What Straight Razor Have You Honed Lately????

Dan also is the one doing the convex arks correct?

 

I've not heard of that.

 

No, that’s Jarrod Connerty at the Superior Shave.

 

I heard the convex hone gods have looked down favorably upon this lad.


Me, I'm hard to like.

 

Maybe, but not by many people around here, that know how to properly hone with a flat stone.
Juuuust Sayin.

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I lapped the bottom of my convex trans ark
The learning will commence on my next day off!

 

So... How does Harry Home Honer properly hone a razor with a very bent edge on flat stones?

I have Naniwa 1k, 3k, 5k, 8k, 12k.
Using Chinese training materials.

I had no success on flats with the one that I thought would be easy on first glance. Mostly straight spine, bow in the edge. I didn't realize how bowed the edge was until I started. After failing on the flats, a convex was the only way I could get it fully through a shave test.

The other, which I thought would be more of a challenge, didn't come up too well on a convex, but was easier on flats with 1 layer of tape. Very bent spine, mostly straight edge.

If I can't learn to get a shaving edge myself that is in the ballpark with a professional honer, I believe I should probably give up.

 

Well, if you are asking me, and referring to me as "Harry Home Honer", then I think I can assist you. I will not bore you with how many razors I have, or how many I've honed. I will say that I have purposfully acquired, restored, and honed, razors, that most people would have tossed into the trash. I have purposfully done this, to challenge myself, and experience about every screwed up situation a Straight Razor can throw at you. Have I asked for advise, here?? Most definitely. To me, it's like a small puzzle, that you have to solve. Also, the knowledge concentrated on this site is from all over the world, and encompasses many many techniques, and equipment.
I try to take a step back, and learn from those, who know, from years, if not decades of experience, honing straight razors. Sometimes I go off on my own, and experiment. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. But, I would like to think I have come a long way, from a few years ago, when I first started to hone. I know I have. The shaves I get are smoother and post shave skin feeling is better than the best DE shaves I have had.

In answer to your question, honing a warped blade is not a problem, at all, with my flat stones. If the blade, and spine are warped so bad, that the edge edge wont make contact with the stone at all, then I adjust my technique. I use this a lot, anyway. I just call it a "Rocking X-Stroke". When you do this, a smaller area of the blade will make contact with the stones, and it takes a little longer, but it ensures the entire edge gets sharp. If the blade is so warped that this will not work, then a narrow hone can be used, but I haven't run into one that bad, unless you count a junk Paki, or very crappy off brand Chinese razor. Those just need to be tossed in the trash.

If you want, send me your problem razor, I will look at it, and put it to my antiquated flat stones, to see what they can do. I like challenges.

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Rolling X Strokes...Its Common for Blades to be Bowed...Some Can be Quite Bad..Rolling Strokes Do it for Me...Nae Problemo...

Billy..

 

"Rocking and Rolling". Whichever X-Stroke gets it done.
I've even honed blades that looked like a Roller Coaster, with flat stones.

 

I use a rolling x for warped razors too. I bought the convex ark because i wanted to try an ark an it happened to be the cheapest with shipping to Canada.

Also lapped the bottom so now I have the best of both worlds flat and a convex.

 

Good idea. You can take an inexpensive razor, and try both sides, to see which works better for you.

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Before I lapped the bottom I used the convex side to touch up my w&b. It seemed to improve the jnat edge slightly for me

 

So I just tried honing my first razor - rather than work on a nice one, I bought a couple of Gold Dollars off eBay.

Put one on the Naniwa 1K and slowly did each side several times. Checking under a 60x microscope, it certainly removed a lot of the shards of steel that were present pre-hone.

So then I went to 5K - very strange! The stone felt like it had a bit of dirt caught on it, and the surface turned quite black in places. I washed the stone and felt the surface but it felt perfectly flat, even to my fingertips. Rinsed the razor and tried again - same... like something very uneven?

Kept going anyway... checked under the scope again - for most of the blade, the edge was now black colour (shiny to look at with naked eye) but near the heel end, it was still silvery and scratched looking, like it was after the 1K.

So I'm guessing the heel end wasn't making contact with the stone as much? Then it occurred to me that it might be the spine of the blade interfering somehow, maybe not even all along?

I decided I needed to work on it at a rougher grit to gave it a few laps on the 600 Atoma. Very rough, so back to the 1K.

This time I just did faster back and forth movements - this felt better than the 5K, no bumps... weird.

It also generated a lot of black! Steel being removed I suppose...

Went to the 5K, which still a little bumpy brought a real mirror polish to the edge again and looked cleaner under the scope.

Stropped it on linen a bit and a few strokes on leather but had to put it all away as other duties called.

Certainly can't do HHT, but can scrape few hairs off my arm!

So what next? Go back to the 1K and really grind this thing down into better shape?

 

90/95 % of Learning How to Hone or Honing Mistakes are On the 1 K Bevel Hone..A Gold Dollar Should be able to Shave OFF the I K BEVEL HONE..So Yeah...Take it Back to the 1 K Bevel Hone..

Billy..

 

Cool thanks man.... yes thought as much.

This is going to be tough! Presumably after getting it right on the 1K, it still needs stropping to be able to shave with it?

 

I think the problems, in the heel area, is caused by the blade stabilizer. Gold Dollar razor stabilizer, the 66 especially, is too big, and doesnt allow the bevel to be set properly. Most people file/sand/grind it down, with a Dremel tool.
Use a black Sharpie on the edge, and it will show how your bevel is progressing.

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Its Should Shave Hair from the 1 K Stone Without Stropping..It Takes Time to Learn to Hone..Aint Gonna Happen ASAP or Nowt..

Billy..

 

Yes it seems very "muscular" at the back of the blade. I really think that's the problem. Also the blade geometry was not great out of the factory.. it has a bit of a smile shaped blade I think. The heel and toe are not getting touched by the stone.

But, I'll just get back onto it with the 1K then.... thanks all.