I have been washing the stones (and ra,or) after each progression
looking forward to tonights to testWhat's the fuss.. another noob giving SR a crack
- Thread starter StratMan
- Start date
I have been washing the stones (and ra,or) after each progression
looking forward to tonights to test
Not sure if the honing is an addition for me yet - it's something I have been learning as I go and can now get decent edges but I much prefer the shaving side of things. Keen to have a go at soap making and I can feel the soaping making rabbit hole beckoning me.
sd_baker
Member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2023
- Location
- Ontario, Canada
Do you sharpen knives? For razors stopping at 1k is fine as you hopefully don't need to remove metal too often. For knives grits 150-500 are infinitely more useful than 1k+.the GD66 came yday so gave it the first round on the 1K. blade came truly shite and over couple hours + over two days on the 1K the bevel was finally setand the stones arrived today, perfect.. with bevel set ran through the sequence 1k, 3k, 6k, 8,k 12k + clean leather strop
Do you have a flattening solution (I don't see one pictured)? A flat stone is very important.
One piece of advice I can give you form my honing journey, although I'm a raw beginner in the SR world myself:
Really focus on the first stone. The bevel setter is the most important. Take the time to experiment and really figure out TNT and HHT and undercut observation of when the bevel is truly set. A proper razor edge off the 1k should tree top some hairs. I've gotten to HHT-3, but that is still a work in progress.
I came into SRs from knife sharpening, but lately I'm enjoying the intensity and flow of SR shaving. I find honing a little relaxing and meditative. Shaving is an immensely dangerous and intense experience, really forces me to focus and block out all distractions.was great to see the blade change through the progress, looks good to me but well see tomorrow.. not sure which I enjoy at this time more.. SR shaving (part time) or honing
hadnt used the SR for a bit, the last cut on my face put me off a bit. This GD66 is the one i ordered directly from China and the blade came to me in terrible condition. Took quite a while to set the edge, at least a couple of hours, but eventually set it and gave it a test run the other day for the first time.
i was extremely pleased (and shocked) at how sharp and smooth it was. Set the bevel with the 1K naiwa and once that was sorted progressed through the rest of my stones.. 3k, 6K, 8k, 12k, leather strop. no paste used at all and from what I could tell i dont feel I need any. Regardless I have the paste i ordered by accident and will finish off the honing on my other GD to see if there is any difference.
I am still only half assing the SR shaving, limiting it to only my cheeks for now
i was extremely pleased (and shocked) at how sharp and smooth it was. Set the bevel with the 1K naiwa and once that was sorted progressed through the rest of my stones.. 3k, 6K, 8k, 12k, leather strop. no paste used at all and from what I could tell i dont feel I need any. Regardless I have the paste i ordered by accident and will finish off the honing on my other GD to see if there is any difference.
I am still only half assing the SR shaving, limiting it to only my cheeks for now
rbscebu
Member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2020
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2016
- Location
- The "Wet Lord of Voodoo" Boogie Man
Shame on you evil brainwashing cult voodoo Sweeney Todd straight razor@StratMan, there is no known treatment for the addiction you are developing.
have certainly felt a change where the SR feels more natural now and feel I have the pressure and angle right to where I have no fear in cutting myself and have now progressed the shave to also include half my neck. Slowly but surely, the shave is coming together.
got a question.. can one hone too much?
The other day decided to give the hone another go.. didnt set the bevel but did progress through the stones 3K, 6K, 8K, 12K and leather strop, spent ages on it and was expecting a super sharp edge but instead i got a lot of tugging. Not sure if this was due to the lather being too dry? or did I over hone the razor? or does the size of the hair play any part in the tugging feel?
ended up re honing again but this time from 8K, 12K and the strop. This shave was both sharp and smooth without any tugging, still curious to understand why, I am suspecting the lather was too dry?
got a question.. can one hone too much?
The other day decided to give the hone another go.. didnt set the bevel but did progress through the stones 3K, 6K, 8K, 12K and leather strop, spent ages on it and was expecting a super sharp edge but instead i got a lot of tugging. Not sure if this was due to the lather being too dry? or did I over hone the razor? or does the size of the hair play any part in the tugging feel?
ended up re honing again but this time from 8K, 12K and the strop. This shave was both sharp and smooth without any tugging, still curious to understand why, I am suspecting the lather was too dry?
rbscebu
Member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2020
@StratMan, it is possible to over-hone a SR but most unlikely if you include short pull strokes in your progress. Depending on your honing technique, it is possible to develop a slight fin edge through excessive honing.
A fin edge will shave well for the first few strokes but then the fin will be bent over and you will notice it.
A fin edge will shave well for the first few strokes but then the fin will be bent over and you will notice it.
sd_baker
Member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2023
- Location
- Ontario, Canada
It depends a lot on how you're honing. Some strokes (for example edge trailing) is easy to make a burr, wire edge, fin edge etc.
If you stick to plain x-strokes (edge leading), it's harder to create these problems.
How are you stropping? Stropping makes a huge difference and can improve or degrade your edge. Are you still using the wood+leather strop you posted earlier?
For me, as I don't trust myself yet to judge where an edge is, and how much work it needs, I always go back to the bevel setter (GDs are cheap, so wasting steel isn't a concern). I joint the edge so that it reflects light along the entire edge and start over. This gives me a degree of repeatability while building experience.
Something else worth thinking about is indicators for success at each phase of honing. The one I find reliable for bevel setting is the thumb nail test. I am starting to play more with thumb pad test.
That's the part of honing that I found the most difficult to judge - when are you done with a grid?
There are various ways to judge the bevel setting stage.
1) Most common and reliable way - The burr method: Hone on one side counting the laps, until you feel a burr is formed all along the opposite edge. Then repeat the same amount of laps on the other side and test for a burr all along the edge. This is probably too harsh for something you care about, but ideal for GD's.
2) Kill the edge by lightly dragging the edge in a cutting motion across the stone corner, until you can't cleanly slice paper. Hone both sides equally until you can easily slice paper.
3) Most difficult to judge - the water under-cut method: Hone both sides equally, edge leading until the whole edge clearly undercuts the water, acting like a squeegee.
4) As mentioned above the thumb nail test. Never tried it so I can't speak of it.
Once the bevel is set, I move to 3k, 8k and finally 12k.
At these grids you are more polishing than removing metal, so more is better as long as your pressure is light. I like 50 laps on each side, then 20 laps each side, then 10 each side. This is to remove any burrs and centre the edge. I finish with at least 10 X-strokes, flipping every lap. On the X-strokes I carefully monitor the under-cut of the water on every grid.
I have to add that I have never achieved an edge than I am happy with on a stone and I move on to the three balsa strops before attempting to shave.
silverlifter
Member
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2023
- Location
- Aotearoa
The most reliable way for me is looking at it under a loupe; from the side the scratches should run all the way to the edge, and the real test is if there are no reflections from straight on when viewed under a light. See:
Trying to work out if when the bevel is set is the hardest part of honing for me. Still not sure how you tell, but if it cuts arm hair all along the blade, then I am guessing it's set. I have no idea what to feel with the thumbnail test. Chopping up tomatoes means absolutely nothing as most of the knives in my kitchen drawer will do that. I think the burr method is for advanced honers as everytime I have tried it, the burr just didn't happen.
However, I can now hone a razor from go to whoa and end up with something that shaves quite nicely. It takes a lot of work and there is still lots to learn, but I am getting there.
However, I can now hone a razor from go to whoa and end up with something that shaves quite nicely. It takes a lot of work and there is still lots to learn, but I am getting there.
in regards to the thumbnail test, its very simple. When you want to check the bevel is set all you need to do is wet your thumbnail (i just lick mine) then very lightly touch the blade onto your thumbnail and see if it digs in, if dug in properly it shouldnt move or slide around the thumbnail.
if the bevel is set it should stick into your thumb and should not slide around. It is important to have the thumbnail wet
if the bevel isnt set, your basically wasting your time going through other stone progressions
thanks for the replies, learning to hone is part of the fun. I ended up getting an excellent edge that shaved well but I want to go back to the drawing board and give it another go
when i started with this GD66 the edge was screwed with a nick at the heel of the blade, and spent so much time setting the bevel on it. In the end I reckon I also might of just settled in the end.
Reckon its time to blunt the blade and give it another go, this time concentrating on the bevel to make sure its set 100% before continuing
when i started with this GD66 the edge was screwed with a nick at the heel of the blade, and spent so much time setting the bevel on it. In the end I reckon I also might of just settled in the end.
Reckon its time to blunt the blade and give it another go, this time concentrating on the bevel to make sure its set 100% before continuing
rbscebu
Member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2020
Never try and rush anything to do with SR shaving. It is your "me time". Enjoy it while you have it.
The burr will happen, it just takes a bit of experience to detect it. I slide my finger from the spine to the edge on the side I expect it, then do it the other side to compare. One side will feel like there is a bit of very thin wire on the edge. Never tried it, but I bet if you use a bit of cotton wool, it will catch on the burr.
rush?
i spent approx 2hrs running through 3K - 12K stones which is why i thought I overdid it along with too much pressure. I did certainly enjoy that entire block of time though and i get a lot of satisfaction when i shave with a razor I honed myself
sd_baker
Member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2023
- Location
- Ontario, Canada
I bevel set with SP1.5k. For a new GD, I bevel set with SG500 to get scratches all the way to the apex. Lower grit stones are awesome.rush?
I did certainly enjoy that entire block of time though and i get a lot of satisfaction when i shave with a razor I honed myself
rbscebu
Member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2020
@Mouette, I have had a few students who have had trouble detecting the burr on their edges. This was due to them, for whatever reason, not having enough sensitivity in their fingertips. To get around that problem, we found that they could detect it with the tip of their nose or even the flat of their tongue.