What Straight Razor Have You Honed Lately????

Went kinda nuts today. I sort of got “in the zone” and just kept going and going. Good opportunity to test a few things I have been considering for some time.

I’m really happy with the results across the board. Looking forward to my next half dozen shaves for sure!

Here’s what we’re looking at (clockwise from top left):

Razors

1. Dovo BQ- this is a new piece and while it was passable for shaving OOTB, there weee some minor issues at the heel on both sides. I got things about 85% squared away. I figure I can chip away at it from here to avoid making a big project out of the piece and removing too much material no need for perfection; the need for performance has been sated.
2. Henkel Twin 91- Cheap eBay beater. All in I’ve got a couple hours of polishing and “heavy lifting” honing invested in this one. Tonight I finally brought it home and got the bevel dialed in well enough to function properly. Still has a few blemishes but it’s polished up enough to confirm integrity at the edge and passable aesthetics.
3. F. Herder 77- Picked this up recently and was excited to get it in the stones and see what it’s all about. Feels like a keeper! Bevel did not need much correction but some micro corrosion at the edge pushed me to remove a little extra material. Once I got into “good steel” it felt much better on the stones and the edge cane up beautifully. Of the three, this steel is by far my favorite.

Stones

1. Synthetics: Sigma Select ii 240, 400, 1k, 3k, 6k
2. JNATS: Narutaki (unknown), Ohira Asagi, Aiiwatani (red cashew), Ohira Suita, Mikawa Nagura, Unknown Toni Nagura

 

No expert at honing here, but the story is familiar.

Lighten up was difficult for me to get.
I felt like I was lacking control of the razor and becoming inconsistent with my strokes.
I see videos where the guy seems to be able to move the razor back and forth with such precision and control that you'd swear he could split a hair laying on his stone. Uh, not me though.

I adopted a 2 hand approach and find I get greater control and maintain just enough pressure to keep the edge and spine down.

 

Well it's always fun putting a nice edge on a GD. Honed on a very very hard Jnat to misty slurry. The stone is perfectly fitted in a wood stand - dai.

 

Two heading home today

Tuckmar in Macassar Ebony with Ivory G10 Wedge Nickel Silver pins
AJ Jordan in Cocobolo with Torquoise Wedge Brass Pins

Honing = Chosera / Pro 1-5-10 Blue / Green Escher Finsh

 

Razors
G. W. Korn “Comet”
Herder 77

Rocks
Glass 2k
Nano Hone 6k
Naniwa “Snow White” 8k
Ohira Suita “Tamago”
Narutaki (Unknown)
Botan, Tenjyou, Meijiro, Koma Nagura
(Lapping Plate) Nano Hone NL-8

The old Snow White finally made an appearance. This was my 1st outing with a razor on this hone. For me, on my bench: it’s a much better razor hone than knife stone. Likely I feel this way because I’m deeply accustomed to the Kitayama 8k for knives. Being a much harder stone, the SW just provides much better feedback for a razor. Seems to cut faster too but my experience is limited. They’re completely different stones. Maybe opposites.

98% of my time was dedicated to the Comet. New to me, I took it through a progression (pictured): SG2k-NH6k-SW8k-Suita-Narutaki. No strict progression here as I’m still learning. Checking my work often and experimenting a bit, trying to learn my slurries... which nagura do what on which stones, and to which razors, etc.

Herder was only out for a touch-up. It’s nicer on the stones but I’m reserving judgement as I’ve got more honing time and comfort dialed in on this one.

The Comet honed up a beauty in the end. Pre-strop for this session, I put it’s keenness just a nose ahead of the Herder. They’re two completely different animals on the stones anyway so comparison may be folly. The Comet is super light and transmits feedback crisply while the Herder is stiff, heavy, muted in comparison.

 

Honed up a new acquisition, a 7/8 Clauss Barbers Special. Bevel set on a Shapton Glass 2k followed by the 4k Glass and tested for bevel set. A single stone afterwards, jnat with tomo slurry, then rinse stine and razor and add 25 clear water strokes. Simple and perfect.

 

So, since you have simplified and perfected your honing process, does that mean you are going to start selling off your other stones??

..

 

Nah, I like different stones with different razors. I have one for hard steel, one for Sheffields, etc. You kind of learn what stones and razors like each other!

 

Just a koma/tomo touch-up on this beautiful karasu this morning; my Manaslu M-55 half-hollow test razor and the recently NOS Suzumasa “Best Swedish Steel” frameback. Both razors came off my wakasa previously but test shaves revealed edges that could be a little bit sharper. So I changed things up and went with this hone today instead.

I really enjoy the buttery feedback of the karasu and hope the shave winds up a nicely as my AHT seem to indicate. Don’t have adequate hair for HHT so the AHT fills in for me. Besides the fact when the shave testing fails to impress, that only means I get to spend yet more time solving the challenge that JNats present.

 

Pretty karasu there Mark.

 

I finally found a white suita, not completely white but pretty close. Also very hard.
Reset the bevel and went to Atoma1200 slurry. Fast and fine. The interesting thing, the black swarf turns brownish as it oxidizes. You can see it happening right in front of your eyes.

 

A tiny New Azuma kamisori off a rather monstrous Nakayama. Love the ability to flip these blades within the grip of my hand by simply rolling the handle. Periodically feels like I’m slightly improving on the hones.

Here’s hoping the upcoming shave test may confirm that thought. Bevel set on 1.5k Kuromaku, followed by 5k and then koma, tomo.

 

That kiita on the upper left ain’t too shabby either.

 

Playing with some Sheffield steel this evening. Both with the same series...

Suehiro 1k to help me work through some edge Swiss cheese on both razors. Wasn’t bad really- 3 rounds of killing the edge on the corner of the hone and resetting the bevel. Then on to the Coticule under the Bengal with slurry, followed by running & then standing water on the bout under the W&B.

T.R. Cadman & Sons Bengall:

And the Wade & Butcher:

Happy honing.
Tom

 

I (successfully) honed two razors today, a Friodur 472 1/2 and a Geneva Cutlery. Both went through a full progression of 1k, 3k, 5k, 8k, 10k, 12k Naniwa followed by 100 linen and 100 leather. Both are popping arm hair like crazy. (I may soon have to switch to leg hair... running out of hair on my forearms). I’ll shave test both in the morning, but I’m optimistic!



On a more frustrating note, I was thoroughly defeated (for now) by a CV Heljstrand MK7 with a wonky bevel. This was another of my eBay gambles ($40) with poor photos. It looks like someone may have used a power tool... the edge and spine on the heel are scraped up. That said, I spent about 30 minutes trying to reset the bevel on a Chosera 1k. About 90% of the edge went great, but a small section near the heel and a small section near the toe wouldn’t pass TNT. I decided to take a break, have dinner and then come back to it. Well, after dinner... went exactly like before dinner. I tried using a sharpie, I tried circles with my finger on the toe, I tried just about everything I could think of (even did a couple laps left handed ), but no luck. I’ll set it aside and try again in another week.

It was like night and day between the Friodur & Geneva and the Heljstrand... the first two almost seemed to hone themselves. It was quick and easy and everything felt like it should. The Swedish razor was the opposite. It gives me new appreciation for those of you who rescue some really beat up razors... there’s far more to it than just patience. There must be some honing gymnastics that I still need to learn.

But, learning is half the fun. And, when I compare where I was 3 weeks ago to where I am now, I’m pretty happy with the progress. I’ll keep working on other razors and eventually come back to this one.


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Dear Dovo,

Enough already with your "cute" honing routine, just stop already
Not only you can't hit "shave ready" with most all of them you are putting frowns in them too

This is simply wrong, and it is almost every factory Dovo edge

Always hone toward a smile, and never get a frown,

Factory Dovo Black Star edge






ps: How to 100% test for a frown, Flat surface and a light behind the razor

 

Thanks, Steve @Steve56, and sorry for my delayed response. Both of those hones are as pleasurable to use as they are to gaze upon. I’m definitely in love with the JNats.

And, wow, the new Azuma I test shaved off the big Nakayama really turned out better than I could have hoped for given my relative lack of experience honing up kamisori razors. BDBS, irritation free shave.

 

Amen brother!

 

I can’t get enough JNat honing time in, so yesterday I thought to give a light refresh to my MaxFli Gold using this pretty little koppa. Performing the necessary rolling x-strokes proved to be a real PITA since I’m more accustomed to full size bench hones which give me the ability to use both hands. Shave test coming up...

 

I took this Antelope 16 through a Naniwa progression 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12k. I spent a long time getting the bevel properly set. I’m talking sharpie, loupe, TPT, rolling x strokes, the whole bit. Took forever. But, once done correctly, the rest went very easily.

I shave tested it yesterday and wasn’t quite thrilled with the result. It was plenty sharp, but it was very harsh. I was talking to @speedster and recommended trying a Jnat. I’d told myself I wasn’t moving into Jnats until I mastered the Naniwa, but I have an incredibly ability to rationalize whatever I want. I figured I successfully sharpened the razor on the Naniwa and this wasn’t really honing on a Jnat, just a touch up... right?

So I broke out my only Jnat (for now), a nice Nakayama and raised a little slurry. I got the slurry to like a watered down skim milk consistency and started with some very light x strokes. Every 10 or so strokes I added some water to thin the slurry until it was almost pure water. I’d guess 40 or so strokes total. I found the feedback off the Nakayama was incredible. I don’t think I realized how “mushy” the Naniwa’s felt before this. I might be hooked. This could get expensive.

This morning, the Antelope was a completely different razor. Just as sharp as yesterday, but oh so much more comfortable! I was just going to shave test it before grabbing a different razor (maybe that’s a sad statement on my lack of confidence...) but I couldn’t put it down.




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