Your favorite Bevel Setting Process

[xMackx]

I have asked this question before but always interestd in seeing different preferences. That is the question, what is your favorite bevel setting process? I myself like to start with lower grits like my DMT 325 to speed things up before moving on to a either my king 1k or chosera. Even though most concider anything lower than 1k not bevel setting I still like to use the 325 to speed things up.

So what is your favorite bevel setting process for everyday work?

You may include any grit below or above 1k.

Feel free to do a write up on each stone you mention.

 

[oakeshott]

I selected the Chosera as my favorite bevel setting "stone", but my "process" goes as follows:

1. Buy incredibly dull eBay or flea market razor.
2. If Scales are salvageable, then clean blade and scales of whatever rust, grime, grease etc may be there.
3. If chips, hit the DMT 325 till gone; no chips, then to the Chosera.
4. Use Chosera 1k till it's removing leg hair (wife forbids me from denuding any more of my arm hair). Overlook that the entire length of the blade isn't cutting.
5. Proceed through full jnat progression in a state of denial about the lack of bevel at either the heel or toe.
6. Get unsatisfactory shave and THEN use the loupe to see what's going on. Realize the bevel wasn't set right
7. Repeat entire process...sometimes twice.

I'm working on this revolutionary new process in which I don't get to the post bevel making portion of the program until I have a uniform, clearly defined bevel on the entire length of the blade. I think it will be really popular with the rest of the community once I get it down.

 

[buca3152]

I used dmts from 325 600 1200 4k 8k. The amount of work required to take out scratches and microchips is more than the time saved using waterstones.. I like my chosera 1k. It cuts fast and no chips or deep scratches. Even using the 325 briefly adds a little roughness to the shave that I cant take out without heavy time on the 1k. I just ordered a 600 chosera. Im very impressed with the 1k, cuts fast and doesn't dish out like the norton 1k. And its a thick stone so I dont think I will wear it out.

 

[Gamma]

The lowest grit stone I use is a 400x.
Stone choice is dictated by what needs to be done - for simple work, 1-5k can be fine.

I also set bevels using Nagura on a Jnat, or directly on a Mikawa Nagura Toishi.
Thats my fav path actually.

 

[Doc226]

I selected the Chosera as my favorite bevel setting "stone", but my "process" goes as follows
I'm working on this revolutionary new process in which I don't get to the post bevel making portion of the program until I have a uniform, clearly defined bevel on the entire length of the blade. I think it will be really popular with the rest of the community once I get it down.

That is funny. It took me a while to figure it out, now I don't move up unless the bevel is set. I sometimes set it and dull it on glass and reset.

 

[oakeshott]

My honing experience is like a paraphrase of that book "Everything I know I learned in kindergarten". It goes, "every honing mistake I made, I made while setting the bevel."

 

[the.village.idiot]

A question for a wanna-be 'honer'... what stones does one need to start this endeavour, and where's the best place to buy them?

 

[jpcwon]

I use a Chosera 1k, but recently bought a Chosera 600 for those "hard to reach" bevels....Haven't had to use it yet, thankfully...

I have never tried bevel setting using nagura on JNAT...I'll have to give it a go at some point...

 

[bhorsoft]

Picked the Naniwa but that is because it is the only bevel setting stone I own. Works fine for bevel setting.

 

[P Funk]

Picked the King b/c it's the only 1K stone I have and I have not set a bevel using a coticule or other natural (though I use them after bevel has been set).
All in all, I don't really like it and need to try out another.

 

[buca3152]

A question for a wanna-be 'honer'... what stones does one need to start this endeavour, and where's the best place to buy them?

Theres no answer to that one as the line goes out the door and around the block! YMMV to the 15th power. Nortons, naniwas, chosera, shaptons, jnats, cnats, film, dmts etc etc. . You try one and you think its the best until you hear how good something else is. And you try that and many times its worth it. I started out with nortons being a popular maker. And they arent priced through the roof, you can get 2 combo stones(220/1k, 4/8k) with a lapping stone for $135. Im not saying to buy them but thats a starting point for many people.

 

[Slash McCoy]

None of the above, sorta.

A tough customer gets tough treatment. I start out with the diamond hones from Harbor Freight. The set of four is like twelve bucks. Flat enough for rough work. If I have to, I start with the 150 grit. Big guns when needed. Otherwise the finest one is I think 600 grit and there is the 200 and 400 to play around with, too. I don't worry about getting a super clean bevel from these hones, but instead figure on doing a cleanup with the 1k king or film or sandpaper on tile. They are my shock troops when I have a razor that needs to be quickly pounded into submission.

With a fairly clean edge on a vintage blade or a nicer new blade, such roughhouse tactics are not needed, and I start out with (rarely) the 1k King, or film of whatever grit I think best for the blade, or increasingly, wet/dry sandpaper glued to tile. 600 grit sometimes, but for a reasonably decent pre-existing bevel, 1k.

When a lot of steel has to come off anyway, I raise a burr on one side the full length, then raise a burr on the other side, then hone the burr away. Fast and dirty, yeah. I don't dilly dally around all day with a frowny ebay rescue or a Dovo Best. Gitter done, I say. With a decent pre-existing bevel, I use a gentler approach sometimes, watching the water on the film or paper, etc etc but I really like to have an excuse to raise the burr. BANZAI!

If it is my own razor then I never revisit my bevel setter. Bevel set? Check. Bevel need resetting? Nah. Never. No need to go through that again unless I ding it up badly on the sink faucet or something like that. In fact, I really don't ever have to re-hone at all, since I use diamond pasted balsa after each shave. When a retouch is needed, I just hit a coarser balsa then my regular .1u one. And my own razors constitute like 90% of everything I hone. I have no particular interest in taking in honing work for others, and when I do it it is usually as a personal favor.

 

[jrp316]

Most of my razor collection has been ding or chip free to this point...I've only honed one that was chipped, and even that was a small flea bite that didn't require a lot of work. To that end, I use a combination of 15 and 12 micron films. I start out at 12 if the edge looks pretty close to a good bevel and is in good condition otherwise (no chips/pits/flea bites). If the edge isn't in very good condition or is being rather stubborn about taking a good bevel, I go to the 15 micron film.

My process starts off with 20 firm pressure circles on each side, followed by 10 firm laps. Nine times out of ten, this gets the bevel close to where it needs to be. I follow it up with 20 light pressure circles on each side and 10 light laps. From there, I run light laps until the bevel is set to satisfaction. I employ an arm/leg hair shave test as my primary guide, though I'll occasionally use the thumb pad/thumb nail test. Once I can easily pop some hair, I do 15 more laps and call it a day for the bevel.