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Thiers Issard in the bin

First post, long time beneficiary with grateful thanks to all particularly Slash. I’m in Australia.
At age 59, 2 years ago, bought my first SR- Thiers Issard full hollow. Then full set of Shaptons. Then Slash’s pasted balsa. Then learned about hard carbon and the difficulty people had honing TI. It never shaved but being a newbie I presumed it was me.
A year ago acquired a Ralf Aust and can hone it from bevel to baby bottom smooth. But I hung on to the TI, coming back to honing it every 3 months or so, to no avail. The last 3 hour effort was today - Burr method, x strokes you name it . Nuthin’…
I’m sure it’s warped and always has been. I’ve proven I can hone a blade. But I can’t hone this. It’s in the bin and I am now free of wasting my time.
Just had to share how hard it was to give up the challenge- but it was wasting my life.
Thanks to all on this forum from whom I’ve learnt so much.
 

Legion

Staff member
The last new TI I honed was for a housemate a few years ago. I’ll admit, it was a bit of a chore. But it did get there.

Im glad it was not the first razor I honed, though.
 
The last new TI I honed was for a housemate a few years ago. I’ll admit, it was a bit of a chore. But it did get there.

Im glad it was not the first razor I honed, though.
Thanks Legion. I kept thinking I would get there and I know I’m still only 2 years in. I decided even if Australia had a honemeister, I don’t want a blade I can’t sharpen myself. I’ll always wonder if someone more skilled could have honed it, but I’m pretty obsessional and I gave it a good go. The weight of the TI was lovely, but the R Aust is just a delight to use. I decided it was time to fold’em.
 

Legion

Staff member
Once it is honed, they keep an edge and are not too hard to touch up. But the factory bevel is a mess, and the steel is hard, so needs some work getting shave ready.

instead of binning it, donate it “as is” to the Sue charity. Someone will take it on.
 
The C135 Carbonsong steel used in Thiers Issard razors is harder than most. That makes it take more effort to hone. However, I also find that the edge lasts longer than other razors. Thus, for me, I find it is a reasonable tradeoff. I can either spend more time and effort honing the razor or I can hone the razor more often.

Also, the type of hones you use makes a difference. The abrasives used in hones vary in hardness. Many hones are based on chert which contains microcrystaline quartz. This mineral is only slightly harder than steel. It works better on softer steels.

Slate hones comes from clay. Clay contains aluminum philosylicates that are minerals harder than silica.

Aluminum oxide (corrundum) is even harder. It is the mineral from which rubies and sapphires are made.

At the very hardest end of the hardness scale is diamond. Because of their hardness, hones with diamond abrasives will make quick work of even the hardest steel. Diamond abrasives are also available in extremely fine particle sizes such as 0.1 micron. That makes diamond pastes and sprays ideal of the final finishing of razors.

Cubic boron nitride is a manmade abrasive that is nearly as hard as diamond. It is also a great abrasive for final polishing of razor edges.
 
Aust razors are great IM(H)O, but as @RayClem writes above the c135 steel that TI razors are made of is much harder than that of an Aust. Please don't give up just yet:em2400:. If it is that the hardness of the TI that's the trouble you would be throwing away a first class razor, that is extremely hard to hone.
 
Bought one just this year. I ended up going from bevel set up to finisher. It wasn't the easiest razor I've honed and found a narrow hone worked best. Besides that a sweeping x stroke with moderate pressure worked best with the wider hones.

Mine was finished on an unknown slate hone I have. She shaves like a champ now.
 
Bought one just this year. I ended up going from bevel set up to finisher. It wasn't the easiest razor I've honed and found a narrow hone worked best. Besides that a sweeping x stroke with moderate pressure worked best with the wider hones.

Mine was finished on an unknown slate hone I have. She shaves like a champ now.
Oh dear… I thought I was free of this thing but now you’ve all got me second guessing. Perhaps…. I could try again???
Has anyone had a blade they just can’t hone , even when you’re much more experienced than I am? Are all blades, even wonky TI’s , honable??
 
The C135 Carbonsong steel used in Thiers Issard razors is harder than most. That makes it take more effort to hone. However, I also find that the edge lasts longer than other razors. Thus, for me, I find it is a reasonable tradeoff. I can either spend more time and effort honing the razor or I can hone the razor more often.

Also, the type of hones you use makes a difference. The abrasives used in hones vary in hardness. Many hones are based on chert which contains microcrystaline quartz. This mineral is only slightly harder than steel. It works better on softer steels.

Slate hones comes from clay. Clay contains aluminum philosylicates that are minerals harder than silica.

Aluminum oxide (corrundum) is even harder. It is the mineral from which rubies and sapphires are made.

At the very hardest end of the hardness scale is diamond. Because of their hardness, hones with diamond abrasives will make quick work of even the hardest steel. Diamond abrasives are also available in extremely fine particle sizes such as 0.1 micron. That makes diamond pastes and sprays ideal of the final finishing of razors.

Cubic boron nitride is a manmade abrasive that is nearly as hard as diamond. It is also a great abrasive for final polishing of razor edges.
Thanks Rayclem. So if I’m trying to get a burr or do rolling x’s on a Shapton 1000 glass to set the bevel on the rock hard TI am I wasting my time? Should I be using something coarser or harder?
 
I have a TI that won't shave. Problem is the grind. The face side of the blade is perfect and hones to a perfectly even bevel. The backside of the blade is poorly ground. When honing, the heel and toe hone well but the sharpie marks never disappear from the center of the blade - only the backside. I am thinking of sending it out to be reground - or just tossing it, maybe save it for the scales. This razor was a terrible waste.
 
I have a TI that won't shave. Problem is the grind. The face side of the blade is perfect and hones to a perfectly even bevel. The backside of the blade is poorly ground. When honing, the heel and toe hone well but the sharpie marks never disappear from the center of the blade - only the backside. I am thinking of sending it out to be reground - or just tossing it, maybe save it for the scales. This razor was a terrible waste.

I wouldn't toss it, put it up for sale letting the people know of it's troubles. Someone will buy it if for no other reason it would be a challenge
 
So as per one of my previous entries, are all blades honable? And is the Shapton 1000 capable of setting a bevel on a wonky TI (or is it just me )?
1000 is fine, although I sometimes start on 600 or even lower lapping film. The bigger issue may be where you're making contact or not. A narrow hone can help depending on where the issues are and save you from having to hone away a lot of extra steel.
 
Thanks Rayclem. So if I’m trying to get a burr or do rolling x’s on a Shapton 1000 glass to set the bevel on the rock hard TI am I wasting my time? Should I be using something coarser or harder?

Shapton glass hones are made of ceramic so they are plenty hard to hone any steel. A 1000 grit hone is the typical level used to set a bevel unless you are trying to restore a badly corroded vintage razor.
 
So as per one of my previous entries, are all blades honable? And is the Shapton 1000 capable of setting a bevel on a wonky TI (or is it just me )?


I do have a couple of razors that I have never been able to hone to a suitable edge for my face. One is a Hart Steel razor that I do not believe was properly heat treated. Every time I get close to being sharp enough for my beard, the edge develops microchips that make it very harsh on the face. Bummer.

The other blades were vintage blades with corrosion too close to the edge. I could produce a sharp enough edge, but my skin is so sensitive, it could not tolerate any pitting near the edge.

Thiers Issard razors have good steel, but sometimes the workmanship leaves something to be desired. If not ground evenly on both sides, the blade can appear to be warped. A warped blade can be corrected, but it will take some work.

Here is a video that shows Dr. Matt doing a tap and wobble test to look for warped blades.


He also has some videos that show how he make corrections to warped blades. However, there are other techniques as well.
 
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