiwan]

+1 on not counting laps. For me, it's more important to see how the edge is undercutting water and cutting arm hair.