Thread: Newbie and Honing

I've been interested in straight razor shaving for a long time, but got motivated a month ago. I picked up a razor at an antique shop and it was in pretty good condition. It had a small amount of light scratches on the hollow part of the blade, near the edge (sandpaper?), but it felt like a slightly dull knife.

I want to get into this for 1) shaving with a straight, and 2) learning a lot about sharpening. I almost ordered a shave ready razor while I learn to hone, which I think I still will do, but for now, I am intrigued with getting this one going. After much reading, I bought a Norton 4000/8000 and a cloth/leather strop. Here is what I have done.

- Reading
- Microscope examination (looked good as best I could tell...no nicks)
- Lots of 4000/8000 strokes
- Reading
- More strokes
- HHT (fail) and TPT (seemed good to me)
- Shave (not close, but not terrible. A positive achievement)
- More strokes
- HHT (fail) and TPT (seemed good to me)
- Shave (same result)
- More reading...reading...reading.
- Pyramid approach
- Shave test (same...fair shave, not good)
- Aggressive Pyramid...getting the hang of it, watching the water, more reading on the Wiki with pictures
- Edge starts to feel smooth, but maybe it's light tickling. Maybe, just maybe sharp.
- Tried HHT but fail. Using my wife's hair from a brush so I am not sure on the root end and also it is super-fine
- Arm hair test. It pops off lots of hair about 1 cm from the root. Light plink, plink, plink sound. (Excited)
- 50/50 strops on cloth/leather. Nice and slow, controlled and per reading, but not fast.
- TPT seems nice to me, but I am still learning.

Now I am ready for the shave test tomorrow. What do you think of my arm hair test. Is that how it is supposed to work? plink, plink, plink and all?

Thanks,

Steve

Good morning Steve and welcome to SRP.

It sounds like you have everything in order. Reading the wiki and jumping right in are the best ways to learn to hone.

Don't worry about the HHT, if the razor passes then it will most likely shave well but if it fails it doesn't mean it won't shave. The HHT is unique to each person depending on the hair you're using and how your're performing it, with practice you'll be able to standardize it to your personal routine. For now the best tests are the TPT and the shave test.

Stropping is a big deal. I will often have razors that won't pop hairs until after I strop.

It sounds like you're coming close to a great edge if you're not already there. The "plink plink" sound is the same I get on my arm hair test.

Good luck on your upcoming shave. There is nothing like shaving with a blade that you honed yourself. Enjoy!

I think you're doing great ! Keep on and you will get and smoother and closer shaves and sooner or later the HHT. Wouldn't hurt to buy a shave ready razor from SRD or Vintage so that you have a backup and something to compare your edges to.

Thanks for the replies. As I have wanted to straight razor shave for some time, I would have never guessed there was a place like this where similar minds gather.

It sounds like I'm ready for the first "real" shave. The other shave tests were just small jaw areas just to see. I think I'll take your advice on the extra shave ready razor. At first I thought to get a cheap one that is just to shave with, but now I am leaning more seriously towards getting the razor that I really like. I'll be buying one today, providing I find one I am drawn to. I'll use it as a guide to know just what sharp is. I'll probably just look at it under the microscope and HHT is before I even begin a shave. I'm very interested in learning the assessment of the blade more than anything.

I'm also going to pick up the 1000 Norton and the one that is used to flatten the stones and round the edges. I've been living on the edge by not doing those steps, but the flatness seemed OK and I have been very slow in the hones and nervous around the edge. I do see the importance of rounding the edge. I could easily see myself pushing down just a bit when I'm on the end of the X pattern and sliding across the edge (ouch).

Regarding microscope, we have one at work, but it's designed for electronics. What's a good one for looking at blades and a price range? With the one at work, I can use it to find nicks, but I really can't see much of the blade detail beyond that. If I was guessing, I think it is 50x.

Thanks again and I will report later.

Steve

Ok, first real shave. I skipped the upper lip and chin and a few tough spots. A small bit of pulling, but there are lots of things going on.

In short, it was an OK shave but a great feeling.

I would say that beard prep and shaving practice play a HUGE role in the shave. Towards the end, I was pulling less and getting hairs off in long/slow swipes.

I need to focus on bear prep., more sharpening, and PRACTICE.

My beard prep: hot bath, hot towel, hot water and some gel squirt cream in a can (the good stuff is on order along with a brush). I used my old disposable razor method from years ago which is re-apply hot water liberally and cream several times throughout. Towards the end, it was not too bad, but still some pulling. One small nick as I got too confident and made a bad move.

In short, I will keep on this by:

1) Practice shaving
2) More honing with testing
3) Ordering a nice ready-to-shave
4) Rounding my edges and flattening the Norton 4000/8000
5) Improving beard prep (cream/brush)

Thanks again and feel free to offer tips! I need them.

BTW, my razor says:

JA Henkels Solingen
Zwillingswerk
78 1/2
A logo of two stick men

It appears to be stainless steel with a black plastic handle. The box looks to be 20 years old or more, but the condition of the blade and handle is very good. My guess is that it was used up until recently and then put in an antique shop where I picked it up.

Seemed like a good razor to me, but what do I know.

Steve,

Has your Norton 4/8K been lapped? I received a new one for Christmas and both sides seemed very uneven and rough. After quite a lot of lapping both sides evened out and have a much nicer feel. If yours is not lapped, I would definitely recommend doing this. Here is a link to the wiki article about lapping: Hone Lapping 101 - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Keep at it!

Zac

Originally Posted by spoulsen

BTW, my razor says:

JA Henkels Solingen
Zwillingswerk
78 1/2
A logo of two stick men

Seemed like a good razor to me, but what do I know.

I have never seen a bad Henkels razor. I think they are great. In my limited experience, most of the narrower Henkels (less than 5/8) were smiling razors. I don't recall what the 78 1/2 looks like and don't have any razors handy so I'll just ask...Is the edge of your razor straight or is it curved like a smile? Smiling razors are much more difficult for beginners to hone as you need to do a rolling x stroke.

I've found the arm hair test to be a reliable indicator to let me know when the razor is ready for the shave test . Strop the hell out of your razor to smooth out that 8k edge , and see if the shave improves , any . Don't forget that prep , and skin stretching are very important if you want a good shave . Until your technique starts to develop , don't be too critical of your razor . It may be sharper than you think !

Lapped the 4k/8k tonight. Although it appeared flat, the 4000 side really wasn't. Thanks for the tip.

Is it smiling? Hmmm, I never thought it was, but after examination, yeah it is. It's not obvious unless to the novice. Ok, that may explain part of my issues. I will investigate the rolling X technique. Thanks!