What Straight Razor Have You Honed Lately????

I honed up this little Russian Razor, "EKSTRA".ZTV 1953. It acquired a little rust in the years of storage, so some sanding and polishing took care of a lot. I didnt take all the etching off, because I didnt want to compromise the blades integrity. It came with no previous edge. So, I had to start from scratch. 1k, 3k/8k, 8k 12k 15k Welsh Slate stones. Then Chromium Oxide Strop, then 100 strokes on a leather strop. Very sharp, and deceptive. Not a lot of feedback, but some. The heel of the blade was a little wonky, so I had to put it to the stones twice, until I figured out it just needed to be pushed around by a little American muscle, to whip it into shape.



Oops, this is the photo of the before honing and touching up.

 

Good job!

 

I started out with the 1, 3/8 Naniwa stones and had very good results. I decided to add a 12k stone and it made a world of difference. A nice addition to the honing kit.

 

I honed up this French Beauty, twice. Now I know why there was little to no wear on the blade, for a 130-150 year old razor. The first honing job revealed a slight warp in the blade and spine, right in the middle. Also, since the blade had never been properly honed, there wasn't a usable bevel, 1/4 inch from the heel. I tossed my hands up last night, over this, and decided to tackle it again today, with a little more patience, and sleep.
A little blade rocking, a little pressure here and there, and the problem was licked. It all came together smoothly and quickly. the usual progression, 1k, 3k/8k, 8k 12k 15k Welsh Slates. Then some Chromium Oxide on linen, then the leather strop. Hair popping all the way down the edge. I will give it a shave later.

LEON PELLERAY A PARIS 17 Bis
Before


After

 

One more honed. This was definitely easier to hone than others. My usual progression was used, and finished with the Welsh Slate Stones. Only minor attention was needed at the toe end. Other than that, It turned into a nice tree topping razor. I will give it a shave, later, to see it it all came together.

PN 1000 6/8 東京

 

Second hone of the day. It took a little polishing to get it prettified, but it was worth it. It was a little bit of a bugger to get the toe end set. I don't know why, possibly the wear on the blade. I usually tape the spines if there is noticeable wear, I didn't this time. Lesson learned. The usual progression with my setup and Welsh Slate stones. This blade felt of Swedish Steel, but wasn't marked so. I bought it mainly because of the marking on the tang. Even if I dont know what they mean.

寒月 KANGETSU 東京

 

When honing, after setting the bevel as you work through the progression do you use circular strokes or just X strokes?

 

Both. I start with circular, and end with X strokes.

 

AJ Jordan "The Celebrated Hollow Ground Razor"

Before


After


This is the last of the beater razors that I received in a trade with @RyX. This blade was in the worst shape. It had a bent edge and several chips. I decided to try and massage the bent edge, hoping not to break it. I used my ball end of my ball peen hammer and support the bottom of a piece of O-1 that I hardened. Going very slowly i started massaging the bent section. Flipping over and keeping it as true as I could.

Once I was satisfied, I sanded the blade with 150 and 320. I did not want to remove the etching. Just remove the rust.

Off to the stones I went. It took 2 hours to remove the chips. To my surprise the bent section was not an issue. This blade has a slight smile on it. I tried to follow the smile the best I could. Being this was my first attempt at this. I took my time. So after. Leisurely 3-1/2 hours it is done. I will give it a go tonight after dinner.

Tom


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I honed this pretty AJ Jordan 4/8ths for my good friend above @twhite (Tom)

Its currently visiting its homeland in the UK being examined by one of my honing mentors @alpla444

 

Thanks for that Steve, I am far from a Honing mentor, just a guy with too many stones that occasionally has enough time to sharpen a razor or two, but as I said to you, nice job on that razor, it shaved well.

 

That is good to know as i will be shaving with it.


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I honed this Little Frenchy up this morning. It was like the previous person who had it was the "Hunchback of Notre Dame" , honing on a "See Saw", on top of a Humpback Whale. Get the picture, a big Hump in the middle of the spine. So, I improvised, and came away with a very sharp blade. It took an edge rather quickly, much softer metal than I am use to working with. I stropped it up, after the hones, and tested it on my arm hair. It tree topped everything it touched. Nice and sharp. I will give it a shave tonight, unless something else catches my eye. Hopefully it holds the edge.

Soucille American Express, Montpellier 20

 

Alright, This was just Honed this other Frenchy Frameback up, and it took less than 30 minutes. I had to double tape the spine, due to spine wear.It ended up with a very sharp edge, down the entire blade, with miniscule spine issues.
Now, decisions decisions decisions, on which to shave with tonight.

Veritable Broussard Cuillere Qualite Extra

 

I refreshed this one last night. The tip wasn't popping hairs, and the center wasn't even cutting at skin level. I used hevy slurries, worked through to clear water on the two finer Welsh slates. Popping arm hair all the way down the blade. Will shave with it tonight. Geo. W Korn, The Real fixed blade straight, with safety attachment.

 

Very interesting looking. What does it look like under the guard??

 

An American Kamisori, kind of. Then handle is very comfortable to use. I haven't shaved with it with the guard yet, but its a fun razor to use. I have two of them. I couldn't find my pictures of it, but here is one Jim took when I loaned it to him. http://theshaveden.com/forums/threa...did-you-use-today.35281/page-345#post-1086369

 

Since I'm still at home from work, with a sick 10 yr old, I'm on my 3rd hone of the day.

"Highly Popular Kohinoor 5/8th Wedge" AKA "PITA Razor"

Background: I bought this razor 2 1/2 months ago, from a seller in the UK, who sells massive amounts of razors. I knew little of razors at that time. It was advertised as having little wear, and minor pitting. The photos looked great, and it cost around $21 shipped. When it arrived, it was obvious that the razor had been sanded and polished to a mirror shine, and to the point of being almost unusable. The spine was even ground away. I tried to hone it, but it was useless. I was not a happy camper. So, I contacted the seller for a refund, and to send it back, he refused, and only offered partial. I didn't want it, and felt duped. I stood my ground and said I was wanting a full refund and no less, or something to that effect. He immediately gave a full refund and didn't want the razor back.
I tried like heck, at least 5 times to hone this thing. and I couldn't even get through a single pass. Today was a breakthrough.
I examined it at all angles, and see that it was probably a "Near Wedge" razor, but now its a "Wedge Razor". I've never honed a wedge before.
I put a couple of strips of tape where the spine was supposed to be, and decided to give it a 6th try. If I couldn't get it this time, I was going to toss it in the trash. It ticked me off that much.
After playing with a lot of pressure, Torquing, and blade twisting, I felt it might have an edge. After some work on the strop, "Viola" it was mowing hair down. Now, I've never honed a wedge before, nor watched a video on it, and cannot remember anyone telling me how to do it, but I must have done something right, I hope. My only fear is that it might not give a decent shave, for all the time put into this PITA Razor.

Unknown How old this thing is. Any info is always welcome. Unknown Scale material.
Kohinoor (No 4)

 

Hone 4 for the day, and the last.
This is a pretty Japanese razor, with nice crackled scales. The photo doesn't do it justice.
This razor came completely dull. It took over 1 1/2 hours on this one. It was called "Extra Steel" code word for Swedish Steel(felt like it too). Hard as a rock.
It took forever to set the bevel, and it almost reminded me of a Russian steel razor. In the end, it came out super sharp, so I will see how it shaves, in the near future.

KYOEI 55 Extra Steel

 

looking nicewell done