Frown Creation | Frown Fix | School Me

[Namkcakram]

You said this is a Kinfolks razor? I don’t have that model, but the one I have is fantastic and I think it’s a lower tier model. I’ve had a couple from Little Valley, NY and the Case family relatives and they’ve all been impressive.

I shaved today with my current Kinfolks honed on one of the Les Lats I mentioned and it’s on about shave 10 and not fading yet. I’m sure the new soap could be helping too.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

You said this is a Kinfolks razor? I don’t have that model, but the one I have is fantastic and I think it’s a lower tier model. I’ve had a couple from Little Valley, NY and the Case family relatives and they’ve all been impressive.

I shaved today with my current Kinfolks honed on one of the Les Lats I mentioned and it’s on about shave 10 and not fading yet. I’m sure the new soap could be helping too.

Yes, it's a Kinfolks Blue Steel Special. I really want to shave with it as soon as possible, but I'll be patient until it's right.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I also have another Kinfolks Blue Steel Special razor (from eBay). It was purchased as a I'm-hoping-it's-better-than-it-looks razor.

Tomorrow I may try to clean it up. It could be a good one, but it's way to funky at the moment to even evaluate. My 320 Shapton hasn't arrived yet, but I might be able to work on this 2nd Kinfolks anyway; it certainly has no frown (or sharpness either).

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[psfred]

Honing on a narrow hone makes it easy to get a frown, and you get one automatically on a warped razor if you hone it on flat stones (which is one argument for using narrow or convexed hones....)

There is always a tendency to remove more material in the center of the blade than the ends, also true of knives. We've all seen well worn knives with a "keel" at the base of the blade. One must pay attention and give the extra bit of honing to the toe and heel.

The other tendency is to press down on the stone using the tail of the razor for a lever, resulting in an over-honed toe. This can get pretty dramatic on a blade used by a barber. Probably possible to hone well, but not my preference.

 

[kelbro]

The current fad of convex hones makes me think that we will see more frowns.

 

[Namkcakram]

The current fad of convex hones makes me think that we will see more frowns.

I keep thinking the same thing. I’d buy one out of curiosity, but the thought of owning a stone that can’t hone chisels just makes me twitch.

There may not be any new evil/risk here too, people have managed to make frowns on 2” wide flat stones for generations.

 

[Scarry Knight]

I found a small frown in an old double duck. A small bulge in the heel of the edge, extending just beyond the bevel toward the spine, maybe visible for 1/8” rising toward the spine was noticed through the blades alignment with a light and seeing the dent exhibited in the light reflection when viewing. I gently massaged the bulge out with my thumbnails, pressing the low against the high spot, and high toward low, and with a couple passes, removing the kink. It was dented like a soda can pops in but in a much smaller degree...maybe I’d tapped a sink edge setting it down, or struck the raised leather handle’s edge on the strop (which I have since chamfered to 45° with a cutcile trimmer to deter in the future, should contact be made again).

This was the cause for my small frown and dent removed, the frown can now be honed out. It took the bevel out of plane causing the frown during the last hone session.

 

[Lord Fatboy]

I’d buy one out of curiosity, but the thought of owning a stone that can’t hone chisels just makes me twitch

Same here. If you cannot use it for tools...

I've actually got an old convexed Yellow Lake stone somewhere.
When they started to come back in fashion in the last 18 months or so I realised that I have owned a few old convexed stones previously. I had flattened them all, not knowing any better, but I prefer them that way so no loss.

 

[mr_houston]

On a flat hone, you’ll never hit the overground area.

This is my understanding as well. There is nothing inherently wrong with a frown that will harm you. I've seen ebay razors with substantial frowns -- meaning the owner kept sharpening and using the razor. He just did it badly over and over again.

My issue is that, with a flat hone, I just can't set a bevel on the frowning section. I always straighten the edge.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

This is my understanding as well. There is nothing inherently wrong with a frown that will harm you. I've seen ebay razors with substantial frowns -- meaning the owner kept sharpening and using the razor. He just did it badly over and over again.

My issue is that, with a flat hone, I just can't set a bevel on the frowning section. I always straighten the edge.

Thanks. More helpful information on frowns.