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Honing by stropping?

While I was researching about honing wedges, I wanted to understand why they were more difficult than a normal hollow razor, I came across this post in a thread from 2007.

If you've got one, a pasted hanger will hone that wedge up in a hurry. I've got one of Keith's roughout strops with flexcut gold on one side and boron carbide on the other, and those big english choppers hone up in a matter of minutes. I suspect diamond would work just as well, it's just a bit more expensive. Anyway, finish up with chrome oxide on the linen side of a hanger and you're done. Refreshes are a few laps on the chrome oxide-on-linen.

No one ever responded to this guys comment, is this really possible?
 
Yes, certainly so.

The Dovo pasted strop that's mounted upon the block of wood is made to sharpen their 42*85 wedges, and do so w/ a honing action on the strop (edge-forward motions) instead of the normal edge-trailing action.

Don't know why it doesn't work well w/ hollows, but there you go; I've used it as such and it seems to work just fine (as does a normal hone, which I'd just as soon use, but wedges hang around in circles where the users aren't used to using hones).
 
While I was researching about honing wedges, I wanted to understand why they were more difficult than a normal hollow razor, I came across this post in a thread from 2007.



No one ever responded to this guys comment, is this really possible?


I would say it depend on the condition of the edge your working with.
If the bevel is set and almost shave ready, then sure stropping on paste should bring the edge back.
If your talking about an old wedge that has seen better days, then your going to need a stone.
No need to be concerned about honing a wedge. They are not much (if any) difference in honing them. Just tape the spine, start honing and see how it contacting the stone. Adjust from there, either with another layer of tape or different stroke.

You can do it, just jump in :001_smile
 
Yes, certainly so.

The Dovo pasted strop that's mounted upon the block of wood is made to sharpen their 42*85 wedges, and do so w/ a honing action on the strop (edge-forward motions) instead of the normal edge-trailing action.

Don't know why it doesn't work well w/ hollows, but there you go; I've used it as such and it seems to work just fine (as does a normal hone, which I'd just as soon use, but wedges hang around in circles where the users aren't used to using hones).

This special pasted strop, is it rough leather that is pasted? After that strop do you then go to finer pastes then leather? Do you tape the spine? What does 42*85 mean? I am totally new to this straight razor thing :blush:

I was oogling the coticule bouts on your website. I am hoping to get one. I would like to actually learn proper honing :lol:
 
Dovo used to make #42385, 42285, & 42485 wedges...the 2/3/4 referred to 2/8", 3/8", or 4/8" height. Only 42385's still around, more for surgery prep than the shaving world, I'll bet.

No, it is actually their "Russian" leather that's pasted, a very smooth leather, with a coarse green paste.

They don't intend for you to tape the spine, nor use other pastes thereafter. Just the green side + honing stroke for a bit, followed by the plain side + stropping motion for awhile...obviously this wasn't a solution for those taking this to the face, we'd want finer pastes for sure.

But to take tool and give a quick refresher before hitting the autoclave I suppose it easily solves the need to make it cut hair cleanly for the next surgery prep session.
 
I've never tried it... but it seems like it would be very easy to nick up the leather using a honing stroke?
 
For sure it would seem easy to nick!

I had to ask repeatedly when Dovo told me that that's what they'd designed this one for, but they staunchly claimed, without any hope for language confusion, that it'll work just fine with a healthy-but-slightly-dulled wedge held flat to hide.

Go figure (never tried it).
 
Well using my noodle brain logic, as HWMBO calls it, I decided to try an experiment. "The wedge was already not shave ready, what's the worst that could happen, I'll just have to send it for honing like I was going to have to do anyway..." This may be cringe inducing to some of you guys who actually know how to do this stuff the right way :tongue_sm

I have a pipe razor that just arrived and needed some love. I don't have any stones, just tried my dremel for the first time and barely know anything about straights. So after some polishing and pretty making on the straight, which looks to be a full wedge, I taped the spine with some surgical tape (it is thinner than electrical tape which I couldn't find at the time) and ran it a couple times over some 600 grit wet dry paper, in a stropping motion and some small circling. There was a very tiny nick I was hoping would go away with this procedure towards the front end, the toe end?

Next I built a bench strop thing with two sides of canvas then pasted it with Ryobi compounds that are like big crayons in a tube, which is really hard to peel off, I had to use a saw and pliers, I have small gerbil paws. Pasted one side with yellow Stainless steel buffing compound which is 4-7 micron and the other side with black Emery compund which is 1-3 micron.

Next I found the electrical tape and started stropping on the yellow pasted strop went for 60 laps, and 60 laps on black and at this point it could kind of cut arm hair. I had a thought that maybe the black tape was too steep. Switched to Surgical tape again, went 100 laps, it was blunt. So I started over.

Went back to electrical tape:
100 laps yellow
100 laps black (got it to cut leg hair at this point)
50+ laps rough side of strop
60 laps ChromOx
50 laps chalk and toothpaste
60+ laps leather
40+ laps Super Absorbent Kitchen towel

Ok so, this is my experiment resulting in decent leg hair chopping dry. I will report when I finally try it wet. Probably not shave ready by most people's standards but I hope to learn something from this fiddling around.

Any advice and comments on what heck was actually going on would be greatly be appreciated. This experiment could not have been possible without the extensive amount of info I've read here on B&B. :lol:
 
Since your going to jump in sooner rather then later I'll give you the cheapest way to jump in and play around.
Honing film. You can buy it online or at most wood working stores.
Honing film, glass or marble piece and your good to go.

Using W/D 600 grit paper is no problem (but wouldn't make a habit of it). I've seen many do it before that don't have a proper bevel setting stone. The only thing is the paper is aggressive and can eat more metal then it needs to.

I'm going to guess that your razor will shave now but will not be that comfortable.
The paste polished the edge but I would guess there are still plenty of 600 grit marks left on the edge.

Getting an edge to shave and getting it to shave comfortable at 2 different things.
Just to give you an idea, on really bad razors I cut the bevel with a DMT 325. After that it will shave arm hair but I wouldn't put it to my face...lol
With each progressive stone (or grit) you are removing the marks left by the prior stone, until you get to the point of having a comfortable shaving edge.
 
Just a quick update. I have now shaved with it twice. With stropping on CromOx and leather between each shave with no tape on the spine. Both decent shaves, and the wedge just mows through leg hairs! I think it is fine, but I have tough skin. I wouldn't recommend for someone to shave their face with it.
 
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