Learning to Hone and Strop

Discussion in 'Straight Razors' started by ewk, Feb 14, 2022.

  1. ewk

    ewk Well-Known Member

    Sure. It is "Knife Planet."

    IMG_20220306_130206340.jpg
     
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  2. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    In theory, your stones could work, but they are fairly low grit, and unknown if they are true to their grit rating.
    Practice with an inexpensive razor.
     
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  3. ewk

    ewk Well-Known Member

    In my inexperienced opinion, there is very little difference between the grits on these particular stones. The stones required a fair amount of pressure on the razor before any swarf developed. I did not spend much time developing swarf on the razors; I was mainly practicing a light touch to develop muscle memory for when I have something proper to hone on. The stones work well enough for my kitchen knives, and lessons were learned regarding straight razors. Just a weekend curiosity project, so no biggie. I do not think I have developed any lasting bad habits regarding SRs after two sessions. I will continue my experiment on the inexpensive razors with lapping film in weeks to come. Honestly, I just want to report to my thoughtful gift-giver that I was able to achieve a shaveable edge on the GBS razor.
     
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  4. jaro

    jaro the dread and the fear

    Had to post to agree 100% with you.
     
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  5. jaro

    jaro the dread and the fear

    Also remember that although a stone may work Great on kitchen knives doesn't mean it won't absolutely destroy a Straight Razor edge...
    Although I'm still learning myself , I know that I won't get the edge I truly want until I get a higher grit stone for finishing. I can get a decent edge but not fantastic until I get a 12k or above..
     
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  6. b1hart

    b1hart Speed Racer

    A little late to this party....

    After reading through, you're on the right path. Lots of extremely knowledgeable replies, from successful hobbyists to professionals, and all using various tools.

    My current setup is very similar. I went into this journey right at 3 years ago now, using double sided low to medium grits from Norton. Finisher then was a Shapton 12k ceramic. Now the finishers to continue past 12k are lapping films and pasted mounted strops. The films and mounted strops kept me out of the last 1% of finishing 'rabbit hole' of the costly glass or stone wars.

    FWIW, I used YT videos from @gssixgun & Lynn Abrams across two 'starter' (at least in my mind) razors. One I was able to get shaving, was ecstatic. The other, I ended up sending to Glen to have rescaled and honed to give me a reference. It was very enlightening. Shaves like buttah (and gorgeous to boot). I've still only needed to maintenance strop that razor, never had to go back to bevel set. This only doubled my incentive to work on honing technique. I came from a background of knife honing....the biggest help to successfully hone straight razors for me was relearning pressure and using the rewind feature 'almost endlessly' while watching their videos to mimic everything. One of the greatest benefits of straight razor honing versus knife honing, is that the angle (if not maligned) is built in. This was another small revelation along the way.

    Let us know how it's going, ask more questions!
     
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  7. ewk

    ewk Well-Known Member

    My Progress

    The GSB will only ever be a letter opener.

    During the last month I acquired lapping film and a piece of polished granite. This morning I began running the GSB and the Gold Dollar through 12, 5, 3, 1, and .3 micron grits. The GSB showed no signs of developing a proper edge after 5 micron lapping, while the Gold Dollar took hair off my arm after 60 laps on the 5 micron film. I gave up on the GSB, but continued on with the Gold Dollar. I ended up with an edge that feels less sharp than the professionally honed Dovo. I will call that progress.
     
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  8. Trigger

    Trigger Double Jedi Knight

    Hi Eric. I wouldn't give up on the GSB just yet. I think that it will take time on developing your honing skills with the abrasive films. I start out on the 12 micron film with 80 strokes and then 1/2 that amount (40) and again 1/2 (20), and again (10), again (5), again (2) and finally 1 stroke. Do this for the entire micron progression and you will find that you will have a nice edge.
     
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  9. ewk

    ewk Well-Known Member

    Thanks for that Joe. You never know. I will return to it just out of stubbornness someday :) I think I am set to actually start shaving with these straights one of these days.
     
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  10. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    If the GBS razor is a rebranded Gold Dollar Razor(China) there is a good chance(50/50) that it just needs more time on the stones. Go with a 1k with a light touch, until you start to feel it take one a very sharp edge. Then, and only then, do you move on, to the next stone. There are many ways to check for a proper bevel, that I won't get into here.
    I have had a couple of newly made GD razors, that wasn't properly tempered, and the edge would fold. It's a crapshoot, with Chinese blades now.
     
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  11. Trigger

    Trigger Double Jedi Knight

    Looking for to hearing about your straight razor journey, Eric.
     
  12. Steve56

    Steve56 Hone Hoarder

    The GBS looks like a pretty nice razor for a Chinese razor. I can hone it.
     
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  13. ewk

    ewk Well-Known Member

    This is of course a low priority project. But I would love to see what this razor is capable of. It was a thoughtful gift from my brother, and if it is able to shave, I would be grateful. I will send you a PM. Much thanks!
     
    Trigger likes this.
  14. Steve56

    Steve56 Hone Hoarder

    I’m 90+% certain that it will shave well.
     
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