Section 6 - 3, Polishing/establishing the shaving sharp edge

[joel]

Polishing/establishing the shaving sharp edge
Firstly – make sure if you’ve been honing on the 4K side of the Norton, or another hone, to wash the blade off prior moving onto the next step – using the yellow, 8K side of the Norton.



With the 8K (yellow) side of the Norton, use same technique as described in Section 6 – 2 and slide the razor across the hone back and forth (making sure to switch directions by rolling the edge off of the hone and back around the to opposite direction). The object of this part of the honing process is to remove the more aggressive/rougher scratch pattern left by the 4K side of the hone, and replace it with a lighter, smoother/tighter scratch pattern of the 8K side of the Norton.





Usually anywhere around 10-15 strokes (in both directions) is sufficient for removing all of the scratch marks from the 4K, and polishing the edge to a much finer, smoother pattern. Again, sometimes you might need more, or less – depending on the method, razor etc – don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions on the forum… we’ll gladly help!

Now – make sure to wash off the razor again with running water, as whether you’re going to shave with the edge right off of the 8K, or move on to a finer finishing stone – you don’t want any residue from the 8K making your job more difficult as you move on to your leather strop – or finer finishing hone. If you are going to shave with the razor right off of the 8K side of the Norton make SURE to carefully wipe ALL of the water off of the blade with a towel/cloth as shown below. Do not touch the cutting edge with the cloth directly - instead to make sure it is dry, do a very light "stropping" on the towel...









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[papasmurf]

Great Job Joel I have been reading every thing you have posted so far . but one little question .
When you are done with the 4k side and are about to start the 8k do you soak the stone again or does it usually happen so fast that there is no time for the other side to dry up?


Nick

[joel]

Great Job Joel I have been reading every thing you have posted so far . but one little question .
When you are done with the 4k side and are about to start the 8k do you soak the stone again or does it usually happen so fast that there is no time for the other side to dry up?


Nick

Nick,
The 4K side is really the one that needs the good soaking and is more water sensitive, as when it starts to dry out, it is more apt to become loaded with metal filing, and not work as well. After having done the initial soak and having used the 4K side, a quick splash of water on the top of it is all the 8K side needs to be brought up to speed.

Hope this helps!

[Magruder]

Joel,

How do you tell when the blade is fully honed and ready to shave?

There are various ways of testing the edge to see how sharp it is: hanging hair test, thumbpad test, shaving some arm hair. What method do you use, and what's your opinion of the various tests?

[joel]

Joel,

How do you tell when the blade is fully honed and ready to shave?

There are various ways of testing the edge to see how sharp it is: hanging hair test, thumbpad test, shaving some arm hair. What method do you use, and what's your opinion of the various tests?

This is a tricky one, and most have their own way of doing it. Of course - the annoying thing is - the BEST way to tell - is to shave with the thing, which isn't really convienient.

Personally, what I do is make sure the blade can easily pop hairs off of my hand or arm from the 4K, then the 8K should do it smoother and slip right through. If it does, that's my cue to move on to the next stage - finishing. Typically any roughness at this stage will be polished out, and the razor will shave beautifully, however every so often, I'll have to jump back to the finishing hone. It's VERY, VERY rare I'll ever have to go back to the norton though.

At least for me, this was something I just sort of acquired with time, knowing how the blade will feel cutting the hair on my hand/arm when it's just right.

Hope this helps.

[Magruder]

Personally, what I do is make sure the blade can easily pop hairs off of my hand or arm ...

When you say "pop hairs off of your hand or arm", do you mean shaving your arm or hand? Or are you cutting the hairs without letting the blade touch the skin? (Sort of a hanging hair test, but you don't have to pluck the hairs first.)

[joel]

When you say "pop hairs off of your hand or arm", do you mean shaving your arm or hand? Or are you cutting the hairs without letting the blade touch the skin? (Sort of a hanging hair test, but you don't have to pluck the hairs first.)

Yep that's basically it. By doing this on my hand or arm with the hair still attached, I can feel how much (or how little) it "pulls" - as you can feel how much, or little the hair is being pulled prior to it being cut off.

Hope this helps!

[Zennmaster]

Ho Joel, and thanks for all this great information!

I have heard from some other honemeisters that even though the Norton stone is plenty wide to accommodate the entire blade, that an X-pattern is still advisable (some say necessary) for proper orientation of the striations at the edge.

I'm curious as to your take on this, as you are obviously getting results that are just fine.

Thanks!

-Michael

[joel]

Ho Joel, and thanks for all this great information!

I have heard from some other honemeisters that even though the Norton stone is plenty wide to accommodate the entire blade, that an X-pattern is still advisable (some say necessary) for proper orientation of the striations at the edge.

I'm curious as to your take on this, as you are obviously getting results that are just fine.

Thanks!

-Michael

Michael,
I do the "X" pattern on my finishing hones - but I have NEVER had a problem with a norton when keeping the blade completely straight (no "x" pattern).

I don't, and am not interested in looking at my blades under a microscope, I am merely interested in results, and at least for me, I get the best results with the norton, not using the "X" pattern... for whatever reason. Maybe it's the combo of having "straight" striations fromt he norton, and mixing the diagonal striations from the finishing hone that polish the edge best - but this is what works for me best.

YMMV and all that jazz, but I can create a very sharp edge off the Norton 4/8K, not using the "X" pattern - and does JUST fine all the way up to 30K.

[ignatz]

Joel;

Fantastic instructional here! I like it!

I think that the only point on which we differ is that I never hand hold such large stones. I always bed them down on a towel or something so that I have both hands free to guide the razor down the length of the hone to guarantee good, firm (but delicate) contact on both the spine and cutting edge of the razor at once.

Keep up the great work !!

- Ignatz

[mezzeta]

This is great information Thanks!!

[professorchaos]

Fantastic, detailed instructions!

As a newb to straight razor shaving, I supose I will eventually need to master honing. So, dumb question number one: it appears that when honing these blades, both the spine and the edge are in contact with the hone? Clearly, we are trying to achieve a far keener edge than one would get with the 20 degree angle recommended for sharpening knives. But won't running the spine against the hone create cosmetic blemishes on decorated spines?

[joel]

Fantastic, detailed instructions!

As a newb to straight razor shaving, I supose I will eventually need to master honing. So, dumb question number one: it appears that when honing these blades, both the spine and the edge are in contact with the hone? Clearly, we are trying to achieve a far keener edge than one would get with the 20 degree angle recommended for sharpening knives. But won't running the spine against the hone create cosmetic blemishes on decorated spines?

Yes - always have the spine/shoulder in contact with the hone when honing. As for the cosmetic blemishes, it depends on the type of decorated spine, but most fellas put a piece of masking tape, or electrical tape over the spine when honing a razor with a decorated, or gold plated spine.

Hope this helps.

[professorchaos]

Yes thank you, that helps enormously. Now for the hard part: executing good advice!