Honing Experiment

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Honing Experiment

Post by drmoss_ca »

I've been trying something a bit different. Having been reminded of the Livi method of Naniwa 3k, Coticule, and translucent Arkansas all used under running water and followed with paste, I've been trying it on other blades and inserting other stones here and there to see if it adds anything. The trick is to use back and forth strokes on each side gradually reducing numbers before turning over eg 20 back and forths on the front, 20 on the back, 10 back and forths on the front, 10 on the back, 5 on the front, 5 on the back, the 5 edge leading on the front, 5 edge leading on the back, and finally edge leading X-strokes front and back, front and back, and so on until you get suction. It will be subtle on the coarser stones and difficult to overcome on the finer ones. Use as little pressure as possible at this stage and keep the water running. How long it takes depends not just on the razor, its steel and the state of its edge, but also on the individual examples of natural stone you use. My 3" coticule, for example has veins in its surface. They don't stop it honing, but it it much harder to feel suction on it than on an older narrower 2" one I have that has a perfect surface.
It seems pretty clear that inserting a well-lapped Belgian Blue between the 3k and the coticule is helpful. It starts showing suction withing 10-20 strokes after the 3k, and I believe it shortens the time on the coticule. I get squeaky sticky suction on the Arkansas (lapped to 2k) almost immediately and it's a joy to use progressively less pressure until I'm at a feather-light touch and still feel the blade suction clamping that blade down. But the stage I'm at is whether there is anything to gain from 'finer' hones after this. The problem with really hard hones is that it isn't their nominal grit that counts, it's the scratch pattern. Lapping them produces really remarkable results that lets them work far better than you'd expect from the physical chemistry. We've seen it with the Spyderco UF, and I once had the chance to play for a while on a prototype <redacted major US abrasives brand> finishing hone that was inspired by the Spyderco, but with a different bond and grain. This had been lapped very fine (using 0.65μ abrasive, which is a 35k grit) and it was magic. Pity that project (which was to involve a kit of their 4k/8k, the finishing stone, a lapping plate of new design, and perhaps the lapped translucent Arkansas, providing they could ramp up production from the usual 100 stones per year) didn't go ahead. Anyway, I'm digressing - the difficulty is knowing where the translucent arkansas ought to sit. The kindest estimates say it is 3.5 -4k grit. But once the scratch pattern is made as fine as can be (and my stone was lapped to 2k as part of the prototyping experiment), it hones like something dramatically finer. I've read about people using the 'black surgical arkansas' stones after lapping as exquisite finishers, and they are classified as coarser than the translucents. So here's what I've done:

I've taken two great razors, both alike in dignity in fair Verona - ah, no, sorry, start again. Two razors of the same kind (maker, model, size) and given one the 3k, BB, Coticule, TransArk, Thuringian, Escher honing, and the other the same except stopping at the TransArk. Both went on to the same pastes: TI diamond/Al₂O₃, then green chrome, then Herold black, then stropping on a Miller latigo. Tomorrow, I'll use one on the right, and one on the left. I already have some idea of the outcome based on the back of my hand and and a microscope, but we'd better let the shaves speak for themselves. And just to pique the interest of one of our members, the pair of razors used are his favourite kind:

Image

and the hones:

Image

Not shown there, but I think the old Guanxi Chinese 12k is as good or better than the Thuringian. Shame, but we live and learn. Will my shaves be just the result of the pastes, or will they reflect the stones? Stay tuned.
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Re: Honing Experiment

Post by Henry_L »

Interesting. The results you've achieved with multiple one-side laps are telling -- the idea being to start with the larger number (20), do both sides, then repeats with a proportionally smaller set then alternating X strokes? You referenced the Arkansas translucent: no technical problems throwing oil stones into the mix?

Reviewing yours and other posts I've decided to spring for a translucent Arkansas stone as part of my Oxford conundrum-journey, which continues. BTW if there's a soundtrack for honing it should be by Philip Glass.
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Re: Honing Experiment

Post by Brutus »

Interesting experiment.
I am curious to learn how it turns out.

For some time now, I have been using a variation of back and forth strokes on the same side by using circular strokes on the same side, limited to coarser stones only.
Initially, I did this on 1000 and 5000 Naniwas, since I added a 3000 Naniwa to my set the 3000 has largely replaced the 1000 that I now use only if I need to remove more steel during a restoration.

Another variation is that instead of X-strokes during the last strokes on each stone, I use J-strokes to induce that elusive suction.
Similar to X-strokes, but with a pronounced sideway element in the last fifth of travel.
If the J-stroke moniker shouldn’t ring a bell, think “hockey stick”.
There won’t be much suction on coarser stones, but the finer the grit gets, the more noticeable the suction becomes.

If your experiment is a success, I may reproduce it with two otherwise identical razors, using circular strokes on one razor and back and forth strokes on the other razor to see which method works better.

But I first need to get my hands on my stones that currently are packed away, about to go on a six-week journey to our new home in Portugal.
At the moment, I am studying the finer points of Feather AC razors and figuring out how to tame their initial harshness without sacrificing too much longevity of the replaceable blade’s edge...


In the meantime, I’ll stay tuned....


B.
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Re: Honing Experiment

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Henry_L wrote: Tue May 26, 2020 6:58 pm Interesting. The results you've achieved with multiple one-side laps are telling -- the idea being to start with the larger number (20), do both sides, then repeats with a proportionally smaller set then alternating X strokes? You referenced the Arkansas translucent: no technical problems throwing oil stones into the mix?

Reviewing yours and other posts I've decided to spring for a translucent Arkansas stone as part of my Oxford conundrum-journey, which continues. BTW if there's a soundtrack for honing it should be by Philip Glass.
I don't use it with oil, just with water. There are water-based honing solutions around too, but the water works for me. Don't rush into buying a stone just because there's one razor that won't hone up - it might not be fixed by another stone as it might be the razor or the operator.
The translucent stone I have is very hard to find, and as I related, it has been lapped to 2k. You can buy another stone described as a translucent at bestsharpeningstones.com (indeed, I have one on the way) but it will have been lapped to 600grit only, and the guy running the business will tell you lapping makes no difference once the stone is flat, as the 'grit size will not change'. Right. I also have some 2k grit silica carbide paper and a flat tile. I'm going to see if I can match the lapped factory stone.
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Re: Honing Experiment

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Well this was a difficult challenge. They are very, very close, but I think the curtailed honing sequence wins. Both shaved very close, but one was a bit smoother. I had expected that as the razor that ended at the transark shaved arm hair better and looked more polished under the microscope. But all this might be my fancy; and all I am really doing is seeing how two razors shave when finished with the same pastes!

I have other razors I can do this with, and I should probably pick a pair and hone them just as these two were, but without using any pastes at all, so I get to see the effect of the stones alone. Sounds like a plan.
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Re: Honing Experiment

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Two TI Eagle 6/8 razors honed up, one marked with tape on the scales so I can't mix them up (NOT tape on the spine!) that went all the way to the Escher, and one without tape that stopped after the translucent arkansas. No pastes, just 20 round trips on the linen and 40 round trips on the leather. The same difference in the scratches can be seen at 60x, and the same feel on arm hair, with the second razor looking like it's going to be the smoother again. I wish my USB microscope still worked, as I'd like to show you the difference in the edges. Maybe the problem is the stone between the Arkansas and the Escher, be it Thuringian or Guanxi. I can see another comparison in the future if tomorrow's shave goes as expected!

C.
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Re: Honing Experiment

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Much clearer result today, without the effect of pastes muddying the results of the stones. Both shaved well, but the one that stopped after the translucent arkansas was still smoother. A little surprised at the quality of the shaves, as I usually use pastes after stones, and these were really quite nice!

So I've taken the other razor back to the arkansas, then straight on to the Escher, and stropped it. Tomorrow the only difference between the two razors will be the Escher. I'm finding it hard to believe that the lapped arkansas might be better than an Escher, so I've got to make sure.

My new translucent arkansas arrived a few minutes ago, but I don't have the silica carbide to hand just yet. It will have to be patient, as will I.

The other thing on my mind, having dug out those old photos of various edges, is that the Spyderco UF, lapped to 2k, made the finest-looking edge of all. There may be another round coming, with the winner of transArk vs transArk+Escher going against transArk+SpydercoUF.
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Re: Honing Experiment

Post by EL Alamein »

Enjoying this very much! Of course those Eagles are just eye candy for some of us, making this all the more interesting.

Chris
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Re: Honing Experiment

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Ah, I thought I'd draw you out! TBH, I'm feeling rather daft in neglecting these fine razors all these years. They are honing up beautifully, and shaving really, really nicely. The 6/8 razors are part of this seven day set in a case I made from an antique diagnostic set (ie otoscope and ophthalmoscope):
TI_Eagle_Set.jpg
TI_Eagle_Set.jpg (188.68 KiB) Viewed 10649 times
Anyway, I have news today. I compared the two 6/8 on the first pass: a clear win for the transArk over the transArk+Escher. So I went to round 2 in the XTG pass. Here I compared the transArk razor to one honed transArk+SpydercoUF. I have spent a couple of days on and off re-lapping the Spyderco with a DMT 1200 (and when it comes, I'll do all these hones with the 2k silica carbide).

The results are both clear and confusing. The razor finished on the lapped Spyderco UF was easily sharper (and it looked it under the microscope). I couldn't feel it cutting at all, it just slid over my face and the stubble was gone. And whilst I could feel myself being shaved with the transArk razor only, it got 90% as close. Putting on aftershave, there was a slight tingle on the Spyderco side, but none on the transArk side. The transArk sides feels like a freshly shaven man's face, while the Spyderco UF side feels uncannily like the rear end of a newborn.

So it looks like I have a preliminary result: the transArk makes an edge I really like, comfortable, smooth and non-irritating. The Spyderco UF is sharper, closer and slightly irritating. This isn't good news for my personal psychology, however inevitable it was that something like it would happen. I spend a couple of decades chasing sharper edges, and when I get to a certain point, I find I don't want it that sharp! I think I'll be happy to leave the Spyderco in reserve, but knowing me, I'll add it on again as soon as I forget today's lesson.

Were I to bother, I should now try to duplicate these tests on other razors. Very likely results would differ a bit - maybe some would absolutely require the Spyderco, maybe some would respond better to some of the hones I have discarded for the TI razors. I guess to maintain what shreds of my sanity remain, I'll keep all the hones on hand and treat each razor individually, using whatever it takes to make it as happy as it can be.

I'll add two further notes. I have yet another digital microscope on order. If the seller isn't yet another lier, I may be able to show pictures of what I'm seeing under my old office Olympus binocular microscope. The other thing is I changed my honing pattern a bit once I started to get stiction on each stone. This is the basic outline, but I change it as I go along, doing more to one side of the blade if needed, doing less overall if superfluous.

20 back and forth strokes on one side of the blade (call it the front)
20 back and forth strokes on the other, back, side
10 back and forths on the front
10 back and forths on the back
5 back and forths on the front
5 back and forths on the back
5 edge-leading on the front
5 edge-leading on the back
4 edge leading on the front
4 edge-leading on the back
then 3, 2 and 1 edge leading on front then back in turn

As soon as the suction/stiction gets squeaky and hard to move the blade, I use as little pressure as I can, letting the stiction keep it applied, and also increase the flow of water (all of this takes place under running water). No slurry, no circles. Remember, this is a framework, and I alter it or curtail it as the honing proceeds. Someone else could probably do it another way and equal or better my results. This is working for me and I'm delighted with the results.
Tomorrow I'll go back to the TI Eagle 7/8 razors, and compare one honed 3k/BB/coticule/transArk with the other, honed 3k/BB/coticule.transArk/SpydercoUF. That is to say, repeating round 2 today with the 6/8 razors.

PS. One last thing I note that I should have known - looking at an oiled blade down the microscope is misleading! Oil will fill in scratches, and even if the edge is wiped with dry tissue, the scratches are still hard to see as oil remains within them. Given the humidity of a Nova Scotian summer, I always wipe my carbon steel blades with an oily cloth after a shave. This may have misled me about appearance, but the shaves don't lie!
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Re: Honing Experiment

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Last day with paired TI Eagles. Used one honed all the way to the Spyderco UF and one that stopped at the transArk. This time the razor that went only as far as the transArk was a little tuggy - did a good enough job, but not pleasurable. So for the second pass I took it to the Spyderco UF and then stropped it. Still not like the other blade, though markedly better. I guess some razors are better than others even if you think they are the same. Actually there is a difference between these two; one has a stamped name on the tang and broadly filed jimps, whereas the other has a laser etched name on the tang and finer jimps. Evidently the latter is newer, even if both were bought from the same seller at the same time 15-16 years ago.

I'll try this system out on some other razors, though for now I'm going to luxuriate in the lovely shaves from the better of the TI Eagle 7/8. And maybe bring the remaining five of the 6/8 up to scratch. Looks like some razors are perfect with the translucent, and some need some extra help. So many razors, so little time...
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Re: Honing Experiment

Post by EL Alamein »

Interesting outcome. I had a 7/8th as well but sold it off because I never used it, always preferred my 6/8th.

I wonder if it's the steel or geometry that affected the difference in your experiment.

You've inspired me to get back to my Eagle as well. It's been in storage since January for the most part because now I'm traveling for work. I would never take the TI on a business trip as the risk is too great it could get lost since I have to check my luggage (a necessity for a straight razor shaver). Been using an old Benz razor for travel and at home for consistency. Great blade but has no where near the charm that the TI has.

Following your inspiration I stropped the TI on the black paste then followed with the freshly crox'd strop (following the lighter fluid cleaning a la Livi). The result is just fantastically smooth and comfortable. I'm really liking this touch up method.

Chris

P.S. Just a reminder that you know where you can send those Eagles for a loving retirement should you ever grow weary of them. :D
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Re: Honing Experiment

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Ha! - someone will have to pay for their retirement home!

I'm thinking I might keep this up as I work through my razors. Given time, I might come across a lesser TI - that responds as expected - that I shall send to you for judgement. One of those workaday Grelots, Evide Sonnants, Wolf and Lamb, Petites Francaix, Gnome Specials, 1937s, or even an Edwin Jagger rebadged razor that clutter up the basement. I don't know yet whether I should expect such results from any of them, or from other brands of razors, but right now I know I can get by without any pastes for these TI Eagles, and still have the best shaves I have ever had.
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Re: Honing Experiment

Post by EL Alamein »

You got my hand itching to grab my Ark again.

I bought an experiment no-name razor off the bay and this might just be what the Doctor ordered. :D

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Re: Honing Experiment

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A "no name razor" from eBay? We will want all the details. I don't want to be the only one here to buy razors thoughtlessly!
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Re: Honing Experiment

Post by brothers »

I was looking at my razors just this afternoon, and I admit to owning 2 or 3 old razors that must have caught my eye at a flea market somewhere. Seeing those razors made me realize I have no idea why I would have bought it.
Gary

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Re: Honing Experiment

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brothers wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 5:39 pm I was looking at my razors just this afternoon, and I admit to owning 2 or 3 old razors that must have caught my eye at a flea market somewhere. Seeing those razors made me realize I have no idea why I would have bought it.
Be happy it's only 2 or 3....

You could have cardboard boxes full of razors you can't remember buying.
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Re: Honing Experiment

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Research continues in odd ways. I may have found an easier way to lap these stones/hones. I'll find out tomorrow how much difference it made. And just for fun, I shall get a really good black Arkansas to compare with the translucent.
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Re: Honing Experiment

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The difficulty with lapping hard hones and stones is just that they are - hard! Translucent and Black Arkansas stones are from the old classification of hard, before hard white, translucent and black were considered, priced and sold as distinct items. All are much easier to lap than the Spyderco UF, which if it were transparent would make excellent bullet-proof glass.
You can use diamonds, but it gets expensive as the stones will tear the diamonds off the plate and ruin it in short order. The Shapton DGLP will stand up to it, but is only 325 grit. It will flatten, but not lap to the polish we want. A DMT Dia-Sharp Extra Fine is 1200 grit and does most of the work, but will be consumed in the process. I believe there is an Extra Extra Fine model which DMT's grit chart shows as 8k grit. I imagine it's expensive, and really too fine for our purposes.
You can use silica carbide, which is harder than the novaculite quartz in an Arkansas, and harder than whatever it is in a Spyderco. Either in powder form usually sold cheaply on eBay for stone polishing tumblers, in which case you need a trued lapping plate to do the work on, or you can use it as silica carbide abrasive paper, or even wet and dry paper. This is best wetted on the back and pressed onto a sheet of float glass, or a ceramic tile, or piece of granite countertop. Do not use countertops installed in your kitchen, unless you are about to replace them There will be scratches. This is the traditional way to do it.

I've been watching my 20 sheets of 2k paper wend their way slowly north from Florida. And I'm impatient. All I need is something fine enough to be 2k or so, and hard enough that it will cut novaculite or Spyderco ceramic. Then I remembered I had a set of Spyderco hones in addition to the 3" wide one I'm using. There's a medium, a fine and and two ultrafine (one unlapped) all 2" wide. I tried the lapped UF on the Arkansas and on it's 3" big brother. Such a good idea, and such a failure! It's too fine. I guess the logical thing to do would be to try the Fine next, but as I returned the 2" UF to the basement Shelves of Honing Shame, I saw the stack of barber hones and thought 'they don't get used, so nothing to lose if destroyed in the cause'. I brought a few upstairs and among them was an Exide two-sided hone. Now most Exides are described as having a grey side and a black side, but this one is dark brown and a variegated light brown (like a walnut).

Image

I tried the rougher side first, which is probably 2-4k, although barber hones are really examples of what I'm trying to create - their abrasives are bedded firmly in a substrate that holds onto them, and their surfaces are burnished such that the it's the surface polish and not the contained grit size that determines the effect, and blow me if it didn't work! I started on the Spyderco, whose surface is a bit dirty with crud from the DMT 1200 (and which is very hard to clean off - see below), and quickly saw I was cleaning up the surface. Swapping to the finer walnut side (?4-8k?), this also made happy noises, and the Spyderco has gained a glassy reflective surface when viewed at an acute angle! It's hard to hold the hone and take a photo, but you can see the plant pots across the back deck being reflected even if the glossiness doesn't show at this angle:

Image

I moved on to the translucent Arkansas and went through the same process with the same result - a polished glassy reflective surface! I tried it out on the backup translucent and while it worked, I was saddened to see a previously invisible fissure in the surface become outlined by the accumulating debris. Black mark to bestsharpeningstones.com!

Naturally, I had to try them out after this, and had one more of the seven day set of 6/8 Eagles needing a hone. I did the whole thing from the 3k up. Very quickly got stiction on the transArk, and had to be very careful as the blade just doesn't want to move over the surface despite fast-flowing water - it wants to stop and then jump forwards. Going on to the Spyderco, there was no stiction, but the closest I ever get to it with that hone, which is a silent and smooth passage of the blade over the surface. I'm not due to shave with that razor until the day after tomorrow - it's #7 and today was #5. Incidentally, I think Monsieur Fayet was having a bad day when he ground #7; it is decidedly narrower at the heel than at the point, just like some 18th century razors!

With respect to the black Arkansas, bestsharpenstones.com tested them and found the translucent finer. Others say the black is finer. I realise that the fineness of the embedded grit is not what's at issue here, it's what I can make the surface into. So I ordered up a black stone (probably not a blue-black "surgical" grade) from danswhetstone.com so I can compare. According to a discussion I've been having with a YouTuber who hones for a living, I am going backwards when using the Spyderco UF after the translucent. The shaves say otherwise. He claims it's because my translucent was lapped incorrectly (and we're talking about my original transArk, lapped by Tim Zowada, not the new one I've lapped myself). Anyway, things to be decided are whether the black is better than the translucent (and whatever I find, I suspect it comes down to individual examples of stones) and whether perfectly lapped Arkansas of any type can beat the Spyderco UF. I don't think the YouTuber has any experience of lapped Spyderco Ultrafines.

Oh, yes, cleaning the white ultrafine hone. Spyderco recommends a Scotch-Brite pad and some powdered abrasive household cleaner (Comet, Vim, Domestos and the like). But here's a quick tip: a cheap eraser, one of those rough pink ones, will get rid of most of the surface steel contamination. Makes a bit of a mess with little grey bits of eraser, but it works!
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Re: Honing Experiment

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One might be forgiven for thinking I have nothing else better to do with my time. And "one" might be right.

I visited the basement. Not the Shelves of Honing Shame, but the actual Room of Razors. I was going to find a couple of Thiers Issard razors to hone and send out for evaluation, and I was shocked, shocked I tell you, to find some red rust upon one! It seems I bought up a few of the 6/8 Super Gnome blades that TI rather greedily sold in the wake of the demand for the original 5/8 Super Gnome that came after the Shaving Guide told beginners to start there. Times have changed, and if I were to re-write that guide today it would be a lot simpler and perhaps more accurate, but I could certainly stand by the recommendation of the half-hollow 5/8 Super Gnome if it is still available. Anyway...among the Le Grelot 1937 Evide Sonnant Loup et Belier Edwin Jagger Le Petit Français etc etc mess I pulled out two 6/8 Super Gnomes with black plastic scales. One had rust! Appalling. But one must compensate, pay blood money, or atone. And so I did, and it wasn't difficult. A bit of homemade green paste (buy chromium oxide powder on the web, and try to keep a straight face as you buy buckets of Vaseline from some innocent-ish young lady in the local drugstore: do not try to explain, as you will sound like someone making excuses for having unforgivable tastes. One knows. Anyway (again), I quickly took care of the rust, and I'd need a loupe to see it had ever been there. So now we can be off to the races, no, off to the hones! :D

Image

Here I am, with two 6/8 Super Gnomes. I don't recall buying them, but now I'm glad I did as I need two razors the same for science. They must both be honed the same way except for one difference. Okay, I'm good. Start with the recently polished out of rustiness one. And next thing you know, I have gone too far. I was supposed to do one up to and including the transArk, and the other would do the same except for the blackArk in place of the trans (not many places these days where you can say that). But I just went on and used the Spyderco UF with its new glossy finish.

So I'll wait until the blackArk comes. Take this one back to the transArk, do the other with the blackArk and then have a comparison shave. Yes, that's what I'll do. Sure thing, I won't be tempted at all to try out that lovely 6/8 half-hollow blade that feels finer on my thumb than anything I've felt for ages. I can wait. It's for science....
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Re: Honing Experiment

Post by drmoss_ca »

Rather obviously, I failed to wait. The blackArk is walking here from danswhetstone.com and may be some time, as Captain Oates said. So the Super Gnome that was honed on the transArk and Spyderco UF was used today. Not a smooth shave in the doing, though the results were fine afterwards. Typical of a TI half hollow; you know you're not being shaved with a full hollow, but the job gets done and your face is smooth afterwards. Which is strange, as I've had lots of other half and quarter hollows since and they shave just as insensibly as a full hollow. Might be a TI thing. Many years ago I recommended the TI Super Gnome 5/8 as an ideal beginner razor - easy to hone, forgiving of slight deficiencies in technique, and without the thoroughbred unreliability of many full hollows. One thing I did perceive today was that the razor shaved vastly more comfortably with the spine practically against my skin. I've always held that the 30º angle is far too steep for most shaves, and especially against the grain. I shave with less, no matter what razor. But this one wanted to lie pretty much flat and was much more comfortable that way.
I'm not aware of any reasons or recommendations that the angle of attack ought to vary with the grind of a razor (bevel angle, I could understand), and I haven't found this to be the case with the half and quarter hollows (scary thought: because I like and use that kind of razor, is that why I think 30º too much? Have I misled myself?) Again, this might be a peculiarity of the way M. Fayet ground the razors for TI.
Realising that the Super Gnomes are just too different from the Eagles I have been experimenting with, I descended into the underworld and drew out two Evide Sonnant 6/8 full hollows. Appropriately, one has white scales and one black, so I shall be able to tell which has been on the translucent and which has been on the black. I have taken both through the Naniwa 3k, Belgian Blue and coticule. The white has been to the transArk, and the black-scaled one is waiting for the blackArk. I want to do a comparison shave with them at that point, to see if what is written about these hard fine Arkansas stones is true. Many say they are capable of providing super shaving edges. With the transArk I can get some razors to the point where they shave comfortably, and give a smooth face, but they don't shave effortlessly and don't leave a glassy-smooth face. That might be that my technique is not as good as that of those who promote them, or it might be that I have been spoiled by even better edges. I'm not sure I can even draw a conclusion of general application when the blackArk comes, as it seems it's a stone-to-stone variation as which is capable of better results! I guess I'm attracted to the romantic idea that I get the best edges from a natural stone rather than the mysterious ceramic magic of the Spyderco, or the Shapton or the Suehiro. But at the end of the day, the best stone wins, and that all comes down to the easiest, most comfortable and closest shave. When I use the microscope to examine the bevels, the Spyderco UF has a pretty big lead over the transArk, and the blackArk will have to work hard to catch up or overtake the UF. This is quite surprising to me, as I'm getting massive stiction on the transArk, and have even tried a few razors with some dish soap in the water to allow continued honing (it did not improve the results). I have tried drastically altering my expected honing sequence, abandoning the back and forths as soon as the stiction gets going and doing edge leading strokes only on the grounds that lots of stiction and edge-trailing strokes must be drawing metal to the edge and making a fin (which I have not found under the microscope). And people write that the Arkansas are so hard and so slow that you can just keep honing forever and the blade just gets sharper. But perhaps they are using oil, and I don't want to do that. Maybe it should be dish soap and hone for forty days and forty nights? And maybe I should just use the damn Spyderco and enjoy the blissful results!

There is madness along this path, and I feel I'm getting close to it.
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
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