Uneven spine on a Titan ACRM-2

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Bicep123

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Oct 8, 2020
Location
Sydney
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So, I purchased this last year because I kind of wanted to get into straight razors and didn't want to spend that much. I mean, I could afford a better razor, but I didn't want to end up ruining it so I thought I'd purchase a cheapie first. Then I bought a set of cheap ebay stones and wondered why I couldn't get it sharp (like at all). Ended up just continuing to use shavettes and safety DEs. Anyway, I started thinking about getting back into straight razor shaving (again) and buying a good razor and a decent set of stones. Yes, I could get it professionally honed, but I really want to learn how to do it myself.

Pulled out my Titan to tool around with and only just noticed now how uneven the spine is. I mean the bevel angle on one side has to be bigger than the other, right? My Gold Dollar 66 (another Aliexpress drunk buy) is more even than this.
 
Is the razor shave ready, I mean actually shave ready?
Are you honing the razors yourself?
And have you shaved with the blade yet?

Just saw the post by @rbscebu and would agree.
 
Bicep123 said:
5x1U9Kj.jpg


oz8uPZy.jpg


So, I purchased this last year because I kind of wanted to get into straight razors and didn't want to spend that much. I mean, I could afford a better razor, but I didn't want to end up ruining it so I thought I'd purchase a cheapie first. Then I bought a set of cheap ebay stones and wondered why I couldn't get it sharp (like at all). Ended up just continuing to use shavettes and safety DEs. Anyway, I started thinking about getting back into straight razor shaving (again) and buying a good razor and a decent set of stones. Yes, I could get it professionally honed, but I really want to learn how to do it myself.

Pulled out my Titan to tool around with and only just noticed now how uneven the spine is. I mean the bevel angle on one side has to be bigger than the other, right? My Gold Dollar 66 (another Aliexpress drunk buy) is more even than this.
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Confucius says, " Man who buys straight razor from Ali Express, gets what they paid for!" :)
 
rhodes96 said:
Confucius says, " Man who buys straight razor from Ali Express, gets what they paid for!" :)
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I have always receive great customer service from Titan Industries. I had a Titan VG10-HZ that cracked on first stropping. Titan immediately replaced it FOC without a problem.

My first TI straight razor cracked while honing. I had great difficulty getting a reasonable response from TI. I eventually gave up and threw their SR out, never to buy one of their SR's again.
 
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Bicep123 said:
5x1U9Kj.jpg


oz8uPZy.jpg


So, I purchased this last year because I kind of wanted to get into straight razors and didn't want to spend that much. I mean, I could afford a better razor, but I didn't want to end up ruining it so I thought I'd purchase a cheapie first. Then I bought a set of cheap ebay stones and wondered why I couldn't get it sharp (like at all). Ended up just continuing to use shavettes and safety DEs. Anyway, I started thinking about getting back into straight razor shaving (again) and buying a good razor and a decent set of stones. Yes, I could get it professionally honed, but I really want to learn how to do it myself.

Pulled out my Titan to tool around with and only just noticed now how uneven the spine is. I mean the bevel angle on one side has to be bigger than the other, right? My Gold Dollar 66 (another Aliexpress drunk buy) is more even than this.
Click to expand...
I have honed up about a dozen Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60 SR's and never experienced an asymmetrical spine. Very strange. It's probably a bit late now for you to complain and get a replacement.

On your SR, the asymmetrical spine should hone up with a slightly narrower bevel on the face side. This is only aesthetic and will not affect the save quality. Just hone it up. It should hone fairly easy and take a keen edge.
 
bald as said:
Is the razor shave ready, I mean actually shave ready?
Are you honing the razors yourself?
And have you shaved with the blade yet?
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No where near shave ready. Wouldn't cut the skin of a underripe tomato.

Haven't actually tried honing it yet. I bought some cheap ebay stones. Saw the DrMatt video where he says those 'stones' are trash, pretty sure I wrecked the $17 ebay razor-shaped-object I bought with it, and didn't want to do the same for this one. I did have a go with stropping it on a variety of surfaces (leather, suede, pasted denim). No go. It definitely needs a hone.
 
rbscebu said:
On your SR, the asymmetrical spine should hone up with a slightly narrower bevel on the face side. This is only aesthetic and will not affect the save quality. Just hone it up. It should hone fairly easy and take a keen edge.
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Thanks for the advice. Just wondering if I'd be wasting my time on it or not. I'll give it another go (with better stones).
 
@Bicep123 don't give up on your cheap eBay whetstons. They do work when you properly hone. They just require lapping flat more often as they are generally softer. They don't produce a great shave-ready edge but they should produce a shavable edge.

I roughly set the bevel on cheap synthetic whetstones, taking it up to 10k. I then move on to lapping film progression on cast acrylic up to 1.0μm (about 25k) for a good shave-ready edge. Once the blade is shaving well off the 1.0μm, I refine the edge even more on 0.5μm, 0.25μm and 0.1μm (about 200k) diamond pasted balsa strops.
 
I don't use a flattening stone. I use a 300mm square very flat ceramic tile with a sheet of about 200 grit wet and dry sandpaper - used wet. Also get yourself a loupe, 10x is best but 20x will do, but nothing stronger.

If you know how to sharpen knives, forget everything you know. Honing a straight razor is a totally new ballpark. The most common mistake people make when learning to hone straight razors is they use too much pressure. This prevents you from properly setting the bevel and can put micro chips in the edge.
 
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I'm expecting two more SR's to arrive next week so this morning I spent some time flattening my 5 cheap synthetic whetstones (400, 1k, 3k, 8k & 10k) ready for any honing that my be required. My lapping films are always flat because they are used on a piece of 300mm x 75mm cast acrylic substrate.

If you want to use lapping film, get sheets without an adhesive backing. Cut each sheet length-wise into three equal widths. For the substrate, get a piece of cast acrylic 300mm x 75mm x 20mm to 30mm (preferred) thick. If that thickness is not readily available, PM me and I will give you advice on an alternative.

When learning to hone, hold the whetstone in hand. Do not hone with the whetstone supported on a sold base.
 
A typical spine on a Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60 SR.
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Below are some of the Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60 SR's that I have honed up to shave-ready. The top left SR was my first SR that I still regularly shave with. These SR's typically cost <$30 on AliExpress including shipping.

When based in the Philippines and had the time I would buy Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60 SR's in bulk, hone them up to shave-ready and sell them. They were very popular with those new to SR shaving and those who wanted to try shaving with a truly shave-ready edge.
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rbscebu said:
When learning to hone, hold the whetstone in hand. Do not hone with the whetstone supported on a sold base.
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There is general and dogmatic opinion. And while I agree hand honing is excellent this is bordering on the canine side of opinion.
 
We could discuss this at length but when you're wrong .. let's just say your wrong :)
Not from your viewpoint of course.
I enjoy hand honing but hone size and balance for a new hone can lead to uneven bevels and other issues a new honer will not be able to address and probably can through to "muscle memory".
 
As a relative N00B I have to agree with @bald as because I tried both hand and surface while learning and prefer the stability of having the stones as fixed as possible with minimal movement. You also have to be comfortable with stones at a good ergonomic height. Except for the coticule which is a small stone and lends itself to palm honing.
I could not imagine setting a bevel on the palm :unsure: Maybe polishing and maintaining the edge
 
@rbscebu, Don't miss the smiley :) . All of this is subjective. I hone my way, you yours and probably both produce good blades.
As I said in another post I've contemplated outlining my method but that really would only highlight a sample size of one.
I have many hones and they vary a lot in size and weight so I prefer to use a thick piece of high impact rubber as the base on the desktop. This eliminates a variable from my thought process. Hone thickness also plays a part as thin [1 cm] hones can lead to cutting fingers extending beyond the edge of the hone. Don't ask how I know :)

Experienced honers all have their own special sauce they consider the best - and often it is - but in the end it is as simple as metal being rubbed on abrasive to get a shave worthy edge.

I'm happy to share anything I have gained over the years and also to learn from others.
 
bald as said:
Hone thickness also plays a part as thin [1 cm] hones can lead to cutting fingers extending beyond the edge of the hone. Don't ask how I know :)
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That would be my fear of holding the stone as well. I've always just done it the way DrMatt does. Rest it on a flat surface with a wet towel underneath (to stop it moving).
 
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