Thought it was sharp

[TakeTheCann0lis]

So I've procured some of my grandfathers old straight edges. The one I chose to use today was a Griffon Cutlery Works, "Griffon #67" I thought it was sharp. I took it to a few stones that I found. (one is made by Roxo?) Anyhow, I don't have a strop, but I thought that a stone would suffice. Has anyone found a good FAQ for sharpening these things?

[Suzuki]

So I've procured some of my grandfathers old straight edges. The one I chose to use today was a Griffon Cutlery Works, "Griffon #67" I thought it was sharp. I took it to a few stones that I found. (one is made by Roxo?) Anyhow, I don't have a strop, but I thought that a stone would suffice. Has anyone found a good FAQ for sharpening these things?

Go to straightrazorplace.com.

I'm no expert, but there is sharp and then there is shaving sharp - I'm getting into straights again, but with a little more forethought.

I initially tried your approach, used a decent stone on some razors I got in reasonably good condition and then bought a very basic paddle strop with leather on one side and to which I attached some self-adhesive .5 micron pvc-backed sandpaper. While I could shave with the razors, they were never great shavers.

This time around, I've bought some razors honed by a pro and am getting a good hanging strop with a linen strop (you use the linen and then the leather).

I'm not sure whether to get a padle strop or a norton for honing, but there are adherents for both and I'm not in a position to recomend one over the other.

With regard to the necessity of a strop, you can't get your straight smooth/shaving sharp without a good strop. Its just a fact of life - the strop is what smooths out the edge and is necessary to maintain the blade between shaves. From all of my research and limited personal experience, you can't avoid having to strop.

Anyhow, good luck.

[19george]

Well, I don't know much about straights so others might want to chime in hear. But I've been looking into getting a straight so I can point you to some resources. If you go to shavemyface click on Cristopher Moss' The Art of the Straight Razor Shave. Also I'd recommend getting Lynn Abram's World of Straight Razor Shaving DVD. It covers just about everything you need to know about straights. You can pick it up at the Straight Razor Place, or at Classic Shaving.

[AFDavis11]

Honing is both skill and knowledge combined. Most send the razor out for honing. Your welcome to send it to me if you'd like to just test the waters but if your serious you should either get a good razor hone like a Norton or pay for a professional honing to get it wicked sharp. Either way though you need to learn to hone (they dull). Just for fun I'll try to summarize what I know (and it took me about 3 years to learn to hone well). Most guys can pick it up in about 6 months to a year I think.

Keep the blade flat on the hone
Use a light touch then go to ultra light in a pressure reduction process (starting with light strokes and getting lighter as you go, until you are using only the weight of the blade)
Hone in 4 parts
1. Get a straight edge on the blade (using a microscope helps)
2. Create a good bevel
3. Smooth that bevel out on the highest honking grit stone you can find
4. At the end, use the lightest touch possible to apply the razors edge

Use the exact same pressure, exact same angle, and the exact same length of stroke on each side of the razor.

I recommend an X pattern stroke, with the blade at a 45 degree or so angle moving down the hone, others use different approaches. The angle isn't that important, the consistency is.

Learn a good smooth stroke, thats probably half the battle

Be patient as razor hones should be high grit and should cut very slowly.

Learn how to determine when the edge is sharp, dull, or overhoned without shaving (it'll save you lots o' time).

[Joedy]

...Learn how to determine when the edge is sharp, dull, or overhoned without shaving (it'll save you lots o' time).

This is the hardest part for me....


What techniques do you use to judge this?

-joedy

[AFDavis11]

Its a process which must be completed with reverse engineering. You must start with a professionally honed blade or one that is already shaving sharp which you just happened to get right somehow (yes, it does happen occasionally).

First, I trained myself to look at it under a microscope to assess the bevel. I look for a straight edge and no indication of overhoning. I also look, eventually, for a very smooth bevel edge.

Second, thumb tests, both the nail and thumb pad test. These are used to assess the blade conformity and to feel how sharp it is. These both take a little practice. In the first, I wet the nail and draw the razor, it should bite and feel smooth. Second, I pretend to shave my thumb and move it perpendicular to the edge, with experience your wetted thumb (for about 20 seconds) will just develop a feeling of sharpness. For me I get the edge to bite on the side of a single finger print and to "catch" on the thumb a little.
These tests can also determine if the edge is overhoned, one of the most common and worst mistakes (comfort wise). It'll feel rough and "start and stop" on the thumbnail.

Additionally, if part of the razor feels one way and another part feels different, your honing technique is off.

Third, I run the razor over my arm hair. It should shave my arm hair without sound and catch all the arm hair easily.

Finally, I have a thin light strop, so a draw on the strop means sharpness. More draw, more sharpness.

Once I meet these tests (and if not I sharpen it some more usually only on an 8K or higher, never pyramiding at this point) then I can shave with it just to check it. This saves time, effort, and irritation on my face.

Thats how I do it. Lots of guys have different ways and probably do it better than me. I try and keep the process simple if I can.

[ouch]

Great advice from AFDavis11.

For me, the biggest problem in learning to sharpen a razor is that the process is counter-intuitive. When you sharpen a knife, devloping a "burr" is a good thing. With razors, it is not.

Since the razor is held flat against the stone (as opposed to finding the correct angle, in the case of knives), one would think that it would be much easier to hone. Unfortunately, that's not the case.