I found that using a polystyrene packing peanut gives me the most easily repeatable calibration to my actual shave results. Try it! Check out www.TheShavingCadre.com
Good point on the hair having the same tinsel strength as copper wire! I can tell you how to see if the packing peanuts damage the edge, mark the razor with a sharpie and test it with a peanut at the sharpie mark, then scope it and see if it damaged it.
One of the beautiful things about the packing peanut test is that rather than hair width snippets, the entire edge is easily checked. My last check is always on a wide field stereo binocular scope at multiple angles. If a foam peanut caused damage I would easily see it.
Genius??? I don’t think so. Cutting tomatoes is a common sharpness evaluation test used by MANY for knives and or razors. The key is that with a tomato or a packing peanut one can develop a relatively linear sensation for the level of cutting ability on an edge. A little practice can enable a pass/fail evaluation for one to use at each step in their sharpening procedures.
With J Nat you have to find a trusted seller who will except returns if you do not find its what they said and you say what your wanting, they should advise you correctly, some main things you ask is are , none scratchy , fast cutting , no toxins to the metal, in the stone and level 5 or 5+ for hardens and a finisher for razor, you will pay more for size and colour , certain colour and patterns claim a lot more money even though they will have no extra difference than a none attractive one, There is a video that a lad done and has decent knowledge he explains, and some guy on you tube Kieth some thing, The trouble when sharpening a blade so sharp its prone to chipping on a thick face hair guy specially if they don`t soften there hair be for they shave, and too sharp it could irritate the skin,taking more than just hair , So that`s why its tricky to hone some one else razor, when they pay for your service , if they strop it wrong they can ruin that fine thin edge you put on it,
I'm late !(😂 sorry Bill) , excellent explanation. Each test takes experience to get comfortable with , I find the baby tomato 🍅 test is very accurate for finding areas of your edge that aren't quite sharp , a very gentle slicing cut tells me where my edge needs more work . Then after stropping canvas then leather I always HHT putting the two together is a solid test . Great informative video , thanks Bill. 🙏❤️
Thank you Martin. I really hated not having access to suitable hair for HHT, and then really mad when there were no grapes or tomatoes around. Shaved off a JNat for the first time yesterday. It was delightful.
@@billm.2677 Every shave is different, I shaved off two gold dollars with jnat edges , irritation afterwards. Today two Sheffield 6/8 razors one coticle one jnat edge both superb ? All very odd 😂 .
Hi Bill, great explanation of the test..I couldn’t find any packing peanuts, but went out with the missus and had Chinese takeout last week and my wonton came in a polystyrene container..bing 💡! After use and cleaning I started testing edges with it and “Voila” it works. Areas on the razors edge not sharp enough would not perform a gentle push cut, but when the edge was done right it did. I've used the hanging hair test but like most people find it wanting and this styrofoam push test is much simpler and works a treat. Thanks for this, makes things easier, only thing is I'll have to eat more Chinese Wonton for my supply of testers…lol😊 Cheers Mike.
Thanks Mike. After many times of going back to the stones after a shave test, I was delighted to stumble on it. Pre-peanut age, I would usually use the tomatoes, but sometimes did not have them.
It may have just been the steel quality on the GD razor, (probably was) meaning the reason why it chipped out . I just enjoy the hobby like you do. I am just a plain ole country boy.
Just an old country boy here too. I did just think it was fair to mention that pushing a steel to it’s absolute limits will ultimately cause it to fail. I’ve just not seen those failures on my stuff. I’ll do some checking, but my guess is that I can make it happen on a hanging strop by flexing a thinner, finer edge back and forth.
@@billm.2677 Maybe 🤔. I kinda doubt it, I rule that out, because i didn't strop post shave or pre shave. I use an edge just as it is, i don't like to add any other variables, to anyone edge i am testing, i shave 100% of the persons honed edge. I am rather clumsy so i dont risk altering the edge in any way. I don't even oil blades, that adds another variable, one could accidentally mess up the edge when whipping the oil off, i have done done that before,btw .
That's a cool technique. I'm working with HHT, and I've almost got it calibrated for my tastes lol... Have you looked into the carnivore diet? I'm a huge fan of carnivore/ketovore
Thanks Lee. I have moved to carnivore/ketovore more recently. I had been on a weight stall for a few months and dropping carbs to below 5g per day started me up again. I also found more free energy, enough to take up cycling. A bit of a cheat using an e-bike, but I can regulate setting to get a 125ish heart rate for 60-90 minutes. Riding the rail trails around here lacks the boredom I find on the exercise bike in the basement. 1 year and 50lbs ago I lack the urge, energy or ability to do any of that. Thanks for bringing it up. Do try the packing peanut on some of your sharpening work and see how it works out. Take care.
I don’t have any wedge razors, but I’d try to work them on the flat side of my stones. I have heard about guys using dished out hones or using tape to pitch everything off the stone but the edge. I imagine there are folks with the skill to freehand them. Honing hassles are probably why you don’t see as many wedge grinds as hollow grinds.
Put some kapton tape on the spine and use a flat stone, with rolling x-strokes if it has a smile. That takes less work and removes the least metal. There's not much benefit in trying to use convex hones on a wedge because the process relies on removing steel from behind the bevel, so you'd basically be trying to turn a wedge into a hollow-ground blade. T
I agree japonese natural stones are a big risk but you can go safe with Coticule Ardenne or Arkansas Dans or Morihei Japanese natural. Japanese will cost more but are inferior!😢 Anyway stropping will kill your edge especialy on linen. Natural are an evolution I will take after years. The Hybrid system is too expensive if you have no experience. What strop did uou use? To me this make,a big difference. Geometry of blade also! Its the bevel of yours Thiers👉 Uniform?👉 I notice some Thiers have a bevel no uniform! To correct it you have to use the 1000k and its not easy!!!😮 You will damage it if you have not experience!
Hello. I have a coticule, a number of arks, and a number of synthetics most are shaped with an elliptical crowning and the technique I follow calls for use of multiple radius’ to achieve a hollowing of the bevel that can be observed under magnification. Currently my last stone is a shaped Suehiro Gokumyo 20k. I believe my final edge is ultimately finished and refined on series of crowned balsa strops loaded with abrasives. Herold Green-CroX, Herold Red-FeOx, Herold Black-unknown abrasive, then 3 with cBN emulsions at .5µ, .25µ, .1µ. then flat bench kangaroo. I maintain on a convexed balsa with .1µ cBN and a convexed balsa with Horween horsehide. One of the reasons I pursued the use of convexed surfaces in honing was to easily hone problem razors. Here is a TI I did that the owner considered “unhoneable”, he and a number of others had no success. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cq4QL7xAl6E.html He was very pleased with the results.
@@billm.2677 Thank for share your .experience. This is my knowledge. I had a lot of razor and big experience. In my opinion all the past mentioned are bad. The only past good are the Thiers pastes to not use because damage teeth of edge. When you need a refresh take a stone 1 micron! To deburr use linen but be gentle! Do you agree?? GREEN past should be used only to remove big burrs not to refresh! I never used!!!!!😝 Horween leather should be first Horse bridle after and after Cordovan!! Convex stone is not a good idea even if there are many entusiastsll of convex honing! Why? They think to replace wheel in honing but they lose a part of honing in the apex! And almost of all don't remove enought material to mantain concavity!@ So is much better to use a flat stone. When the edge will lose too much concavity send it to the wheel if the manufacturer. It will happen after a lot of years with an extra hollow! They have a special machine with 2 wheel on each side! Artisans don't have! They do by hand and so the work is never good! On full hollow!!!😉 1/4 hollow ground will last less!!!! All industry consider good only extra hollow! I don't know what problem have the Thiers! You mentioned! But some bad geometry must be removed on grind machine! By manufacturer !! For others problems you must use special technique!!! Like with my Boker that cant be honed normally!!!. The only good Arkansas are Dan's stones but are very expensive!!!!!🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑 My advice is not mix brands!!!!!😉😊🫠🙃 and use only ceramic stones! So 👉no Naniwa superstone!!! 💣💣💣Are like butter!💥!😁 Inferior performance! And issues🙈💔 especially if you have no experience!😇
@@zenrazor659 Thanks for your input and the sharing of your experiences and opinions. Now that precision devices used for the shaping of stones are no longer available, I expect SuperCurve Honing techniques to survive only with those currently equipped and stubborn people like me. Very few will explore it as I have. Having shaped stones manually, I conclude that most folks lack the determination to do so, even if they possess the understanding and skills. The concaving of the bevels I have been getting does seem to last longer than those of your experiences. Enjoy.
@@billm.2677 I didn't understand your last phrase about my experience. Duration of retention of a edge doesnt mean you are an expert or that your apex is good! My standards in honing are far from your imagination! Or your budget! If you damage a stone to change it in a poor concave piece of stone! You never tried my skill! or my edges! I tried the edge of the one if the most famous honemaster! And it was horrible! No doubts my skill exceed every razor I saw and tried !My approach is much different from an artisan that must sell or hone hubdred of razors! Curios is the fact only the basic set costs 5 times the most expensive razor in the manufacturer market and two timez and half the most expensive razor artisanal. Skill has no price! Only a razor came shave almostvshave ready ! But not at the level of my full progression! It's parodoxical professional have less skill and knowledge of an amateur! A professional can't lose 5/6 hours to hone a razor! Or buy a grinder machine for a full hollow ground. The costs will be exorbitant! That's why Thiers Issard stopped to produce 8/8 razors and no razor can came really shave ready and this also the reason Gilette reigns in the world if Shaving! You will never find a straight razor in a supermaket or a Ferrari for the price of a Fiat! I saw people with hundred of straight razors and no idea of how is made a straight razor o like to hone correctely! Skill is not proportional to experience o to money! Presume to have the thrue and others are inferior is sign you are an idiot! And have no respect!😝🫡 Manufactures still are the best but can't offer what people will not buy! Honing costs more of the razor!🤑🤐
