The 3/8k red and white stone is more around 3/6k maybe 7k. I had used one when I started learning to hone. It can work good, I had many good shaves going from it to the c-nat 12k and stropping. Glad to hear it’s progressing for you.

Keith,
Is there anywhere you have documented your most favored honing techniques?

Actually I am just an amateur at honing, we have several masters here at TSD.

My approach is simple and I use synthetic stones which I find quicker and easier than naturals. I use the following Naniwa Super Stones 1k, 5k, 8, 12k then either a Shapton Glass 16k or Gokuymo 20k. I prefer the Shapton as it gives a bit sharper edge. Then I strop with CrOx then FeO3 followed with a firehouse linen strop. For technique I follow Glen’s @gssixgun videos.

Rarely do I need to set a bevel, mostly I maintain my edges.

Thanks. Just a quick way for me to limit a learning curve.

One thing I did to help remember what I used on a razor was to keep a notebook on it and after a honing or touch up I would write a few notes on what progression of stones, layers of tape, shave quality, and when it was honed. When you have just a few razors it’s easy to remember what you did on what razor, as you acquire more it isn’t quite as easy.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that there are many “honemeisters” watching this thread. I will definitely not call myself one but I can say I get amazing edges! I wanted to ask your opinions on thiers issard. My very first razors are the Le Dandy and Evide Sonnat. When sharpening on my synthetics I get a decent shave. When sharpening on my JNAT I still get a decent edge but both of them ultimately shave like shit compared to my wade and butchers customs and even my gold dollar. I find this strange as if I can get a wicked shave out of my GD I shouldn’t be having this problem with my expensive razors made out of C135 steel. I wanted to know your opinions. Both razors needed geometry correction which has already been done and both pass the tap test. My Le Dandy has a very ugly bevel set that I don’t even get out of smiling razors. The evide has a perfect bevel set and definitely shaves better than the Le Dandy. I still am not happy with them and maybe there is another technique I can use... otherwise I’m selling them both as I may now just be spoiled!


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C135 Steel

It hones differently than most, it is allegedly hardened to 66RHC, I have my doubts they reached that high with it, and if they did they most likely backed it off some after the initial feedback

Your W&B's are on the lower side of the hardness curve which is about 58-62 RHC anyone that knows steel will tell you there is a geometric difference between 58RHC and 66RHC
Honing and the actual "Feel of the Steel" are going to be at opposite ends of the spectrum
Your GD's are also on the lower side of the scale but I hesitate to give a number because consistency is not in their DNA

Personally, I am not fond of the C135 series, on my face, but that is just one man's opinion, I hone a ton of them for AoS, and people rave about the edges, so it goes to show there is a personal side to this

For the C135 I use the Naniwa SS 1-3-5-8-10-12 with light slurry just like I did in the Video Series on youtube followed by ~.30 micron CrOx that is much softer than the norm and 99.99% pure right after the hones

Hope that helps

It does could you please post a link to your videos. I always enjoy extra knowledge.


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Here is part one there are three parts

SOTD July 10th


ZY Stainless
Arko
Surrey w/ TGN 3 band synthetic (24mm, Frigate Class)

Testing the edge I put on the ZY this morning. Very sharp and crisp, no hesitation with whisker removal and no tugging. I used this razor straight off the 1 micron film with nothing other then a good stropping. I did two passes today for a DFS and kept the blade under control enough to prevent any bloodshed.

Now that I am starting to actually put razors on stones, this thread makes a ton more sense to me Andrew. When I first read it, I had only used a pasted strop and a 12K Naniwa (very tenatively, I might add) on an edge that had been originally set my a honemaster (@gssixgun), I had several razors that needed to be sharpened that I had no way of knowing if the geometry was OK or the bevel was set correctly or whatever, but none of them were crown jewels worth paying for an expert hone on. This thread actually encouraged me to take the leap from gingerly attempting "touch ups" to actually taking the leap to go buy some stones and attempt to verify that the geometry and bevel set were done correctly on these razors. This morning I successfully took an old razor with good geometry through the whole progression and it shaves like a charm. I also got the idea here to go buy a cheap GD that is (likely) warped with bad geometry and try and fix it. Like you, I found the GD to be extremely challenging, as it was completely out of whack beyond what I could have expected. If I had re-read this thread ahead of time I could have avoided my first boneheaded move by realizing that the edge needed to be taped in order to correct the spine geometry. Regardless, this thread got me to take the leap and start learning by doing. Before that, much of what was being said here was going over my head. Re-reading it again after the two above experiences, made all the comments in this thread make a lot more sense.

Along those lines, I'm a very analytical thinker, and it seems to me that a lot of honing information is scattered all over the place, and hard to put together from A to Z in any way that made sense to me. Consequently, I've started a new thread similar to this one that is more general in nature and attempts to lay out the basic steps of the process one by one, as well as provide a forum for the entire TSD community to ask questions and those with experience in that area to answer it. It's designed to be a "one stop shop" for honing instructions and honing Q&A. Since you seem to be well on your way, feel free to drop in, check it out and contribute. I'll continue to follow your journey in this thread with great interest as well.

Cheers!

How does Swedish steel compare to C135 when you are honing? Do you approach this any differently?

I seem to have real problems with it when I shave. With C135 I get nice edges both off synthetic stones and from naturals.

I bought a Swedish steel razor off a very respected source. Harsh edge. Horrible shave.

When I have honed Swedish steel razors myself Swedish steel on synthetics always end badly. On naturals it's a delight (finished on a Charnley Forest or similar).

Okay @SevenEighth this is going to get deep into the steel

Many of the Vintage razor companies used Swedish Steel or Swedish Ore, So we have to differentiate between a Swedish made razor and Swedish Steel see it is a deep rabbit hole

It also gets tricky with the Swedish Framebacks vs Swedish Hollow grinds like the MK32 and 33's

So after all that BS

Swedish Framebacks are notoriously chippy and harsh so it indicates a higher temper. My goto hone for them is a well-chosen Chinese PHIG it imparts a smooth comfortable edge, I have a Black Thuringen that also works well ...

The Swedish Hollow grinds are more acceptable to different hones

Thanks. I tug at a thread... There's always more to it than I was expecting!!

I found a post of yours where you say that the PHIG you like reminds you of a Charnley Forest. The CF is the stone I had success with. I guess it isn't too much of a leap then to use Charnley Forests in place of a Chinese PHIG?

Yes, and more importantly this part of your post @SevenEighth : " The CF is the stone I had success with"

One thing that really matters with Natural stones vs Synthetic hones The stone you have in front of you could be rather different than the stone I have in front of me
Natural by definition means there are variables we can only talk about traits in each type, not absolutes.

What I have found with my CF is that it lives up to it being a Novaculite Stone and works VERY well as a Burnishing style finisher..

How true!! I have three Dalmore Blue stones. At least that's what they seem to be by appearance. One is the best bevel setter I own, one is a nice low to mid range - as you would expect, and the third is an amazing finisher. Go figure.

I stand corrected and apologise for my stupid question. What is much more helpful is when you say: this
stone is like this type of stone... Or this stone is like that... Helps to calibrate what you are describing.

I’m going to be in the market for a set of stones (re-reading this post a few hours later and that sentence made me LOL!!...) in the near future. My plan is to go ahead and not dither around with entry level stuff. “Buy quality and only cry once”, right??!? I’m down to the Shapton professionals or the glass set. Is there any advantage one over the other or is it personal preference? I’m leaning towards the glass set after watching @gssixgun video series. If I’m going in, I may as well go ALL in...

I’d recommend shapton 8k and 16k but for lower grit I would suggest Naniwa. There is just not enough stone there for beginners to learn on. Naniwa also faster cutters. Just my opinion.


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If you go for the glass be aware that there are two types.

Also be aware that Shapton grit ratings are not the same as Naniwa.

Just two mistakes I made early on...