Youtube video on honing

[KaiserKrebs]

I just watched a video on Youtube, by Murray Carter...the guy who shaved with a pocket knife.

Anyway, he talks about honing briefly for straight razors, and doing a

" two stone set" using a 6000 grit, and a 1000 grit and not stropping the razor on a leather strop but using newspaper backed by the honing stone.

Is this sacrilege? The technique seems very minimalist, and a lot simpler than some of what I'd read here and other places. I may be putting the cart before the horse here, as I haven't taken the plunge into straight shaving, but plan to, as well as taking a shot at honing.

Has anyone else done this? how are the results?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WXgiltbKY0&NR=1

 

[Walker]

I'm new to honing but i still wouldn't recommend that. Usually you set the bevel with a low grit hone like 1000 ( sometimes lower depending on what shape the razor is in) then move to a 4000 then 8000 then most move to another finisher above that. The amount of honing combos are mind boggling. That is just one progression you can do. You can also hone a razor using just a Belgian Coticule but it is a method using slurry, water, and a combination of strokes and circles. I'm sure other members will come on and tell you a gazillion combinations and progressions but i'm thinking none will recommend shaving off of a 6000 grit stone without stropping or anything. Hope this helps

 

[honed]

You certainly can shave with a razor honed like that.
And if the skin on your face is similar to a Rhino, it might just be comfortable too

8000 grits on a quality stone is probably the lowest one can go & still shave with soem comfort.

Personally I'd like to go to atleast 10000 & then som paste.
Or even better, finish on naturals, like coti.

But, as always, YMMV.

 

[Luc]

It wouldn't make sense to go from 6k to 1k... 1k will destroy all the work from from the 6k in 10 seconds.

You could probably shave off a 6k stone(considering the bevel was set properly) but I think it would be pretty rough. I wouldn't do it.

Last note, I'm no honemeister!

 

[wdwrx]

That guy gives me a headache.
First he tells us "There's no need for an 8k, 10K or higher grit stone", and then he mentions that it's not as comfortable a shave as he gets from a kitchen knife.
Anyone else see a contradiction here?

 

[KaiserKrebs]

It wouldn't make sense to go from 6k to 1k... 1k will destroy all the work from from the 6k in 10 seconds.

You could probably shave off a 6k stone(considering the bevel was set properly) but I think it would be pretty rough. I wouldn't do it.

Last note, I'm no honemeister!

oops, I listed the order of the stones backwards...he went from 1000 grit to 6000 grit, then finished on the newspaper.

 

[danjared]

Don't get too hung up on the grit rating. Note that the numbers that Norton uses don't precisely match up with JIS ratings (which I imagine King uses). Also, the stropping on hones that Murray Carter does makes a bit of a difference, as does stropping on newspaper. And for what it's worth, I have a couple of Murray Carter knives. I can assure you that he puts wicked edges on his blades. Sure, they didn't have the finest of polish, but I've had success with the HHT (alas, didn't do a shave test). He may be a bit nuts, but he knows what he's doing.

 

[mainaman]

It wouldn't make sense to go from 6k to 1k... 1k will destroy all the work from from the 6k in 10 seconds.

You could probably shave off a 6k stone(considering the bevel was set properly) but I think it would be pretty rough. I wouldn't do it.

Last note, I'm no honemeister!

Carter is a big fan of King stones, I happen to have the 6k king and the shave off of it is actually pretty good.
Now we do not know how he hones exactly, but he is renowned for putting wicked edges on his knives, we have all seen his knife shaving vids.
One thing we also do not know is how much of a threshold for smoothness the guy has, we are all spoiled by those Eschers, J-nats, Coticule edges..

 

[CraigJ]

Stropping on newspaper is a way that some folks put the final touch on a blade after a stone that is 10,000+ grit. His stropping technique with pressure does not follow the conventional wisdom of using a light touch while stropping and honing. What he shows does have merit but I would not personaly use his razor honing techniques nor recommend others to either.

If you watch the shaving portion of the video, the blade is really pushing into his cheek and he gets quite a few weepers. These are both signs of a blade that is not sharp enough. Also, his blade angles are inconsistent. I would guess that he uses a straight now and then but not on a daily basis.

I feel the guy is pretty knowledgable about knives and extrapolates his knife knowledge to a straight razor fairly well. Unfortunately, straight shaving is a completely different skillset than wielding a knife. The video shows he can use the razor but he has not mastered it yet.

 

[ouch]

You wouldn't ask a cardiologist for advice best given by a neurosurgeon. Sharpening a knife and honing a razor are such different disciplines that success or fame in one is no indication of competency in the other.

He is quite famous in knife circles.

 

[danjared]

You wouldn't ask a cardiologist for advice best given by a neurosurgeon. Sharpening a knife and honing a razor are such different disciplines that success or fame in one is no indication of competency in the other.

He is quite famous in knife circles.

The kicker is that he's now making non-folding Japanese-style razors.

 

[JPDyson]

Well this dude is used to shaving with knives; they're a good bit stiffer, and that straight looks at least somewhat hollow. In my humble newb opinion, you can get away with a duller razor and less-developed technique when you have a stiffer blade. Shoot, I think it's why I favor 1/2 hollow or stiffer.

 

[Sticky]

I've shaved right after stropping on newspaper several times. Worked well for me.