Does anyone have any spare straight razors? I have recently purchased some sharpening whetstones and was wondering if you have any SE that I could practice. I am currently off work due to an operation and need something practical to keep my mind busy. Cheers Jay
You Can Pick Up a Cheap SR on EBay for Honing Practice..I Would Suggest One with No Hone Wear on the Spine..In Other Words Minimal Hone Wear..A Cheap Chinese ZY SR is a Viable Option..They are as Rule Ground Well from the Factory & Hard to Mess Up to be Honest.. Learning to Hone Can be Challenging Enough Without Learning on on an SR with a Lot of Hone Wear..Around 90% of the Learning is on the 1 K Bevel Hone to Create a Solid Bevel.. Billy..
I can vouch for ZY razors. I have honed with one, from the start, and they take on a beautiful edge. Excellent steel, and usually put together well.
I picked up a razor from the bay for cheap that looked in pretty good shape and except for some edge chips and scratches on the blade it is. The blade is salvageable but wondering if I should attempt this on my own to learn or send it to a hone master to fix. How do you all fix chips on the blade? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes, very helpful. The chippy edge isn't too bad. The only thing that worries me is the dark corrosion on the toe area of the edge. It shows on both sides of the blade, which hints it might be deep. If so, yo might have to do a lot of work, with some high grit hones, to reach clean metal. If I were tackling this blade, I would use a low grit stone, and drag the edge of the blade, lightly, on the non-honing surface of the stone, until the edge is . I run my fingernail across it, until I feel no roughness. U would use a 60x loupe to look at the edge, as I go along. Keep close eye on the dark area. After you have smooth and clean metal, then you can set a bevel. Be sure to tape the spine, because you are going to spend some time on the lower grits. Please post your progress.
I have a 40X loupe and I can see the edge pretty good. The dark spots on the toe cleaned right off with some metal polish. There is a very slight amount of corrosion on one side (non c-mon side) that should clean up once it hits the stones. I ran the blade perpendicular on the side of a 200 grit stone and the chips are gone. I need to do a proper cleaning before I begin honing.
She is all cleaned up. Used 400, 600, 800, 1500, 2000 grit wet sand and the big scratches and corrosion is gone. Dinner time and hone day will likely be tomorrow Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’ve been looking for one for a while and they always end up way more than I like to pay...this one was the right price.
Nice work so far. The heavier grind razors take a little longer to get a bevel set. What you are about to do is cut a bevel from scratch where no bevel currently exists, it is more restoration than regular honing. The bevel is not set until both sides come together to form a perfect apex or ‘V’ from heel to tip. It is the foundation of a great shaving edge. From that point forward you will refine it by progressing through the hones and reducing the scratch pattern on the side of the bevel. As you do that the edge becomes smoother and straighter. A good test is to strop and shave after the bevel set. If your bevel is truly set you will be able to shave. Once it passes the shave test it is a good time to review your sharp test, that is the best way to calibrate your tests for the bevel set. And you really need to use tape. New honers more frequently than not put way too much pressure on the spine and can stuff a blade in no time flat. Protect the spine and you will do just fine. Watching Glens videos helps a lot.
This wedge is proving to be more of a challenge than I thought. I have an initial bevel but it is not long enough for a secondary to form and cut hair. I used one layer of tape. I think I need go up a layer or 2 on the tape...after I watch more videos. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Don't just jump to another layer of tape, because the bevel isn't forming. You use another layer if the bevel is too large, which usually happens with worn spines. Your spine doesn't look that bad. Post a new pick of the bevel you have. If you spent a lot of time trying to set the bevel, you might need to change the tape, it does wear down.
