Seraphim's Synthetic Progression

[rickboone1]

I think my problem here is that I "feel" like I should be spending a lot more money for this whole "hone your own" thing. Good grief! For under $20 I am pretty much set for at least a year. Thanks for the "new era" of honing! :)

Send me some more money. I won't complain. Oh yeah...don't forget to go to Lowe's and buy a piece of tile. They'll cut it. Free. Tile may cost you $4. Does that help you feel better? And, like gas to get there. You'll probably stop for a burger, so consider that cost. Feeling like you're spending enough yet? :)

[rickboone1]

Okay, I have 4 sheets of each of the following on the way (sheets are 9" x 6.5")

12 1200 grit
9 1800 grit
5 4000 grit
3 8000 grit
1 14000 grit
.3 50000 grit

For simply touching up any fairly freshly honed straights, I assume that a few laps on the 3, 1 and .3 would be sufficient then strop?

For practicing honing on my recent flea market finds - I would use them all - setting the bevel on the 12 micron (1200 grit) and progressing from there? Or...do I need to pick up a DMT 1200?

And finally, with all of the lapping paper - is there any need for a coticule? RE: Is there anything that a coticule can do that my assortment of lapping papers cannot?

Thanks!

A coticule can have its own forum. Does that count? It can have you spending thousands of dollars.

here's what you do.

Get your films out and your coti.

cut the films to the size of your coti.

use the coti as your base for your films.

when you're done with all your films, work up a nice slurry on the coti then....hmm....i guess say 'nice slurry' and rinse it off. put it away.

[LessLemming]

Is there anything that a coticule can do that my assortment of lapping papers cannot?

No.

do I need to pick up a DMT 1200

No. But the DMT 1.2k is a nice bevel setter that will wear out less quick than the lapping film

[LessLemming]

btw. my recent record is twenty straights in a row on one of each a 5µm SiC, 5µm and 1µm Al2O3 lapping film.
The razors where factory fresh (and took quite a bit of metal removal!). I set the bevel on the black 5µm SiC, which cuts quite agressivley,
mellowed the bevel down on the 5µm Al2O3 (could have been the 3µm as well, but I decided to go with the brown 5µm) then jumped to the 1µm green for an exceptionally nice polish.
Do that with stones!

I used exactly one sheet of 5µm SiC, 5µm Al2O3 and 1µm Al2O3 to sharpen all of the 20 razors without a sign of extensive wear

[Cochese2323]

Do you guys usually go right from a pasted strop to shaving? Or is there some stropping on leather in there somewhere?

I have been going with stropping maybe 50 laps on plain leather after shaving, then hitting the pasted balsa for like 10 laps right before shaving vs more leather. Seems to be a smoother shave for me at least. Could be that I just really suck at stropping on leather too.

[Slash McCoy]

There is a magic and a mystique to the coti. Especially a really big stone. But no it won't surpass a nice film edge. Film gives the superior edge. It is easier And cheaper too. Film is science, coti is art.

[JZH]

Do you guys usually go right from a pasted strop to shaving? Or is there some stropping on leather in there somewhere?

I always strop on leather before shaving.

[Slash McCoy]

I always strop on leather before shaving.

+1. Stropping on clean leather is not optional.

[Slash McCoy]

A coticule can have its own forum. Does that count? It can have you spending thousands of dollars.

here's what you do.

Get your films out and your coti.

cut the films to the size of your coti.

use the coti as your base for your films.

when you're done with all your films, work up a nice slurry on the coti then....hmm....i guess say 'nice slurry' and rinse it off. put it away.

Ah, but one of the advantages of film is you are not limited to so small a honing surface. You can easily have an entire blade length of width, and a solid 11-1/2" of length. or 13" length if you use the thorlabs film.

[hokahay]

Good going.

Tape is evil.

Tape is evil on a Zowada pattern welded razor? You probably use them as disposables then.

[Slash McCoy]

Tape is evil on a Zowada pattern welded razor? You probably use them as disposables then.

If it is for shaving, yes. If it is for showing, no.

The whole idea of honing without tape is to keep the razor's bevel angle more or less the same for the life of the razor. By "life of the razor", I mean until it is worn down to not much of anything left of it. If a 6/8 razor is honed with tape until it is only 3/8, or even 4/8, but the spine thickness has not changed, well, you figure it out. Using tape reduces the razor's useful life, significantly so, if it is used and honed frequently. My approach PRESERVES the razor.

However, anyone who wishes to tape his spines is certainly free to do so. My approval is not needed. But it will absolutely never be given. Taping without a reason is, to me, wasteful. Taping for purely cosmetic reasons is taping without reason. Your opinion is respected but is nevertheless, in my own opinion, wrong.

[rickboone1]

A couple of dumb questions re lapping film:

- is there any difference, as applied to honing, between diamond and AlOx lapping films? I see you use both Seraphim.
- anyone know of a site that will ship small numbers of sheets of lapping film internationally ? have found two but both sell in packs of 24 sheets :-)

aluminum may last a little longer, but it's likely the difference will not be that noticeable, esp for the price difference.

no place i've found sells small sets, all in packages of 24 or more.

[danjared]

I would think that the diamond films last longer, or at least that's what I recall Seraphim saying. Also, the diamond films are more expensive.

[Seraphim]

Yes, diamond definitely lasts longer.

But I don't think it is cost effective, even with that factored in.

[otto76]

I used this exact progression (nearly) today on a razor I wanted to put a new edge on. I used a DMT Duosharp 600/1200 that just came in the mail today, 3um & 1um lapping film, and a seatbelt pasted with .5 chromox & .5 diamond slurry. finished with 50 laps on felt & 100 on leather.
This was easily the best edge I've managed to put on a blade. This was partially due to taking a more patient approach to setting the bevel which I think has been lacking all along, but I really like this set up! The 600 grit side is a fast bevel setter. Now I want to go through and redo everything I've honed.

[Tescot]

I used a DMT Duosharp 600/1200 that just came in the mail today, 3um & 1um lapping film, and pasted .5 chromox

Exact same setup that is on it's way to me... I think I'm overcoming my recently aquired SRAD and now looking forward to making them work, and work well!

[paco664]

Exact same setup that is on it's way to me... I think I'm overcoming my recently aquired SRAD and now looking forward to making them work, and work well!

good luck with that .... lol...

[otto76]

good luck with that .... lol...

No joke:) Every time I pick up a new honing trick all I want to do is find new razors to try it on! All the AD's feed each other.

[Pkrankow]

Exact same setup that is on it's way to me... I think I'm overcoming my recently aquired SRAD and now looking forward to making them work, and work well!

good luck with that .... lol...

No joke:) Every time I pick up a new honing trick all I want to do is find new razors to try it on! All the AD's feed each other.

Uh huh... Been there, that was about 4 or 5 razors ago. I have another hone on the way too.

Phil

[paco664]

Uh huh... Been there, that was about 4 or 5 razors ago. I have another hone on the way too.

Phil

Um... hone and razor...