What Straight Razor Have You Honed Lately????

well done, and a very nice razor

 

Thank you!

 

That's great news. You are now self sufficient, with your straight razors. Congratulations.

 

Congratulations! It's a great feeling when you're shaving with a razor that you've successfully honed.

 

Thank you. Your posts have encouraged me in this endeavor.

 

Thank you. It is!

 

Thiers Issard

Rescued this from a garage at a garage sale. Somebody had sharpened it on a grinder. Using it as a box. Cutter I think. Anyhow decided to see if I could save it. Lots of work on my Naniwas and 5 layers of tape. I have a shave able razor.


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Amidst a crazy Easter week, I was able to do a little honing (one razor! )— this GRS 'Craftsman 9207' 5/8" full-Hollow thats been sitting in a drawer since 2014.

Honing Progression:
Single layer of 3M tape.
Bevel Set: Cholera Pro 1k
Sharpen: Naniwa SS 3k > 5k
Polish & Finish: Naniwa SS 8k > 10k > vintage Escher waterstone

Linen: 75 (laps)
Leather: 50 on Red Latigo; 50 on Fast Bridle
HHT-4
Shave: see Easter 4/16 SOTD— wonderfully-smooth shave (using a quality tallow soap from Crowne & Crane); four passes with BBS results after two.

Shown on the Escher; pre-buff & polish.

 

Poor Latino Gotta love auto-correct.
Nice razor Kevin.

 

I Finished My Japanese Swedish Steel Atlas 7/8th on My Recently Acquired Yellow Lake..Very Much Like Honing on a Surgical Black Arkansas Stone with Oil..Like Honing on Slippery Glass...The Yellow Lake Cuts Faster..This is a Lovely Stone to Use..Its Not a Slow Cutter Either..I Put a Killer Smooth Edge on this Razor that was Pre Finished on a Naniwa 12 K Super Stone..This Edge is Light Years Away from the Naniwa 12 K Edge I Plonked Down on the Yellow Lake..

Billy..

 

Billy, did you use water or oil with this stone?

 

Gun Oil..The Yellow Lake Company States..Use Oil Only..I Wouldn't Dream of Using Water on this Stone..Its a Match in Heaven with Oil..

Billy..

 

Thanks

 

Nice save, Tom.

 

I honed this IXL up over the weekend.

I got this in the batch of 7 razors. The face had a lot of rust. Back side was pretty nice. There is virtually no spine wear on it. One piece of tape and it took a wicked edge. Finished on my Thuri. This gave me my closest and best straight shave to date.

It looks like I have 2 good razors so far from this $38 batch of razors.


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I honed two up today. Each with its own problems.

First is the J.H.Obold & Co. German Ground.. $8.00
This blade was nasty looking when I bid on it. But, the scales looked intact. I had to polish out a lot of rust, and hone out a lot of corrosion on the bevel. It was very time consuming. . I used my Welsh slate stones, and finished on a SB Arkie Progression. Very sharp now.

Before:


After: Hair Popping Goodness.

 

The second Razor was not as difficult, but still had some corrosion on the edge. I also had to sand the blade. The previous owner polished it too much. Also the scales that came with it were home made and sharp. They were rounded out. It took a fast edge, that was very sharp. Ended with the SB Arkie.


Griffon Cutlery Works. The Darrow & Comstock Co. New London Conn. $13.50

 

I Just Got My Belgian Coticule Barbers Finishing Hone in the Post Today from France..Its in Almost Mint Condition & was Flat..I Lapped it with 35o Grit Wet n Dry to 1000 Grit..A 5 Min Job..Easy Peasy..I Finished My C.Myers & Sons Sheffield 6/8th on the Coticule..I have been Using this as a Test Razor on My Newly Acquired Natural Finishers of Late..

I Took the C.Myers & Sons Sheffield 6/8th Back to a Naniwa 8 K & 12 K before Going Onto the Coticule to Finish..I Tested the Edge After Coming Off the Coticule with the Hanging Hair Test..I Would Suggest this Particular Coticule is Between a 10 K to 12 K Finishing Capacity..Probably Just South of a 12 K Finishing Capacity Going by My Naniwa 12 K as My Baseline ..

I Picked it Up a Tad with 10 Sets on Chro/Ox..I Test Shaved the Sheffield with Zero Prep & its Buttery Smooth..This Coticule Does Live Up to the Legendry Reputation of what I Would Describe as a Mellow Buttery Smooth Edge whilst being Keen Enough to Deliver a Smooth & Close BBS Result..In Fact..Its So Forgiving & Smooth its an Ideal Edge for a Learner or a Beginner as its So Darn Forgiving..Maybe Even More Forgiving than an Escher Thuri..Maybe..

I Contacted the Seller & He Laughed at the Idea these Stones are Hard to Use..He Said his Father was a Barber & His Grandfather before Him..He Said these Stones were Popular because they were Monkey Proof..I Would have to Agree..He Went On to Say that these Particular Barber Finishing Coticules were Hand Selected for Finishing Razors & Most Coticules are NOT FIT for Finishing Razors & Never Were..Hence the Problems Folks have with them in Forums..

I Like this Stone..I Like the Edge..Its Easy to Use..Monkey Proof in My Books..This is a Very Fine Stone to Touch..I Used a Little Slurry & No Slurry & Found that for Finishing its Six & Half Dozen..Obviously Different for a Progression from Say an 8 K or Something..But here Again..No Problem..I Reckon its Maybe a Keeper..The Edge Off this Stone is Distinctly Coticule..No Bones about that..

Keen But Mellow like a Good Malt Scotch Whiskey..

Billy..

 

This Guy is Confirming what I was Told by My French Coticule Seller..

Billy..

 

Nice coticule, Billy!

True...not all cotis are 'razor quality' —and given that they are naturals with typical variances, this is no great surprise.
If one is simply buying random cotis off eBay or finding them in estate sales or antique stores, then chances are the hones may or may NOT be fine enough for razor finishing.
Those cotis that are hand-selected tend to be in the 8-10k range (applying grit ratings to naturals is generally regarded as a no-no, but since we're talking levels of refinement for finishing...), with the majority peaking at around 8k-ish.
I dont find these selected coticles to be difficult to use— and the edges off a coticule are quite nice: smooth and Escher-like in 'soft-feel.'

This one was 'hand-selected for razor finishing' by Ardennes-Coticule. I've been very happy with the results I've gotten from it.
(time for a new photo. I sold this Friodur last year....)