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@#$%^&@#! Whacked my razor on the sink!

Well DRAT! This morning I whacked the EDGE of my razor on the sink! I don't know WHAT I was doing, but I remember my hand whipped down -- perhaps trying to sling excess water off the razor -- and I both felt and heard it hit. I was able to finish my shave with it, but using my magnifier, I am able to see a narrow area, perhaps 1/8" long, where the edge is turned over. Could also feel it dragging on the strop at first, but I guess I've "stropped it smooth". Must have hit it pretty hard.

I guess this is why we start with the "Sight Unseen" deal, and not a $150US+++ razor.
 
Sinks are murders... No doubt about it. public enemy #1..... followed very closely by that $&*! faucet...

I have been lucky. I have never whacked a razor

I use a wet sponge and drag the blade across it to wipe the later off
 
Bummer, sorry to hear that If you wipe the lather off by squeegeeing with thumb and forefinger from the spine side you won't get the razor anywhere near the sink or tap nor will you get water on the blade, scales or pivot. It is a very controlled, deliberate action with little opportunity to go amiss.
 
Still learning -- perhaps 7 or 8 straight shaves in now. I'm still a bit afraid of the edge, I don't want to get my fingers close to it, so I've been using running water to get the lather off. I guess that's how I ended up where I did this morning.
 
Don't worry, you'll do it again. I continue to use a short blast of water to rinse the razor despite having dinged the faucet a few times.
 
Still learning -- perhaps 7 or 8 straight shaves in now. I'm still a bit afraid of the edge, I don't want to get my fingers close to it, so I've been using running water to get the lather off. I guess that's how I ended up where I did this morning.

I think many of us just wipe the lather off. The sink is a heaving pit of death to razors.

I am one who cleans blades with the fingers. Approach from the spine side and start at the heel. Grip the heel very lightly with two fingers you don't need - thumb on top, index on bottom is my choice. Wipe lengthwise across the blade while moving slightly forward/away from the edge. Good enough. Even if you screw up it is unlikely you will draw blood. Wipe it down with a damp cloth afterwards or squirt it once under the faucet (I seldom do unless I got grumpf in the pivot pin), clean off and strop dry.

I still managed to drop an 8/8 beauty into the sink a few weeks back. It was completely unharmed but it sure did rattle a lot when it hit.
 
The good news is now you have to go out and buy stones. :lol:

<snicker, snicker>

Seriously, I don't think I will. I think I'm going to leave it for now, the area is pretty small and doesn't seem to drag. Soon enough I should have a spare razor to send out for honing, and when it gets back, I'll get this one straightened out.
 
Perfect opportunity to learn to hone. Get a batch of lapping film and a flat piece of glass and go to town; you can probably get set up with that for ~$20.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
A quick fix for a ding is to STROP on a polished marble edge tile. No, that particular tile is no good for lapping film after that. Anyway, do that and then give it 50 to 100 laps on your maintenance hone or finishing hone. 1u lapping film on a polished marble tile works great. Can't be beat. Then remove the film, apply a piece of damp paper to your tile, and re-apply the film over the damp paper and hone for another 30 laps or so, VERY light pressure. Ta-dah! Sharp razor.

Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. The part with the ding will not shave, but at least it shouldn't cut you.

If it does, then yeah, you got to go all the way back to your bevel setter before you shave with that razor again. And the same tile will work as a lapping plate for coarser grades of film. Start with 12u or coarser. The coarsest film in your progression must do all the work. Don't go to the next one until the ding is completely gone and you have a perfect bevel. The coarse stuff will leave scratches that can be seen under a microscope or a very powerful magnifying glass or loupe. The next finer grade must remove ALL of those scratches, replacing them entirely with its own finer scratches. The next grade must remove all of THOSE scratches... yadda yadda. Never move up to a finer grade until you are absolutely sure that the current one has done its work. Probably in the neighborhood of 40 to 100 laps, depending on the steel and the blade geometry and your pressure, which must be light... only a little more than the weight of the razor alone.

A good progression would be 12u, 5u, 3u, 1u, then 1u over damp paper. Then a pasted balsa strop with .25u diamond, then your regular unpasted hanging strop.

You can try all this if you got another razor. I suggest another whipped dog to shave with while you try honing this one. If you read the relevant threads you will be armed with enough knowledge to give it a shot and have a very good chance of getting a great edge your first attempt.
 
<snip>
You can try all this if you got another razor. I suggest another whipped dog to shave with while you try honing this one. If you read the relevant threads you will be armed with enough knowledge to give it a shot and have a very good chance of getting a great edge your first attempt.

I bought a Red Imp from another member here the other day, just waiting for it to show up. Perhaps I'll look into fixing this one when the Case arrives.

Hmm...What about my balsa strop and paste? Not abrasive enough???
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
I bought a Red Imp from another member here the other day, just waiting for it to show up. Perhaps I'll look into fixing this one when the Case arrives.

Hmm...What about my balsa strop and paste? Not abrasive enough???

Look at it this way. 1u diamond is roughly equivelant to a 12k Naniwa SuperStone. That's about 14k ANSI grit. The most common grade of stone to use for a bevel setter is 1k. That's somewhere between 12u and 15u film or diamond paste. If your balsa is pasted with .5u diamond, that's I guess 28k, finer than any commonly used finishing stone. If it is pasted with .5u CrOx, it cuts even less aggressively.

Also, stropping on the soft balsa yields a different edge than a honed edge. The balsa is ideal for finishing, because it can mellow out the sometimes harsh edge from fine finishers. But even pasted with 15u diamond, it would not be very effective to strop out your ding. You need to hone it to make it go away. Stropping on the marble tile doesn't make it go away. It just ensures than no burr protrudes beyond the bevel plane where it will be likely to cut or irritate. Will your balsa do that? Maybe, with enough laps. But mostly it will just dig up your balsa.

It is possible that your hanging strop has straightened it out enough to not be a major issue. Does it pull? Dings will do that, sometimes. They will grab a hair but of course not cut it.

Is your Red Imp shave-ready? If so, you are good to go. I would look at getting set up with a progression of lapping film and a 12" x 4" marble edge tile from Home Depot, and figure on a complete honing once you have your new razor for shaving with.

Of course you could send it out for honing and save learning to hone for later, but what's the fun in that?
 
<snip>
It is possible that your hanging strop has straightened it out enough to not be a major issue. Does it pull? Dings will do that, sometimes. They will grab a hair but of course not cut it.

Is your Red Imp shave-ready? If so, you are good to go. I would look at getting set up with a progression of lapping film and a 12" x 4" marble edge tile from Home Depot, and figure on a complete honing once you have your new razor for shaving with.

Doesn't pull, in fact, I'm not sure I've noticed an effect other than I can find the spot with my magnifier. (Looks like this, BTW.)

As for the Red Imp -- it isn't shave-ready, but I plan to contact Larry to see if he might hone it for me. It's NOS.

Buy more razors.

It is now fully justifiable.

I like the way you think!
 
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