Do I need a new rock?

OK so here's my current setup.

• DMT Diamond Edge Coarse (320 I believe) - for flattening other hones
• Naniwa S1000 - to set the bevel only
• Norton 4000/8000 Stone
• Balsa strop with Chromium Oxide paste

I am trying to sharpen my Thiers Issard and I come really close to a sharp blade with this, but I'm just not getting it as sharp as I would like. It looks OK, but just doesn't shave well. I also have a brand new Dovo Stainless Pearlex from SRD (came honed and shave ready) that I am using for comparison. It on the other hand is sharp as heck and shaves like a dream.

I have tried a number of methods and am still off a bit. Do I need to get a 12K hone? or maybe do I need to go to a 4 sided pasted strop or something? Thanks.

I think that your edge is not polished enough when you go to the Chromed paddle strop.

Either a 12K Naniwa or a 12K Chinese hone will ad the missing polish.

The Chinese 12K is slower and harder to use but less expensive.

You can ofcourse go for a Japanese finishing hone but they are by comparison, expensive.

Check the bevel of your razors and do a few tests (TNT, TPT, etc.) each time before moving to the next grit. By the time that you're done with the Norton 8K, your razor should be very sharp. Chromium oxide is enough to polish a sharp edge. You can get more but you don't need more if you've done the proper work on the earlier stones.

The Thiers is an extremely hard steel. Comparable with a Torrey probably.
How is the feedback on the Nortons? Do you have the feeling that they are actually doing something?

Olivia said:

The Thiers is an extremely hard steel. Comparable with a Torrey probably.
How is the feedback on the Nortons? Do you have the feeling that they are actually doing something?

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Not really. I have actually had a hard time with the Norton. At first I thought it was operator error, but after using it for a while, I am not so sure. The Naniwa is much nicer. I am actually thinking about getting a couple Naniwas to replace the Norton.

Thats what I suspected.
The Naniwas are softer and they can deal better with this kind of steel.

I have several TIs, including the LeGrelot 7-day set that I'm working on right now. I've found that my razors respond well to a sort of pyramid on the Norton 4K/8K. Why don't you try 10 laps on the 4K side, followed by 10 laps on the 8K side. You should immediately see a lot of black swarf on the 8K side and 3 sets of 10 should do it.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the stones you have.

I suspect technique/and too few laps are more likely the issue than the quality of your tools. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but many folks have gotten terrific edges from this type of set up - so clearly not the stones' fault.

Olivia said:

The Thiers is an extremely hard steel. Comparable with a Torrey probably.
How is the feedback on the Nortons? Do you have the feeling that they are actually doing something?

Click to expand...

I agree with Olivia - I have honed quite a few TIs and they all take a bit more work than most other blades. Your set-up looks good enough, but a naniwa 10 or 12k and/or a shapton 16k would enhance the edge further - they are nice soft stones. You could try a couple of back-honing strokes when commencing with each new stone - it often helps. All this assumes the bevel is correctly set, of course!

Regards,
Neil

When you say it doesn't shave well, do you mean that it is not sharp enough to shave with, or its not very smooth?

If the problem is smoothness, then yes, I would say you should get a 12k or so to stick in between the 8 and the crox.

If the problem is sharpness, ie, the razor won't shave, then you need to work more at the 4k/8k stage.

leighton said:

When you say it doesn't shave well, do you mean that it is not sharp enough to shave with, or its not very smooth?

If the problem is smoothness, then yes, I would say you should get a 12k or so to stick in between the 8 and the crox.

If the problem is sharpness, ie, the razor won't shave, then you need to work more at the 4k/8k stage.

Click to expand...

Hi Leighton - I think it's a sharpness thing. I will give it another try, I just got a new Thiers Issard paddle strop that I CroOx'd. I just happened to find a brand new one for half price in a shop today. Stroke of luck. So maybe this will help.