DMT honing

[Droshi]

Hi there,

This is a question for anyone who is familiar with the DMT line. I've recently purchased the D8F (25 micron I believe) and the D8EE (3 micron).

Previously I've been using pastes for quite a while, but I was ready to break into hones and try my hand at them.

I honed up a DOVO razor of mine pretty nicely with a couple strokes on the D8F, and then polished it on the D8EE, and finished on 1/0.5/0.25 micron pastes. Seemed to work quite nicely, so off I went to try to take my 2 Wapi's into the realm of shave ready. It could be my new-ness to honing or whatever, but they didn't set a bevel evenly like the DOVO did. Now my question is, how do I go about resetting the bevel to be straight? Does it need to be straight? If I keep honing evenly it appears as if it will wear quite unevenly (visually), is that a problem and should I keep going?

I don't really expect that much from a couple $17 razors, but since they were regarded as pretty good once honed I figured that meant they shouldn't be -too- difficult to hone, but I thought I'd post incase anyone knows some tricks or whatnot for these.

Thanks for the help.

[Sticky]

Some of the later Wapi's are reported to be somewhat warped. Lay them on a flat surface to check it. Use the marker test to clearly see how the hone is working the edge.

The bevels don't need to be visually even as long as they both meet at the edge, passing the TNT evenly.

[Chrisl]

Some of the later Wapi's are reported to be somewhat warped. Lay them on a flat surface to check it. Use the marker test to clearly see how the hone is working the edge.

The bevels don't need to be visually even as long as they both meet at the edge, passing the TNT evenly.

+1

I have a TI I bought new last year. Looking at the edge you can see in some areas, the bevel is almost non-existent and in others, clearly a bevel. It shaved. I say shaved, because I took it to a hone shortly after shaving with it (I had it honed by a honemeister when new)........I have to reset the bevel and have not gotten around to it yet. Soon I hope to; I TI just sitting not being used!

Chris L

[Droshi]

So when correcting this bevel to be flat, do I press evenly with no pressure on these hones?

Or should I press harder ontop of the spot not contacting the hone? Or harder on the spot where it contacts the hone too much?

Even though in general these hones are fast, these seem like they'll take a good number of hours each.

[Sticky]

Some folks like to use extra pressure until the bevel gets "close"; then lighten up. I only use maybe twice the weight of the razor until I get close; then I lighten up. I generally prefer to use light strokes all the time, using a coarser grit for faster steel grinding.

If the razor is warped a lot you might want to use it as a "practice razor". Some are warped enough that you'll need a narrow hone, or one that has a somewhat rounded corner on one of the long edges (to hit the concave part of the razor's edge).

Pushing hard on the warped section to make it contact the hone doesn't usually work out very well.

The only good news with a warped razor is that once you successfully sharpen one, sharpening a flat razor becomes a lot easier...:eek:

[Droshi]

I've heard that too much pressure might cause the diamonds to dislodge, is that true or just rubbish?

Unfortunately I only have the D8F and D8EE, so no other stone hones to work with, I guess I'll just take my time and work a little at a time on each until they are flat. I had thought these Wapis would make good honing practice, and I suppose they do...but just not typical of most razors I guess.

[Sticky]

Heavy pressure on my D8C did start to dislodge diamonds on the edges of it. I tested it and found that it took over 40 pounds(guesstimate, when lapping a hone) to do it, far more than one should be using. DMT recommends light pressure; I agree.

Your D8F 600 mesh should be setting a edge rather fast on razors. If your D8F can't get the Wapi(s) to pass the TNT pretty quick, then it may be warped badly enough to need a narrow or rounded hone. See if the marker test shows contact on the entire edge (on both sides) after 5 or 10 light laps.

[Droshi]

I've gotten one of them pretty good, marker test shows one side only that if I do a pass very lightly it only contacts about half the bevel. A bit of pressure and it goes to 3/4. The toe is the side not in contact right now.

Do I just keep at it until the heel side eventually gets wore down enough? Or is there some trick? Most of the things I have tried have seemed to keep it relatively the same at this point.

Although it's worth noting that with an X pattern I can get that edge sharp, but going at it straight it doesn't contact the hone.

It seems there should be some trick to re-angling the bevel or putting pressure somewhere so that it takes a bevel a bit faster everywhere.

Not that it's a huge deal at this point to me, as new razors should be a breeze. But if I ever did pick up some old ones to restore it seems quite the chore (to my back as well!)

[Sticky]

I've gotten one of them pretty good, marker test shows one side only that if I do a pass very lightly it only contacts about half the bevel. A bit of pressure and it goes to 3/4. The toe is the side not in contact right now.

Do I just keep at it until the heel side eventually gets wore down enough? Or is there some trick? Most of the things I have tried have seemed to keep it relatively the same at this point.
...

It sounds like a warp to me. The only trick for a badly warped razor is a narrow hone or one with a rounded corner. I have rounded one edge on two of my hones for just such purpose. I have two warped razors that I don't shave with. I just keep them around for honing practice, mostly.

Or keep trying the x-pattern if you think it is working.