Where to begin with regards to eBay specials?

[wta123]

Hello everyone,

I have been using Badger and Blade for quite some time now as a reference, and finally decided to register to ask some questions, especially with regards to honing. The forum has been a great resource so far for mass amounts of information about all things razor and then some. Currently, I have been intrigued by the restoration process of straights and safety razors (not that they apply here), and honing seems to be the topic that stays somewhat mysterious to me. I have searched and read many posts throughout the forum, but would still like some help with getting me off on the right foot. From my research, when one is honing a razor that still has somewhat of an edge, it is only necessary to use hones such as the 4k/8k grit norton or maybe one of the 12k's I have read about. What about razors that need some more work, like the ones that pop up on eBay that are somewhat less than "perfect"? What hones should I be looking at that would carry me through the process to get a razor that is at least shave-able? I look forward to any help and my future time spent on Badger and Blade. (PS: the japanese natural stones look seriously addicting)

Thanks Again!

 

[Wid]

I can tell you only what I use. I have a Norton 220/1000, 4000/8000 grit and a Naniwa 12K. I can get an eBay razor into shave ready condition with these stones. Don't forget you will also need a strop for the final step.

 

[Troggie]

I use a King 1K/6K and a Chinese natural finisher. For ebay specials I like to clean them up first. So my order of operations is as follows.

1. Take a water glass and run the blade over it to make sure it is dull
2. Hand sand the blade with 220 grit sand paper

You should be able to get a decent shine to it and this will tell you if you have any major pitting or if the rust you have is just surface rust.

3. Set the bevel on the 1k side of my hone

I find that if a blade is suspect ( pitting near the edge ) this is the key to see if I can make it work or if there is too much material to go through and may either be a long term project ( grinding or if your really wanting to waste time honing it to a point with no more pitting ) or I can continue on.

If it is deemed worthy I will normally do step 1 again and then continue on with a progress of 500, 1000, 1200, 2000 grit wet dry sandpaper until I get a nice polish I like on the blade or if there is a nice patina to the blade I may just hit the rust spots as I like the patina look.

Then back to the hones with the 1k again to get the edge back then the 6k then the Chinese natural.

I primarily hone for myself but have sold a few razors on ebay over the past year with no complaints yet.

 

[Joe Edson]

For some of my eBay specials I've found that the DMT coarse (325) is invaluable. I use it quite a bit to establish bevels/remove chips and then move onto my DMT fine (600).

I can usually jump to the coticule after the 600 and proceed with the dilucot method until finishing. Since I have a terrible case of HAD from there it just depends on what I want to use for my final finishing, though a coti finish is more than adequate for shaving.

 

[Legion]

We'll assume that the razor is not all rusty, just dull. If it is rusty there are good threads hereabouts on how to do a full restore.

If it is just dull you only need to sharpen it and perhaps set the bevel. In fact, If I got it off ebay I would probably set the bevel anyway, just in case. For this you use a stone that is around 1k. That should get it to the point where it can shave arm hairs, about the sharpness of a sharp pocket knife. Next I go a 4K, then 8k. At this point you should be face shaving sharp. Lots of people will be happy with this and stop there, but personally I like my edges a bit smoother and more polished than that so I go to a 12k and then CrO on a balsa bench strop. Providing you have done each step properly the razor will now be able to cut light rays and, if you wave it around too fast, it will leave little dark spots in your bathroom.

Welcome to B&B.

 

[weenerdog3443]

Thanks for the good info guys. I too myself am looking to find something just to get myself started on some ebay razors. mine arent int bad condition but need something to get started with. The ones I have can pop some hairs off but not with ease. Im looking for something fairly inexpensive and something where I would just need one stone or a 2 sided stone and then I can go to my coox balsa strop thing I got from larry. Any recommendations?

 

[Wid]

Thanks for the good info guys. I too myself am looking to find something just to get myself started on some ebay razors. mine arent int bad condition but need something to get started with. The ones I have can pop some hairs off but not with ease. Im looking for something fairly inexpensive and something where I would just need one stone or a 2 sided stone and then I can go to my coox balsa strop thing I got from larry. Any recommendations?

A barbers hone?

 

[weenerdog3443]

A barbers hone?

well 2 of the razors have almost no edge on them? can a barbers hone take care of that?

 

[Josh M.]

Providing you have done each step properly the razor will now be able to cut light rays and, if you wave it around too fast, it will leave little dark spots in your bathroom.

lol if only Einstein shaved with a straight razor. He probably would have been pretty excited about that.

 

[kg4ghn]

Thanks for the good info guys. I too myself am looking to find something just to get myself started on some ebay razors. mine arent int bad condition but need something to get started with. The ones I have can pop some hairs off but not with ease. Im looking for something fairly inexpensive and something where I would just need one stone or a 2 sided stone and then I can go to my coox balsa strop thing I got from larry. Any recommendations?

Sounds like you need a coticule