This is the quickest most efficient way I know to obtain a great edge on an old smiling wedge. Progression Was: 1. Atoma 400 Diamond 2. Atoma 1200 Diamond 3. Shapton 5K Pro/Kuromaku 4. Norton 8K 5. JNAT Ozuku Asagi
1:50 That razor is closer to 200 years old, I have one almost identical to it except mines a bit newer and has the original scales. The WR on the tang means "William Rex" (Rex = King) and refers to King William IV who had a short reign of only 7 years between 1830 - 1837 when he died which gives the razor fairly precise age of between 183 - 190 years old.
Hi Dr Matt, I have just bought a Vintage Joseph Rodgers Wedge from eBay, I copied your method, it worked perfectly, thank you for taking the time to post videos, you give very good commentary to you viewers, whether, shaving or honing. Good job.
Used this method today Matt and it’s my best result yet! Mostly technique on keeping the smile and having to rock it on the stone. I went to 12k naniwa and it’s perfect!
Great video, I have a 1860's 70's wade and Butcher in a half hollow, I love, the coticule edge is what I shave with, I do not own a jnat, keep the videos coming 😜
I really enjoyed this video. I have one of those that might be a little older and have all the parts for a light restoration but never seem to have the time to finish it because of my health and the fact that I am not nearly as skilled at wegde honing from lack of experience with wedge razors. I might just send it to you Dr Matt along with one of my 1901 Napoleon razors and see what kind of edge you can get. Thank you again for your continued efforts that support our wet shave community.
Actually, that would be exactly how to describe it. It almost gives you an invincible feel that there's no way you could cut yourself because it feels so soft... or buttery!
What a fantastic job! Wow! Well done sir, well done! Thank you for such an informative video, and the enhanced close up view, well, it really exemplifies the desired result everyone is working to achieve. Without speaking the language, or understanding all that is said, anyone who watches the video to the end should be able to piece it all together.
Thank you Chad. Very complimentary comment. So much so that I had to watch it again... You're right! I think this is probably my most true to life sharpening video. This is exactly what I do. And how about those fantastic close-up camera angles of the razor on the stones. Great Job Dani!!
Good day sir, Your thoughts on concave stones for thinning the bevel?? Will you be reviewing TSS/Jarrods plate anytime soon?? That would be epic, one way or the other as your opinion is highly valued Dr.. Thanks in advance as I am very close to pulling the trigger on one, and with my tight budget any review on the subject is critical... lol.. 👍
Love the video. And am working on my technique before going for the vintage razors. But I'm really curious since I have almost a full set of shapton's, how old is that 5k stone?
Fantastic Doc, and what do you want for those nagura’s by the way? I have fibromyalgia and believe it or not mud slurry makes it less painful for me to hone with than using a atoma. Thanks my brother🙏
Wow! I’m new to restoring straight razors. Can you advise what sharpening stones to buy in the medium priced bracket. I’ve seen the ones you recommended but they seem too expensive for me at this moment in time as I’m not in work.
On my eBay sharpening video I list them with the links. The ones I chose were the best performing at the lowest price I know. If you go for low quality, they won't produce a shaving edge. But I think the Norton set is best bang for buck.
Those are called Bench Dogs and you could get them on Amazon in sets of 4. Unfortunately, they haven't had them for a while. I did see another brand but blue in color but I don't even see them anymore.
It can but unless it is a heavy grind or wedge like this, I would try and limit it to 1 layer because with more tape you fatten the cutting angle which makes it less sharp for a lack of better words.
Hey Dr. Matt, I went back and watched your vid with the bevel calculator and saw that it uses inverse sine. It should be inverse tangent. It's an easy fix, just change "asin" to "atan" in the box doing the computing and you're good. The good news is that asin and atan functions don't differ by much for small inputs (which is the case for razors), so whatever error you get from using asin probably isn't even that significant. I'm not a bevel snob, I swear, but thought you ought to know (math teacher).
I live in the UK and have a razor which has been taken apart for cleaning (eBay purchase) if I send you the blade and with me living in the UK will you be able to put an edge back on the blade or is it too far?
I could put an edge on it Martin but I would suggest that it is the last thing you do to it meaning it should be cleaned and reassembled first. Postage is in the $14 range.
You know here lately I’ve experimented with going below 1k even when there’s no damage. I’ll do this if the razor just doesn’t want to take a 1-2k bevel. I’ve tried very light strokes on a 400 Nani pro and it really seemed to set up the razor to better accept a bevel set. I actually just ordered a 600 because the 400 is a bit much even with very light pressure. I don’t know anything about metallurgy but all I can do is speculate that perhaps there’s a benefit to exposing new steel carbides prior to regular bevel setting.
I’m 56, am I too old to apply as your apprentice? Could watch you do this all day long! What would you recommend as a first straight razor as in size and shape?
I’ve been using a Okudo Tomo Nagura on my Dans Translucent and Black Arkansas stones. It works really really well! One of these days I’ll have to get me a Jnat finishing stone. Although if Jnats are any harder I don’t even want to imagine what lapping it will be like because the translucent and black were both MOTHERFUCKERS to lap! I’m talking hours!
