My first hone

[brother cavefish]

I AM WAITING FOR A COTICULE AND A NANIWA 1K, and then balsa and finally strop---- my question is when one hones should the spine lay on the block too as to keep a perfect angle, i have heard some lay a piece of tape on the spine as to not scratch it up-----------one of the reasons i ask this , is i need to know for sure, it makes sense because the blades "lay" will make a smooth flowing edge rather than a steel eating "V"------------if not wow one must have a steady hand
Also i ask this because some blades, like "smiler's" or just some blades in general, feel like they "teeter" heel to toe, a little because the spine has design variations at different sections for cosmetical looks- maybe i am thinking too hard and the FEEL is what is what i need do---

[PapaFish]

You want to lay it flat, with spine and edge touching. Use of electrical tape is to either protect the spine (special goldwash, nicely worked, etc.) or to raise the angle slightly when finishing. There are lots of honing techniques for different blade shapes and such, but they all involve constant contact spine and edge.

[brother cavefish]

thanks again

[celestino]

+1. Good advice!

[Legion]

There are reasons not to tape the spine as well, but I won't open that can of worms again.

[brother cavefish]

well i got it , it will take some time--------- do i lay it easy or semi firm, i actually once carved a little piece, ,its like soapstone

[PapaFish]

Yeah, I taped once, and will never again!
I usually start out with some pressure, and work more and more lightly as I go. You shouldn't "carve" your hones, they are hard and solid (at least in my experience). Plus, with the razor laid flat, there is no edge to dig in to the stone.

[primo]

I tape all the time, no problems yet. Some I don't so as to make a shallower bevel. I use a little bit of pressure, about the amount you'd use when using an eraser.

[Pkrankow]

Lay the blade on nice and easy. Always rotate the blade so the edge lifts and the spine (should) stays in contact, gently returning the blade edge to the stone. Use *some* pressure for bevel setting and early stages on milky coticule slurry. Use the only weight of the blade during late slurry dilution and pure water, and finish with "less than" the weight of the blade. In other words with great care.

Bevel setting and milky slurry you can do "half" laps, where you do not flip the blade, but hone both pushing and pulling the blade along the stone. Count your laps and repeat on the other side. Do some full honing laps (say 30) before moving on to the next step. Hone each stage to completion. A few dozen extra, unnecessary laps on coticule will not cause problems in the short term, (but will cause added wear eventually.)

I tend to dilute in 3 stages (or so), then rinse the blade and coticule under running water prior to finishing. I find that this is easier to manage than adding a little water, then a little more, then a little more....

Lastly, don't sweat it. Unless you are doing things really REALLY wrong you won't permanently damage the blade, hone, or yourself. Honing should be relaxing, possibly somewhat meditative. If you are not feeling "it", or it is making you upset, put the hone and blade down and come back later.

some reading while you wait
http://coticule.be/straight-razor-honing.html

Phil

[brother cavefish]

this site is good -- he makes it seem so easy, . from my perspective its all feel, and i dont have it down yet-------LOL

[brother cavefish]

Lay the blade on nice and easy. Always rotate the blade so the edge lifts and the spine (should) stays in contact, gently returning the blade edge to the stone. Use *some* pressure for bevel setting and early stages on milky coticule slurry. Use the only weight of the blade during late slurry dilution and pure water, and finish with "less than" the weight of the blade. In other words with great care.

Bevel setting and milky slurry you can do "half" laps, where you do not flip the blade, but hone both pushing and pulling the blade along the stone. Count your laps and repeat on the other side. Do some full honing laps (say 30) before moving on to the next step. Hone each stage to completion. A few dozen extra, unnecessary laps on coticule will not cause problems in the short term, (but will cause added wear eventually.)

I tend to dilute in 3 stages (or so), then rinse the blade and coticule under running water prior to finishing. I find that this is easier to manage than adding a little water, then a little more, then a little more....

Lastly, don't sweat it. Unless you are doing things really REALLY wrong you won't permanently damage the blade, hone, or yourself. Honing should be relaxing, possibly somewhat meditative. If you are not feeling "it", or it is making you upset, put the hone and blade down and come back later.

some reading while you wait
http://coticule.be/straight-razor-honing.html

Phil

you should post a video

[brother cavefish]

WELL i did , cotucule, balsa, then leather strop------this was a weird one though, i did a Wade & butcher , i believe this one is a 1/4 hollow ground almost akin to a wedge i would say, not much room under the rib and blade , anywho it shaved my face, a little rough but did it, these thicker blades feel nice shaving, funny thing though ,they dont "feel" sharp like a full Hollow would--------- i never would have guessed it would have shaved, the full hollows i have, "feel" sharper but dont shave the face---------it is however , fun to hone, it is kind of meditative, , i think the key is patience , which i need to work on, i have wedge coming tomorrow and will try the unicot method, to get more room under the ground------

[Great White Shavealo]

Honing should be relaxing, possibly somewhat meditative. If you are not feeling "it", or it is making you upset, put the hone and blade down and come back later.

Your whole post was good, but that point needs to be said again. Excellent point! I have found that getting frustrated only causes me to use too much pressure and I am not as careful.

To the OP: I just started honing about a month ago. Once you get the motion down and feel the blade working across the stone, you will have little problems. It is really quite fun and the challenge to come out with a shave ready razor is exciting... well... to me... maybe I need to get out more.

[Pkrankow]

you should post a video

If I could take a video with something better than my laptop webcam I would consider it. Everything ends up choppy and horrible because of low frame rate. Anyways a large number of high quality honing videos are out there already done by people who are much better at honing than I am.

Phil