Thread: New to Straight Razors, What am i missing ?? Blade not sharp

Originally Posted by JeffR

Folks, cutting a piece of writing paper or similar won't likely harm an edge. At least not in a way that couldn't be fixed by stropping it. Think about it - whiskers are far tougher than paper and one can shave for months without needing to touch up a razor.

Hi Jeff,
I certainly don't want to be giving out bad advice to other members, so help me out please. In the wiki, under "Sharpness tests explained," in talking about the TNT - Thumb Nail Test, it states:

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Finer points

1. This test will damage the shaving edge so it should only be done on an edge that you intend to keep honing on the 4000 level hones. Its primary purpose is to determine whether the bevel is set properly.
2. This test is sometimes seen as the least useful of the tests in this article as it is the most dangerous to the shaving edge and the results are also the most vague to interpret.
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A couple of things come to mind. First, it's obvious we aren't cutting *through* our thumbnail when performing a TNT, we're just gently drawing the edge -- that has not yet progressed past a 4000 hone -- across the surface of our thumbnail just to get an idea as to whether the bevel is set yet or not. Folks who know honing better than me state that "This test will damage the shaving edge" and "is the most dangerous to the shaving edge" that is not yet shave ready sharp. So how is it that taking a shave ready sharp razor -- whose edge is much finer and more fragile -- and using it to cut through a sheet of paper *won't* damage the edge?

The other thought that pops up is that most of us go through an extensive pre-shave ritual to soften and moisten our beards that includes shave oil and lather to keep our beard and skin lubricated, moist and cushioned. Yet the edge still needs to be stropped before the next shave.

So is slicing through a dry sheet of paper with a shave ready sharp razor like shaving a properly prepped beard? Or is it more like performing a *very* aggressive TNT with a much more fragile, easily damaged edge?

Please don't misunderstand me; I'm not arguing with you. I don't care about being "right." My concern is that a new member reading your post might get his freshly honed razor back from a honemeister, slice through a couple of sheets of paper to "test" it, not get the shave he was expecting, and complain in a thread that so-and-so did a lousy job honing his razor. How does that help him?

Your thoughts, please?

On honing, have you tried putting black marker on the edge of the blade (carefully from the side)?[/QUOTE]

No I haven't used a black marker on the blade. Is this done to see how much of the blade I have taken off by honing ?

Yes.

In my opinion, the worst enemy when someone begins is sharpening without looking.
Grab that magic marker and mark the edge of the blade.

Do 2 light strokes on your 1000, then look. Do 2 more strokes and look again.
Is the marker being removed evenly? Are there very thin line of black at the very edge of the blade?
Always observe the blade to see if the edge is getting sharper, then adjust.

First don't try to sharpen a razor untill you look at the video made buy our founder...Lynn Abrams.
It is avaliable for sale in the vendors section and is invaluable to a beginner. The video is also on youtube and others as well.
Nortons are a good start but you will want to progress from there to more sophisticated stones.

I have been sharpening and restoring for going on two years but still get stumped.

I have also sent off some razors to be sharpened by Lynn and use them for a benchmark.

It is a learning game and you will get it but it takes time.

Email me with your name and address and I will send a couple to practice on If you like.
blowout123@juno.com

Will also send a norton laping plate for you to flatten your stones on. This is a must. Later on you can buy a diamond laping plate to do this but hold off till you learn a little more.

THis is not a catch...I am not trying to sell you something...just trying to save you a lit of heartaches and money.

Stingray

Pointless to discuss whether slicing paper will damage the edge. The test is useless for razors. It's not hard to push cut paper. A shave ready razor has to be much sharper.

Also pointless to take any advice on razors, stropping, or honing from anyone at AOS. At least not the one I have been to. It's a nice shop but not a source for knowledge.

Send the razor out for honing as recommended. A higher grit hone isn't what you need right no, first you need to master the basics.

Michael

I do not mean to be contrarian, but I would play around with light honing before you send it in.
I say this with some reservation, because ultimately you will be responsible for what happens to your DOVO.

Everyone comes from different perspective, but I for one value the ability to hone over a price of a razor.
You can always (and probably should) send it in to be professionally honed after you are done with some level of experimenting.
This way you can gain some valuable experience and also have a sharp razor at the end of the day.
If you send it in right away, you might be much more hesitant to do any kind of serious honing afterwards for fear of ruining it.

All of this, of course, is null if you get a practice razor offered by stingray.

Originally Posted by stingray

First don't try to sharpen a razor untill you look at the video made buy our founder...Lynn Abrams.
It is avaliable for sale in the vendors section and is invaluable to a beginner. The video is also on youtube and others as well.
Nortons are a good start but you will want to progress from there to more sophisticated stones.

I have been sharpening and restoring for going on two years but still get stumped.

I have also sent off some razors to be sharpened by Lynn and use them for a benchmark.

It is a learning game and you will get it but it takes time.

Email me with your name and address and I will send a couple to practice on If you like.
blowout123@juno.com

Will also send a norton laping plate for you to flatten your stones on. This is a must. Later on you can buy a diamond laping plate to do this but hold off till you learn a little more.

THis is not a catch...I am not trying to sell you something...just trying to save you a lit of heartaches and money.

Stingray

Email sent.

Now see, you are already way ahead of me; a magic marker, my goodness! I think I am going to ship my DOVO to the chief honemeister and look into getting a few blades, stone, and strop to play on.
Sounds interesting (marker technique) and worth doing. I will mark your name so I can remember you when it comes to the practice of this technique!

Gotta be smooth!

it is all good. I am working on getting new tools (honing stone, new strop, and used blade[s]) so i can start practicing but in the meantime i am going to send my blade to the chief honemeister for a hone/restoration; i gotta be smooth....know what i mean!

Originally Posted by syslight

no but if you want i'm sure we could work up some test parameters and evaluation standards. it cannot be and more useless of that test than the hht.

Oh it can be, I have cut paper with known dull knives & nice clean paper cuts with swords that wont shave. Plus you will have noobs complaining about the styptic stinging all the paper cuts they got in the process.