What Straight Razor Have You Honed Lately????

1948 Russian 5/8. Has an uneven bevel, and I'm going to have to take some more steel off the heel and toe ends of the spine on both sides to get a decent bevel on it. The steel is extremely hard and tough to hone. Hope it ends up being worth the effort. Spent about an hour trying to get the bevel set last night, with sub-par results. That's not a defect on the heel, just bad lighting.

 

They are all western grinds.

 

Slurry, lots of it, and pressure.

 

Gentlemen,

Several months ago I spent a long time trying to hone a very cheap razor. I gave up. I had purchased it to practice honing before attempting a vintage. Today I sharpened my Gold Dollar. After about ten minutes or fifteen minutes I have a very sharp Gold Dollar. Giving the cheapy another go, the trouble became apparent, the cutting edge of the blade is so thick and poorly made it's only hope would be to regrind it. It isn't worth it. It was under $3.00. Tomorrow I will use my freshly sharpened Gold Dollar.

Method:
About 50 strokes back and forth on each side with 1000 stone
25 strokes each side in one direction with 1000 stone
15 stokes each side in one direction with 4000 stone
10 strokes each side in one direction with 8000
10 stokes each side in one direction with 13000.

I shaved a little off a cheek to test. Like a hot knife through butter.

Now I have to learn to strop.

 

This didn't come across quite right..

 

Well this was disappointing. I could not push the Gold Dollar through the chin or moustache hairs. Sawing action may have worked but that seemed rather stupid. My safety razor finished it off.

It seemed to shave well when I tested it after honing. Perhaps those with experience can shed some light. Is it more likely that I did a poor hone in the first place or could I have dulled it by poor stoping technique ( first time). Or could it be that it is too poor a strop. It is a very cheap one. I think it was $15 including shipping from china.

 

If this is your first honing attempt. I would guess it is a combination of both.

May I suggest watching a bunch of videos on how to hone. What stones do you have? The strop does not matter as much. As long as it is smooth and nick free.

Tom


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Thanks Tom. I will look at some videos.

I have honed many chisels before. This is the second Straight that I hone. the first one I gave up. It was very cheap and the cutting edge is still too thick to be worth continuing. It is wearing out my stones. I bought it to practice honing. LOL. The Gold Dollar seemed to hone up nicely.

Norton 250 grit
King 800, 1000, 4000, 8000
Sigma 13000

The strop had no cuts or scratches when I started. It now has no cuts but it does have a few scratches.

I will look at a few videos and then back to the stones.

 

Perfect. You have a great selection of stones. Something that took me several razors to really grasp is setting the bevel. That is the single most important aspect of honing. It cannot be overstated. You have to have a clean chip free and even bevel to start. Your 1k is perfect for that.

After your bevel is set the other stones are basic Ly polishing out and refining the initial bevel.

A few pointers that will keep you sane. Change tape often. That is if you are using it. I change several times when setting my bevel for the first time. After that, new tape for each grit.
Keep the blade flat on the stones and after your 1k stone do not use much pressure. I tend to try and let the weight of the razor do the work.

The edges of the razors flex with any pressure. When that happens you will notice that you will remove material from behind the edge. Never really getting the edge. So when no pressure is used you know that you will have a great edge when it cuts the water the entire length.

Use your fingers to feel and hear the blade.

Tom


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I certainly applied pressure. Flex isn't an issue with chisels. That may be a big part of it. Tomorrow I will try again. Thanks buddy.

 

Make sure you keep us posted. Others will have much better advice to add. I too am new to honing. Just passing on the biggest things I have learned so far.


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I would question your reduction of strokes as you progressed through you grits. Pickup a jewelers loupe and watch if your fully removing the scratch pattern from the previous stone. If it took you 50 to set then 50 per stone as you refine but verify it with a loop. Going 50 then 25, 15, 10, 10 will just refine the peaks not level them. If that makes sense to you, hope it helps.

 

Used Sharpton Glass 1K,4K ,8K .Then Finished on J-Nat and Dan's Surgical Black. Came out crazy sharp but with a smooth edge.
GRELOT FRITISSE 5/8ths

 

Urgh. Frustration has set in. I will try again another day.
I spent the last few hours honing my Gold Dollar 208. Getting nowhere, I tried my old Soviet razor.
Same result. The thumb test was poor at best. I tried shaving a few arm hairs. The Gold dollar did cut a few. The Soviet didn't cut anything. Just out of curiosity, I took a chisel that I honed yesterday and shaved several hairs off my arm. I will have to get in a better state of zen before I continue.

 

When you are honing and stropping, are you keeping the razor flat on the stones and leather? I know with chisels, I sometimes pull up a little bit to add a micro bevel. This doesn't work well with razors. Edge leading, flat on stones, edge trailing, flat on strop. If you pull up on the strop, you can roll the fine edge. Try putting your strop on a countertop, and using it that way, instead of as a hanging strop. When you get to the end of the stroke, roll the blade on the spine, not the edge, and come down the strop.

 

If it makes you feel better, I've been in a similar situation with SR's. I stopped trying for a while, because I have other things to do with my time. Maybe while my family is visiting relatives next months I'll try again. I need an intermediate grit stone from what I have - I have a high grit, and I have all the low grits, but not the medium.

 

I've been keeping the razor flat on the stones. Yesterday I didn't tape. Today I did. I have been rolling on the spine and being careful to not bump the cutting edge. I will try again, just not today. I will put the strop on the counter. There are too many skills to acquire all at once. I often put a micro bevel on my chisels too.

 

Is that so they don't hear the swearing?

 

Bottom Line..Around 95 % of the Work Happens on the Bevel Hone..In Other Words..Thats where ALL the MAGIC Happens..So..An SR Should be Capable of Shaving from the 1 K Stone..Yeah..Oh Yeah..So..95 % of Honing Errors Take Place on the 1 K Stone..

Its as Simple as That..Trust Me..

Billy..