All the horses in the stable are shaving like a dream except the most expensive one (naturally).
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I have Shaptons to 16k. I have Spyderco UF. I have a ton of CrO powder that I use dusted on paper mounted on glass. I have a Naniwa 10k. Why can't I have a sharp TI?
Tips for Honing New TI
Its Thiers-Issard Sheffield Silver Steel, Red Stamina, 6/8. It came pre-sharpened, but from the start it was only about a B- grade shaver. I've honed it since but have not been able to kick it up to A+ like my other razors. It seems like the steel is very hard. It is not phased by linen stropping at all.
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Matt, sometimes new out of the box TI's need to be taken down a bit further to an edge. Use a 4k or equivalent to do this. I usually do circular strokes on both sides until I feel this is accomplished. It's ok to apply a little pressure to the edge of the blade. Once you get down to an edge do normal honing in the forward motion. Go all the way up your progression until your done. Do the thumb nail test twice in a row. Strop on leather only then do the hanging hair test or whatever test your partial to. Should be good to go.
Hope that helps.
Chris
Hope that helps.
Chris
My favorite razors are my TIs and Le Grelot. However, I have never found either of them to shave satisfactorily whether out of the box or honed by some one else until I set clearly discernible bevel. The factory does not want to mark the spine nor do many honemeisters. The old maxim applies "If you want to make an omelet you have to break some eggs". This means my razors have pencil thin hone marks on the spine. I am willing to accept this as a price of a good shaving tool. I don't tape as I feel this changes the geometry of the blade and makes future honing more difficult. The good news is that I have found the edges are long lasting and consistent.
OK, this razor is now shaving at about a A- rather than a B-. I took it through my arsenal one more time (2K, 4K, 8K, 10K, 16K, CrO) doing about 40 laps on each. That seemed to help a little.
Then I went back to 4K, 8K, 10K, 16K and did 100 laps on each with very light pressure. This sounds like I would have overhoned the dickens out of the thang since I was using GlassStones which are fast cutters. But I was watching the progress through a 10X loup and I thought I could see places where the polished bevel planes were not complete to the intersection.
After the 100 pass salvo it looked a lot better through the loup. The shave test this morning was very rewarding after wearing my arm out last night.
Then I went back to 4K, 8K, 10K, 16K and did 100 laps on each with very light pressure. This sounds like I would have overhoned the dickens out of the thang since I was using GlassStones which are fast cutters. But I was watching the progress through a 10X loup and I thought I could see places where the polished bevel planes were not complete to the intersection.
After the 100 pass salvo it looked a lot better through the loup. The shave test this morning was very rewarding after wearing my arm out last night.
[quote="matt321"]
After the 100 pass salvo it looked a lot better through the loup. The shave test this morning was very rewarding after wearing my arm out last night.[/quote]
Welcome to the world of French straights! They are an order of magnitude more difficult to hone than German razors. However, the finished product is worth the effort.
After the 100 pass salvo it looked a lot better through the loup. The shave test this morning was very rewarding after wearing my arm out last night.[/quote]
Welcome to the world of French straights! They are an order of magnitude more difficult to hone than German razors. However, the finished product is worth the effort.
I think my problem was twofold. The razor is a little off of flat on one side so it takes a slight roll to hit the full length of the bevel on that side; combined with the fact that it is very hard steel. Armed with that theory I hope to kick it up to an A+ next week. Thanks for the comments and suggestions. They help guide my thinking.
OK, this one is a grade A shaver now. I even did some ATG strokes on the chin and upper lip.
I was able to bring it up the final notch by continued honing just on the GlassStone 16K and Naniwa 10K (followed by CrO, then canvas, then leather).
These two stones are fun to compete one against the other as finishers. I still think the Naniwa is slower but leaves a better edge. I'm still testing that idea so don't quote me.
I was able to bring it up the final notch by continued honing just on the GlassStone 16K and Naniwa 10K (followed by CrO, then canvas, then leather).
These two stones are fun to compete one against the other as finishers. I still think the Naniwa is slower but leaves a better edge. I'm still testing that idea so don't quote me.