I typically share my thoughts in my journal but I wanted to post my experience here so that I could get more insight from more experts. Here is my experience with some more detail:
So last night I busted out the Fredrick Reynolds razor that was a restoration project. I decided to give a whirl at honing on this just because it is a long term project.
I went thru the progressions with the tomo and nagura stones that I read and saw on YouTube. I appreciated @Gamma where he did lots of research on JNATs. His website is invaluable IMHO.
Here is a pic of the Shobudani again with the stones (thanks @Ron991) :
After all is said and done, my first honing attempt was a fail. It seemed like I got a decent bezel on it. It was challenging getting it to a shave ready edge after going thru all the stones, slurries, dilutions, etc. Having spent 30-45 min I gave up and decided to go to bed.
A few hours later around 1:00 am, I couldn't fall asleep. I watched some more videos and read some more articles. I looked at the FR razor and remembered that the spine had loads of wear and I should probably tape it up to get the optimal angle to create a keen edge.
Around the same time I got the FR razor, I obtained a Kropp razor that is in great condition but it just wasn't shave ready. So I decided to give the Kropp a honing session since the spine looks to have very little home wear and the angles seem good to me. So I am not sure on what the best progressions should be but I decided to set the bezel using the tomo. This seemed to work well and I focused on creating more slurry than before to make it easier to use. Also when watching videos from JNS, they hone while holding the JNAT in their hands. I decided to do this as well. I could see how it helps with downward strokes and using gravity to move the slurry around. I have no idea on how long I spent with the tomo slurry but I seemed to get a decent bezel where it was uniform and very fine to the naked eye. I was satisfied with the result and moved on.
Without boring you, I went thru each nagura: the botan, tenjyou, mejiro. I couldn't tell you the differences in slurry. It was interesting seeing the evolution of each slurry and how the razor behaved with each one. You could feel how fast and slow the slurries affect the speed of the honing. When diluting, the stone gets super fast. All in all, I think I was honing for at least 45 minutes.
Here is what I did with each stone:
1. Create slurry for ~30 seconds
2. Make circular motions back and forth - roughly 10-15x
3. Make up and down motions - 15-20x
4. Dilute slurry
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for two more times
I did some stropping on nylon and leather. I took out the C-Mon since it came shave ready and compared the sharpness using the HHT. The Kropp was comparable except I had a few reservations if it was truly shave ready. I can't be that lucky to get it right on the 2nd try. Well I didn't shave last night and waiting for tomorrow (technically today) morning.
So the Kropp shaved well. The edge was sharp but a little rough. I did end up stropping the razor mid shave and it did wonders to the smoothness.
Here is a pic of today's set up:
Thanks for reading. I look forward to hearing your thoughts, advice, and recommendations for improvements.
So last night I busted out the Fredrick Reynolds razor that was a restoration project. I decided to give a whirl at honing on this just because it is a long term project.
I went thru the progressions with the tomo and nagura stones that I read and saw on YouTube. I appreciated @Gamma where he did lots of research on JNATs. His website is invaluable IMHO.
Here is a pic of the Shobudani again with the stones (thanks @Ron991) :
After all is said and done, my first honing attempt was a fail. It seemed like I got a decent bezel on it. It was challenging getting it to a shave ready edge after going thru all the stones, slurries, dilutions, etc. Having spent 30-45 min I gave up and decided to go to bed.
A few hours later around 1:00 am, I couldn't fall asleep. I watched some more videos and read some more articles. I looked at the FR razor and remembered that the spine had loads of wear and I should probably tape it up to get the optimal angle to create a keen edge.
Around the same time I got the FR razor, I obtained a Kropp razor that is in great condition but it just wasn't shave ready. So I decided to give the Kropp a honing session since the spine looks to have very little home wear and the angles seem good to me. So I am not sure on what the best progressions should be but I decided to set the bezel using the tomo. This seemed to work well and I focused on creating more slurry than before to make it easier to use. Also when watching videos from JNS, they hone while holding the JNAT in their hands. I decided to do this as well. I could see how it helps with downward strokes and using gravity to move the slurry around. I have no idea on how long I spent with the tomo slurry but I seemed to get a decent bezel where it was uniform and very fine to the naked eye. I was satisfied with the result and moved on.
Without boring you, I went thru each nagura: the botan, tenjyou, mejiro. I couldn't tell you the differences in slurry. It was interesting seeing the evolution of each slurry and how the razor behaved with each one. You could feel how fast and slow the slurries affect the speed of the honing. When diluting, the stone gets super fast. All in all, I think I was honing for at least 45 minutes.
Here is what I did with each stone:
1. Create slurry for ~30 seconds
2. Make circular motions back and forth - roughly 10-15x
3. Make up and down motions - 15-20x
4. Dilute slurry
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for two more times
I did some stropping on nylon and leather. I took out the C-Mon since it came shave ready and compared the sharpness using the HHT. The Kropp was comparable except I had a few reservations if it was truly shave ready. I can't be that lucky to get it right on the 2nd try. Well I didn't shave last night and waiting for tomorrow (technically today) morning.
So the Kropp shaved well. The edge was sharp but a little rough. I did end up stropping the razor mid shave and it did wonders to the smoothness.
Here is a pic of today's set up:
Thanks for reading. I look forward to hearing your thoughts, advice, and recommendations for improvements.
Hopefully this is good signs for the future. The only thing I am worried about is wanting one of those pretty stones that cost $$$$.
But yo don't have to worry about it just yet. We will allow you to get another paycheck or two under your belt before we start heckling you.
