Lapping film, try it.

rickboone1 said:

Let's do it, man. If you don't have my address, PM me. Though, you should. I need yours, though.

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PM inbound...

I can testify now, this stuff worked for me.

I'm a n00b working with my Whipped Dog and cutting my starter strop. I'm only a dozen shaves or so in and cutting myself routinely. But I just finished a successful shave with an Ebay Red Injun 101.

I'm local to a Woodcraft store so I picked up one of the granite finishing plates. Got my film from Fiber Instrument Sales. 5,3,1 aluminum.

I should have had something more coarse to set the bevel, but we have one of the 60-100 power little microscopes so it was easy to see the chips and pits. I went all Japanese style just grinding metal with a 5. Wore out the strip and went to another. Finally I got to a relatively smooth edge.

I did 30 laps with the 3, 20 with the 1 and 20 more with the paper under the 1.

Stropped with the smooth part of my starter strop about 20 laps.

Nice, smooth shave.

So thanks guys, for the knowledge.

I suppose I'll end up with stones down the road just to learn that skill. But for now being able to hone my own razors is really a relief. I'm gratified to be able to dial it in like that. You guys have it broken down nicely.

Try it fellow n00bs!

I think having the microscope is key. I couldn't get the hair tests to work very well, but I knew I was looking at a smooth edge. I decided to risk a shave and the Red Injun did a great job.

Nice going, Koso! Your example should inspire others.

It would be nice to have some 12u film for bevel setting, but you can use 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper in a pinch. Spray the back with LocTite spray adhesive and carefully apply it to your favorite lapping plate. If you do a good job of keeping it smooth and tight as you apply the paper, you can get pretty decent results.

Enjoy your Red Injun. It is a great razor! Happy shaves!

Thanks for sharing koso! It is good to hear about another noob using microscope vs. HHT. I'm just not excited about the HHT, but I have a 30x jewelers loupe ordered along with my granite (from Woodcraft), lapping film (from Rick Boone1), and a nice strop (Big Daddy strop from Star Shaving). I made 100% of these purchases after reading this thread multiple times and other threads on B&B, and acting on thoughtful recommendations posted from Slash McCoy, Seraphim, Noahinpictures, Luc, and others. I'm eager to dig into restoring the sharpness to my first Whipped Dog which Larry sent to me super sharp and I've managed to dull with poor user technique and poor stropping technique. I hope that my little 30x jeweler's loupe provides enough magnification. It is not a microscope but our thought process sounds similar around looking at the magnified blade edge pre/post lapping film & honing. It is very reassuring to hear about your success with a purely visual exam of the blade edge vs. the HHT, and with lapping film as well. Way to go koso! It is particularly reassuring for me since I just made my case with SWMBO that I need to buy this additional stuff and more razors from Larry! I'll post some feedback on the lapping film and the other gear when it arrives and I take it for a spin.

Welcome Comrades, to the lapping film revolution!

The bougeouis rock rubbers will be the first up against the wall when the dawn of the glorious new age begins!

I too just recently ordered a nice granite flat plate, a lapping film sampler from Rick Boone, and extra fine dia-sharp dmt almost solely on Seraphim's recommendations. I already have plenty of Pico paper on hand by some wild chance so I think I'm set.

Question for you guys: I have been using a Dovo masters from TSS almost exclusively since October and the edge just isn't cutting it anymore. I can still shave with it, but it isn't smooth and I really have to work hard to achieve a DFS. I have been using my shavette because it provides much smoother shaves. What grit paper should I start with, or can I even start with the 1200 dmt?

I put off honing as long as I could, but now all I think about is "how sharp can I make this puppy?"

Hit up the 3um on a single layer of PicoPaper, then whambazulate it on 1um over two layers of PicoPaper.

Then shave and enjoy.

If that doesn't work, PM Slash about spine taping strategies....

Lol thank you kind sir.

You do not hone with lapping film.


Lapping film hone with you!

Oh, that is funny!!

Seraphim said:

You do not hone with lapping film.


Lapping film hone with you!

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I performed a little experiment today based on one of Seraphim's posts about the paper backing. I've got a J.A. Hellberg near wedge that has been giving me fits to get a good edge. I decided today to try paper under all of the films, starting at the 12um, and finishing with 2 layers of paper under the 1um (the .3 is just too harsh, so I don't go past that anymore). Success! It was very sharp and very smooth. A great shaver and a nice razor to get back into the rotation.

Now, I'm not saying that the paper under all films is REALLY what "fixed" it, but it certainly helped, if even as a mental crutch. Sometimes that's all it takes.

I'm interested to see how that edge holds up. Honestly, I wouldn't expect much difference.

So, what you're really saying is that the $39.99 for a pack of PicoPaper was really worth, right?

Seraphim said:

So, what you're really saying is that the $39.99 for a pack of PicoPaper was really worth, right?

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For 40 bucks, it's practically stealing. If I were a Catholic, I'd go to confessional, but I'm not, so I'm good.

If you guys don't have it, GET YOUR PicoPaper!

TnutsShave said:

For 40 bucks, it's practically stealing. If I were a Catholic, I'd go to confessional, but I'm not, so I'm good.

If you guys don't have it, GET YOUR PicoPaper!

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I use RicoPaper.... (it's made from recycled materials)

I'm having an incredibly hard time getting things smooth enough to work the edge. No matter how hard I try to clean my glass plate and the film, dust is causing high points. I can see them immediately following the first pass on a new sheet, as they're the spots that turn dark. Anyone else experience this or must I just live in the dustiest house represented here?

I have the same problem. I have only tried them once, but don't imagine the problem going away since the same thing happened on every progressively finer sheet of paper. I have to try giving it a go again, since in the end, I wound up finding I didn't remove all the scratches early on, so I can't comment on if the dust impacted the final edge.

TnutsShave said:

I performed a little experiment today based on one of Seraphim's posts about the paper backing. I've got a J.A. Hellberg near wedge that has been giving me fits to get a good edge. I decided today to try paper under all of the films

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I use paper under all the films. It works better for me. Also, I started with a package of film from 'bestsharpeningstones' and it came with an adhesive back that was coated with a peel-away paper. I left the paper on and used it that way. Worked well and the film lasted a good long while. Held it down with the obligatory spit... of water...

I decided to try out the paper under film in earnest yesterday on a BW Middlebrooks 5/8 full hollow that I've been working on lately. I had it honed up and shaving well enough, but the edge was a bit on the harsh side (spoiled by a Paco edge, I suppose). I ran the edge over a glass, then ran back through the progression of 5/3/1 microns, plus a turn on 1 micron with the damp paper. I must admit, I was quite skeptical when I read about the paper trick, but I gave it a shot. Report: it worked very nicely. The edge was super smooth, the shave really close and almost zero irritation. A world of difference compared to how it was previously. It's definitely going into my honing regimen, for sure.

On a side note, the HHT/shave test doesn't work so good on my arm hair; I think it's just too fine to be a reliable indicator. The hair on my leg, however, seems to be good for the HHT. That, however, presents a few problems in and of itself. My legs look ridiculous with those little bald patches from the various HHTs I've done over the past few days. I may have to invest in a microscope or a loupe to monitor my progress instead.

jrp316 said:

I decided to try out the paper under film in earnest yesterday on a BW Middlebrooks 5/8 full hollow that I've been working on lately. I had it honed up and shaving well enough, but the edge was a bit on the harsh side (spoiled by a Paco edge, I suppose). I ran the edge over a glass, then ran back through the progression of 5/3/1 microns, plus a turn on 1 micron with the damp paper. I must admit, I was quite skeptical when I read about the paper trick, but I gave it a shot. Report: it worked very nicely. The edge was super smooth, the shave really close and almost zero irritation. A world of difference compared to how it was previously. It's definitely going into my honing regimen, for sure.

On a side note, the HHT/shave test doesn't work so good on my arm hair; I think it's just too fine to be a reliable indicator. The hair on my leg, however, seems to be good for the HHT. That, however, presents a few problems in and of itself. My legs look ridiculous with those little bald patches from the various HHTs I've done over the past few days. I may have to invest in a microscope or a loupe to monitor my progress instead.

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I don't really use the HHT very much unless I want to compare different regions of the same blade. For a quick general sharpness indicator, I float the razor about 1/4" over my forearm and look for the ends of hairs to be lopped off and fall onto the blade. Also works on belly and chest hair. You don't get bald patches if you are keeping the razor well above the skin.

I'm going to start selling stock in PicoPaper Inc.

It's going to make the Facebook IPO look like a total flop.