Thread: Honing - Different Types of blades

So I had some spare time yesterday and decided I would sit down and get some time in on the hones while bringing two of my razors into great shaving shape. Recently they had both been playing tug of war with my face, and were in need of a sharpening. The two blades were a 6/8ths Brucke solingen "Thiers Issard starter", and a 5/8ths Wapencia. For both blades I honed as followed:

Pyramid on norton 4000/8000:

• 25/25
• 20/20
• 15/15
• 10/10
• 5/5
• 1/5
• 1/5

Followed by:

• 30 Strokes on a Naniwa 12000
• 20 Strokes on paddle strop with Thiers Issard strop paste
• 10 Strokes on a Naniwa 12000
• 5 Strokes on paddle strop with Thiers Issard strop paste
• 30 Strokes on a leather hanging strop

I gave both razors a test this morning while shaving. I find that the Wapencia Stainless blade still wants to pull a little, while the Brucke carbon blade is working like a dream. (Some SRD Lime soap and the Brucke gave me an amazing shave this morning!) Has anyone else noticed that different types of blades be it metal or size/shape behave differently on the hones? I will need to sit down this afternoon and see if I can get a process that works for the Wapi.

What I learned from Randy is to shave test after the 8k. If the razor shaves close and smooth at the 8k level it will benefit from the 12k or whatever finisher. If not the edge will need maybe a conservative pyramid ( or maybe more) . The conservative pyramid is described in the SRP Wiki honing section under 'alternate honing methods' IIRC. You'll be surprised at what a nice shave can be got from the 8k.

Thanks for the advice! I see near the end of the explanation for the Pyramid there is a small modification for stainless or harder blades. I am going to try to sit down this afternoon and see If I can get it to a shave ready state using the recommended method. When test shaving at the 8k stage, should it still be a bit rough, or will the finishing only improve an already nice working edge?

I agree with Jimmy. You should be able to get a smooth shave after the 4/8 pyramid, if not you should try smaller pyramids until you get it dialled in. THEN go to your finishing routine.

I would also recommend bringing down your lap count for your various mediums. If your razor shaves but tugs it only requires a touchup, and you seem to be removing a lot of metal for a simple touchup. Start small and work your way down the grits only if you have to.

Originally Posted by mikesven

Thanks for the advice! I see near the end of the explanation for the Pyramid there is a small modification for stainless or harder blades. I am going to try to sit down this afternoon and see If I can get it to a shave ready state using the recommended method. When test shaving at the 8k stage, should it still be a bit rough, or will the finishing only improve an already nice working edge?

IMO it should not be rough or require excess pressure, strokes. A shave ready razor should shave close and smooth without a lot of effort. There is more to it than the shave ready razor though. If you're new at shaving with a straight blade angle, stroke, knowing how to stretch the skin to suit your particular beard, based on the direction of the whiskers .... Takes time for all of this stuff to come together IME. I agree with everything Ryan said above as well.

You know many of us say this many times, that "Until you get a smooth shave at the 8k level there is no sense in climbing higher"
The 3 most common 8k stones around SRP are the Norton, Naniwa SS and the Shapton GS..
Now being honest here it has been quite awhile since I tested this theory out, but last night after reading this thread from Gerrit
http://straightrazorpalace.com/gener...und-razor.html

I decided to re-hone the "Mack" now honestly this razor hasn't been on the hones for over 4 years and the last time I honed it I only used the Norton 4/8 so that is exactly what I went back to...

The Norton 8k has the capability to get very very fine, if you let it go to almost dry on the very last strokes. much like some of the Japanese naturals are used...
The shave this morning reinforced my belief that really all you need for a nice comfortable shave is the Norton 4/8 or a Naniwa 3/8 everything else is just being fussy, and Yes I admit to being fussy

Originally Posted by gssixgun

You know many of us say this many times, that "Until you get a smooth shave at the 8k level there is no sense in climbing higher"
The 3 most common 8k stones around SRP are the Norton, Naniwa SS and the Shapton GS..
Now being honest here it has been quite awhile since I tested this theory out, but last night after reading this thread from Gerrit
http://straightrazorpalace.com/gener...und-razor.html

I decided to re-hone the "Mack" now honestly this razor hasn't been on the hones for over 4 years and the last time I honed it I only used the Norton 4/8 so that is exactly what I went back to...

The Norton 8k has the capability to get very very fine, if you let it go to almost dry on the very last strokes. much like some of the Japanese naturals are used...
The shave this morning reinforced my belief that really all you need for a nice comfortable shave is the Norton 4/8 or a Naniwa 3/8 everything else is just being fussy, and Yes I admit to being fussy

Oh-Oh now there's gonna be a torrent of high grit stones going up for sale.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Oh-Oh now there's gonna be a torrent of high grit stones going up for sale.

Lol. But there's sure something to it. Lately I've been working hard to get great edges right of my Shapton GS's, no CrOx, no Jnat or fancy nano-grit sprays, just synthetic stones and stropping. And to be honest, I've gotten some amazing results.
The Shapton 16k is sometimes said to leave "harsh" edges, but I've had some real smooth results off it, when I do my work at the 2-8k stages right.
I think I'm going to get a Norton 4/8k stone, just to learn a "classic".

Originally Posted by Blix

Lol. But there's sure something to it. Lately I've been working hard to get great edges right of my Shapton GS's, no CrOx, no Jnat or fancy nano-grit sprays, just synthetic stones and stropping. And to be honest, I've gotten some amazing results.
The Shapton 16k is sometimes said to leave "harsh" edges, but I've had some real smooth results off it, when I do my work at the 2-8k stages right.
I think I'm going to get a Norton 4/8k stone, just to learn a "classic".

Lately I've been working hard to get great edges

Wow you have learned the "secret" to good horning Hone more razors ...

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Oh-Oh now there's gonna be a torrent of high grit stones going up for sale.

Great, and they can all be sold at bargain basement prices since they really aren't that useful anymore.....