Thread: First Refreshed Edge, Shapton 16k

Well..the reason why i did it on the glass side was that for years i final honed on a bottle..my grandfather taught me to use a straight on a hone and for final honing use a glass smooth bottle.."so, i just figured it was a glass type hone.....don't look at me... I am hideous....

I dont think you should need more than 10 strokes on the 16k Shapton. Its an aggressive stone and too many strokes can make the edge start to microchip IME.

Keep practising though, its good fun!

Originally Posted by dave5225

I think you need to practice , and learn , the "X" stroke . It is the only stroke you need to know for refreshing the edge . I don't know where you got the idea to hone in a figure 8 stroke , but to the best of my knowledge the figure 8 is only used for lapping , not honing . You should get an awesome edge from a Shapton 16k , but it sounds like you're not . IME , when it comes to refreshing an edge , less is more . 5 "X" strokes on my Shapton 15k is all that's needed . I think you should practice the "X" stroke with the razor you're restoring , using one hand only . Once you think you have it down , take your good razor , and give it 5 very light "X" stokes on your Norton 8k , then give it 5 very light "X" strokes on your 16k . Strop it up and see how it shaves .

Oh, actually, I miss-typed that, I meant to say X stroke not figure eight!

Originally Posted by AxelH

I don't know that starting out with a nagura (slurry) is a good idea. Lapping's a great idea, though. Uh, do you have a microscope for checking out the edge and the scratch pattern (or lack thereof) of the bevel?

Looks like I'll not use a slurry next time. I might borrow my grandson's USB microscope to check th edge.

Originally Posted by Stubear

I dont think you should need more than 10 strokes on the 16k Shapton. Its an aggressive stone and too many strokes can make the edge start to microchip IME.

Keep practising though, its good fun!

You know, as stupid as this sounds, I can't remember if I did 10 or 20. Of course I count 1 pass on the strop as being back AND forward, I can't remember if I counted the same on the hone! Then again, on some videos I've seen, where they say 30 small circles, and then go on and do what seem like hundreds, I'd say my numeracy skills are not that bad (and at least I used the right side :-)

No, it didn't take much lapping. I guess I could alwys try doing it on the wet and dry paper I have stuck on a glass topped table, but of course glass flexes, too. I don't understand how a 16k can be harsh? I've read you should be able to shave off an 8k? Why is a Shapton an 'aggresive' stone? I mean, it IS less aggressive than a Norton 4/8 isn't it??? Now I'm confused!!!

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

No, it didn't take much lapping. I guess I could alwys try doing it on the wet and dry paper I have stuck on a glass topped table, but of course glass flexes, too. I don't understand how a 16k can be harsh? I've read you should be able to shave off an 8k? Why is a Shapton an 'aggresive' stone? I mean, it IS less aggressive than a Norton 4/8 isn't it??? Now I'm confused!!!

The Shapton is a fast/aggressive stone , as in fast cutting, not in grit. And yes it can be harsh-ish sometimes.

And if you ever decide to buy more stones for honing, buy more Shaptons GS, it's an amazingly good system IMO!

Originally Posted by Blix

The Shapton is a fast/aggressive stone , as in fast cutting, not in grit. And yes it can be harsh-ish sometimes.

Oh, thanks Blix, I get it. I was relating grit size to speed of cutting. But that's not neceserily the case, is it? I guess it depends on what the grit is made of and the shape of the particles too? I guess it might have been better if I'd stuck with one system.

At this point it might make sense to just hone
the razor and watch what parts of the hone
go grey from steel.

Rinse the hone under running water and rub it
mostly clean with you hand. Hone your razor
smoothly and slowly no more than 20 up-and-down
hone trips. Rinse, dry, strop and shave test.
BTW: Twenty is a lot... you can try 5, 10, 15, 20 and
discover what works for you in the long term.

The hone will build up a light gray coating that
can let you see when and where the razor and
hone interact. It will not be perfect but as long
as all the razor contacts some of the hone at
one time or another it is doing the right thing.

You can also use the magic marker test to validate
that the razor and hone are interacting... wipe a
water proof magic marker (easy to see color) on
the edge. Let it dry and then one or two hone strokes.
If the hone wipes the marker ink off the length of the
edge you are honing effectively.