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Sharpening a rolls razor.

Well me and my dad did a little razor swap today. I gave him my little travel razor in a small metal case which he was delighted with and he gave me his rolls razor which is in fantastic condition! The only thing is, it's not up to shaving sharpness and I think it will take a long time for the hone to bring it back so I was thinking of using my Japanese waterstones to bring it back to a decent level of sharpness before taking it to the rolls hone. I'm a fairly dab hand at sharpening knives to shave hairs off my arm but I know razor sharpening is a completely different kettle of fish!

So I have a few questions to ask if I may before attempting the sharpening if someone wouldn't mind answering them for me :001_smile

I have a 1000grit and 6000 grit combination water stone; will the 6000grit be enough for me to then move onto the hone, and should I start on the 6000 or 1000grit?

If I lay the razor flat on the hone (as you would a normal straight razor) will this give me the correct angle to work with the hone and strop on the rolls?

I normally sharpen one side of a knife until I have a definite burr, then the other side until the burr is prominent again and then joint the blade to remove the burr but that will not be possible with the rolls razor because of the edge guard. How do I avoid producing a burr and still know when I am finished with the grit I am working on?

Does anyone have any sharpening instructions for the rolls - in particular number of strokes per side and if it talks about honing without the rolls hone and strop that would be perfect. The rolls wiki appears to be down for maintenance at the moment.


Sorry for the many questions but I am really excited about using the rolls razor and I don't want to mess it up!
Thanks a lot,
Asa
 
Hi there, thanks for posting the videos. I have actually seen those before and I understand how the rolls razor works, I just need the answers to my more specific questions.

Cheers,
Asa
 
Hi Asa,
There have been a number of us who have used "external" stones to get a Rolls back in shape. The 1000/6000 combo stone will get you started, but you'll probably want to go higher. I made some 1/8" thick hobby plywood blanks and put diamond on them and work my rolls up to 14,000 (you have to use the wood as a strop, not a hone, since it would dig in). You could also use higher grit stones if you have access to them. (or send your blades off to a honemeister)

As far as the actual sharpening process, I pop off the blade guard and treat it just like a short chunk of straight razor, which it is. Have a look for videos on straight sharpening and you'll see how it's done. You don't want to go on one side till you raise a burr tho, it's a much more delicate process! you have to push the blade carefully, and very little pressure, and then be careful flipping it over. I am working on a magnetic holder, but I haven't perfected it yet. I'm sure that will make handling the blade a lot easier.
 
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