Thread: Wire edge

Hello

Honed and stropped a razor with following method:

20 laps 1000 grit. Magic marker test which did not show any remains after honing a lap.
20 laps 3000 grit
20 laps 8000 grit
20 laps 10000 grit

50 laps stropping. The razor looks before and after stropping:



I assume there is a wire edge which broke off during stropping and left a spiky edge.
Does this seem so?

What is the razor and what hones are you using? This info will help a lot.
You should be able to shave arm hair easily off the 1k once bevel is set along the entire edge. Might take 20 laps, might take 100 or more. There is no set amount, just don't move up in grit until you get there. 99% of problems start with an incorrect bevel. After that you are basically polishing out the striations or scratch pattern from the previous hone, and so on. Might take 20 laps, might take 100 or more. Best of luck.

Grazor is right, there is no such thing as honing by numbers. You hone till the bevel is set no matter how many strokes it take before moving up the progression. Basically the same at each stage.

Just because you have no residual ink left on the bevel doesn't indicate that you have a set bevel. It indicates that on the bevel you have contact all along it from the shoulder to it's edge. It may not indicate that the edges of the 2 bevels have met.

If you are going to compare edges in a before and after sequence, having both images at the same magnification is the way to go.

Bob

The use of a loupe for honing is my go to. Here is a thread with very good pictures to help you understand what to look for.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...ggestions.html

Originally Posted by racer

Does this seem so?

Nope.

If you look closely at the top photo, you will see that the bevel was never fully set. There is a thin darker strip on the bevel, nearest the edge, that looks different than the rest of the bevel. This area probably never made contact with the hone. You need to drop back down to the 1k and stay on it until the bevel looks uniform under magnification. Only then should you proceed up to higher grits.

Thanks Utopian.

That was the original question as is there a wire edge or un-uniform bevel.
Razor was honed on 1k until uniform bevel.
I had a theory that should there have been a wire edge that breaks on stropping
then the shave would always dull regardless of stropping and honing.

Knife honing is often done with making a wire edge. Razor honing should not produce a wire edge, but if one is made, then the progression up the grits should ensure that it will be very small. Stropping would eliminate such a wire edge but it should not leave a toothy edge. It think you just need to spend more time on the 1k, being sure to lighten the pressure at the end of the time on the hone.

Yup, bevel is not set and lots of deep 1k stria on the bevel.

Look straight down on the edge, to see if they meet, any shiny reflection and they are not meeting.

Yes, mark the bevel and above the bevel, take photos of the same spot at the same magnification.

Nice photos.

You cannot polish an edge, that does not exist.