Hard Grind - follow up question

Use a straight. You know it makes sense.
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Bill_K
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Location: Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

Hard Grind - follow up question

Post by Bill_K »

I have a follow-on question to Dr. Moss' post about honing, but first I'll provide a little background: I retired at the end of April this year, so now I've got lots of time in the morning to use a straight razor 5 or 6 days of the week. My first two SRs, a Genco and a Torrey, hone easily and provide wonderful shaves. I should have stopped there.

As a retirement gift, my team got me a prepaid MasterCard (thanks everyone!) with which I bought a new Boker Schwarzgold. It's a real beauty and while the 6/8 blade seemed intimidatingly large compared to my 5/8, it didn't take long for me to get used to it. The trouble is, I can get decent (and bloodless) shaves with it, but somehow it doesn't seem as sharp as the old-timers in my rotation.

I use a 4000/10000 combination stone, and since it's narrower than all my blades I hone at an angle, always leading with the heel. Eight to ten full strokes on each grit and then I strop for 80 to 100 full strokes before cleaning and putting everything away.

Is there a trick to Bokers that I'm missing, or are there additional techniques I can try?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Bill
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drmoss_ca
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Re: Hard Grind - follow up question

Post by drmoss_ca »

I can't say there is any special procedure for this Boker, which is a new razor rather than an old one, but if you would like, and are willing to act quickly, I have about 2.5 weeks before I'm gone from this forum for a few months. I'd be delighted to have you send me the razor and I'll hone it and send it back. If you want, send it to:

Dr C. J. Moss
PO Box 280,
Tatamagouche, NS
B0K 1V0

along with your return address. I'll see what I can do. No charge.
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
Bill_K
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Location: Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

Re: Hard Grind - follow up question

Post by Bill_K »

Thank you!

I've sent it via Canada Post this (Monday) morning; it should arrive at your door by the end of the week. Let me know what you discover (e.g. is the bevel set correctly) and what you did to hone it (what type of stones and grit, and number of passes). Please share what you find with the group, so that others may learn from the experience.

Thank you again for so generously sharing your time and expertise.
Bill
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drmoss_ca
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Re: Hard Grind - follow up question

Post by drmoss_ca »

OK, I'll keep an eye out for it.
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
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drmoss_ca
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Re: Hard Grind - follow up question

Post by drmoss_ca »

Arrived today - thank you for the very thoughtful return envelope! Nice looking razor. One question - do you want the spine taped? I recommend against for the nicer bevel angle, but being new and pretty, you might be keen to avoid any wear on the spine.
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
Bill_K
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Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2018 12:40 pm
Location: Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

Re: Hard Grind - follow up question

Post by Bill_K »

FYI: Before I read this I replied to Dr Moss in a new PM that I didn't want the spine taped; it's a working razor, not a show piece.
Bill
Bill_K
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Re: Hard Grind - follow up question

Post by Bill_K »

Update:

Dr. Moss has identified two issues:
  • The edge was quite ragged because the spine was initially taped for honing and when that practice ceased, the trailing edge of the first bevel - not the edge itself - was being honed.
  • Uneven and excessive pressure on the blade during honing caused the ragged edges from above to be removed unevenly.
I know exactly who to blame for this situation, and in fact, I think I have his picture on my drivers' license. :oops:
Bill
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Re: Hard Grind - follow up question

Post by drmoss_ca »

Don't be daft. I've ruined many razors ('Now he tells me!' says Bill) by not knowing what I was doing. You can't just read instructions on the internet (and especially those that prescribe pyramids on a Norton 4k/8k and success will be guaranteed!)

Go slow, be gentle, and use a 30x loupe or 60x handheld microscope to see what's happening. Bill's razor presented some curious issues. The edge was as ragged as a crosscut saw, so I assumed it had been honed with a vengeance when it did not get sharp at first. Very deep voids in the edge. It also had unequal wear on the spine, with the end nearer the shank quite worn, but near the tip hardly worn at all. So likely honed with a finger on the blade pressing the closer half down against the hone. Finally, it had then been honed with tape, creating a secondary bevel. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, but when I started with the Chosera 1k and saw the edge was still full of holes I was concerned this was a crumbling blade of rotten steel, when, in fact, I was working away at recreating the proper bevel and not even touching the edge. Eventually the edge got ground away. I have only dealt with the uneven wear by honing the distal part of the blade a lot more that the proximal end. But now it is a functional razor. And I've learned a little more. After all, I would have given up if it didn't belong to someone else!
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
Bill_K
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Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2018 12:40 pm
Location: Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

Re: Hard Grind - follow up question

Post by Bill_K »

I am ever so grateful for your efforts - thank you.

I'm eager to have the razor back home to give it a whirl and then I'll provide an update. For those curious to see what it looks like, here's a link to the Boker site: https://www.boker.de/en/schwarzgold-140612

In the associated video you'll see that the instructional text for shaving is in German yet they drive up in a RH-drive Jag. (You'd think they'd have used a vintage Mercedes.)
Bill
Bill_K
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Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2018 12:40 pm
Location: Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

Re: Hard Grind - follow up question

Post by Bill_K »

After two and a half weeks of impatiently waiting for Canada Post to return my Boker Schwarzgold to me, it finally arrived yesterday afternoon. This morning's shave was a real treat; the shaves with this razor have suddenly gone from "pretty decent" to "oh my, what a shave!"

While waiting for the razor to make its way home I bought an inexpensive 30x loupe, and last night I used it to compare the edge on the Schwarzgold to those on my Genco and my JR Torrey. Some observations:
  • The bevel on the Schwarzgold appears uniform along its length, as are the striations upon it.
  • The bevel on the JR Torrey - previously the smoothest of the three - was also well-defined and nearly (but not quite) as uniform.
  • The bevel on the Genco needs a little bit of work; it's not quite as uniform as the other two, which makes sense given that shaves with it are in the "pretty good" to "really good" range. I also noticed a tiny bit of pitting near the point, which is invisible to my aging and myopic eyes.
My only disappointment is that I have to wait until tomorrow morning to shave with it again.

Many, many thanks to Dr. Moss for his patience and generosity in rescuing my razor.
Bill
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