Very new to honing/dilucot?/great shave/almost no bevel?

**Chefbaze** · 04-09-2012, 07:33 PM

Ok, so im very, very new to honing.. I had a hands on lesson with a member here, using a 1k, my la veinette, a chinese 12k,and some pasted bench strops.

Anyhow, I was bored the other night, and decided to hone a brand new, NOS Wester Bros full hollow I've been saving until learn to hone better, out of fear of ruining it, but I gave it a shot anyway. Anyhow, I ran the edge across a glass. I dont own a 1k,or 12k so I basically did 30 half strokes on each side w/full slurry. That was adequate enough to shave arm hair.. I then rinsed the stone , created a fresh slurry and proceeded to do 10 x strokes, diluting in between, for a total of 7 sets(I know this isn't how its layed out in the outline for dilucot, but I'm more comfortable with xstrokes) until I ended up with just gray water.. Then I finished with about 40 x strokes on just water, rinsing every 10 strokes.. I did cheat a little by running the blade across a .125 pasted bench strop for 10 strokes, and then went back for a final 10 x strokes on my la veinette w plain water to smooth the edge a little...

The result..........The blade is super keen and smooth. I shaved with it today.. When I do the hanging hair test, as soon as the hair hits the blade, I get a pinnnngggg sound, don't know if that's right or wrong, or its just supposed to silently sever the hair?

This its my first time honing anything from start to finish, and im pretty happy, also maybe a little lucky.

My question, all of my other razors that were professionally honed, have a clearly defined bevel, when seen under a 30x loupe..

This razor that I just honed, although it shaves well, and is very sharp and smooth, has a bevel that is barely visible...Is this normal??

Thanks,
Basil

**kwigibocity** · 04-09-2012, 08:20 PM

It can be skinny the whole way across & be healthy, nothing wrong with that.
Surely @ 30x u can see a definition of the planes, though, no?

**Chefbaze** · 04-09-2012, 08:29 PM

Originally Posted by kwigibocity

It can be skinny the whole way across & be healthy, nothing wrong with that.
Surely @ 30x u can see a definition of the planes, though, no?

Oops, just checked, and my loupe is 15X.....I can see a definition, but it is nowhere near wide enough to see the "scratch marks" it just looks like a very shiny line running across the length of the blade, my other blades, have a clearly defined bevel, where I can see the scratch marks, with this same loupe......It shaved just fine, and smooth at that. Who knows how long it'll last?

Thanks Jarrod.....btw...do you see anything wrong in the method I described above, that I used to hone
This razor..other than maybe I should have went another set or two, in the bevel setting stage to establish a wider bevel ?
I just didn't even bother checking, because it shaved arm hair after the first set..

Regards,
Ba

**Kentos** · 04-09-2012, 08:39 PM

The thinner the bevel the more pristine the grind, to a point, IMO. A larger bevel doesn't shave any better or worse, but a nice thin bevel I like. I wouldn't be trying to hone a wider bevel into it if you like the shave.

When the small bevel is due to faulty blade geometry it's a different story.

**Chefbaze** · 04-09-2012, 08:46 PM

Originally Posted by Kentos

The thinner the bevel the more pristine the grind, to a point, IMO. A larger bevel doesn't shave any better or worse, but a nice thin bevel I like. I wouldn't be trying to hone a wider bevel into it if you like the shave.

When the small bevel is due to faulty blade geometry it's a different story.

Thank you Kentos..

At least its good to know I didn't do something wrong... I always see these photos here, witn the bevels, and scratch marks, and what have you.. And my other blades look.like allot of the photos, but this one didnt, so I figured since I honed it, and it was my first time, with a coticule no less, I must haves done something wrong..

Regards,
Basil

P.S. a little off topic.....any idea how long shipping is from Japan to the US? I'm anxiously awaiting my Feather SS. : )

**Kentos** · 04-09-2012, 08:48 PM

I'm in Hawaii, but I got my eBay kamisori from Japan in about a week.

**Chefbaze** · 04-09-2012, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by Kentos

I'm in Hawaii, but I got my eBay kamisori from Japan in about a week.

Thank you...

**Doc226** · 04-10-2012, 03:47 AM

Originally Posted by Chefbaze

Oops, just checked, and my loupe is 15X.....I can see a definition, but it is nowhere near wide enough to see the "scratch marks" it just looks like a very shiny line running across the length of the blade, my other blades, have a clearly defined bevel, whee I can see the scratch marks, with this same loupe......It shaved just fine, and smooth at that. Who knows how long it'll last?

Nothing wrong with a small bevel, it is simply built in to the design of the razor. I would not try to widen it just to have a bigger bevel, you states it shaves well and that is what really counts. In order to have a wider bevel on this razor then the spine will have to be worn down some. Did you hone this razor with tape? If you did that will definitely give you a smaller bevel compared to honing without tape.

Here is a Slash's site where he does a fantastic job explaining the bevel-thanks Slash.
http://www.thevoicestoldme.com/straightrazor/bevel.html

**kwigibocity** · 04-10-2012, 05:09 AM

Sounds to me like you've just done a good job.
Don't do anything else w/ it but shave and run pit on plain water while watching TV for a few successive shaves...what I call the 'keenness war of attrition'.

**Chefbaze** · 04-10-2012, 07:14 AM

Thank you guys.., and no I didn't use any tape...

**Bayamontate** · 04-10-2012, 01:15 PM

I saw Basil this afternoon and checked out his razors, he did an excellent job on the Wester Bros. The microbevel looked great and he achieved HHT4+ on his first try, great job.

**Chefbaze** · 04-10-2012, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by Bayamontate

I saw Basil this afternoon and checked out his razors, he did an excellent job on the Wester Bros. The microbevel looked great and he achieved HHT4+ on his first try, great job.

Thanks Nelson.. Your lessons paid off. I appreciate your help, and look forward to continuing to learn. And thanks to everyone here on B&B who give great advice and info on honing and coticules(gary haywoood,life2short,kentos,hig789,jake,jarrod,etc. ........I hope it wasn't just beginners luck..