Sean
Active member
I thought about posting this in the “Bevel Refreshing” thread, but I think this may go in a slightly different direction and I don’t want to derail the other thread.
This is my first attempt to refurbish an old razor. I got an old Mark Cross (Sheffield England) straight razor from an antique store for a few dollars. I should have taken a “before” picture for reference.
I have a set of Kramer/Zwilling glass-ceramic synthetic stones (400, 1K, 3K, 5K and 10K with a sink bridge). An Imperia La Rocca natural stone, an old Norton HB6, an Heirloom Strop and a DMT D8C for lapping. I also have an affordable 400-1000 power USB microscope which allows me to see what I’m doing.
When I got the razor it was about 7/8, stained and had been poorly honed, but had no rust or chips etc. Because the edge was severely uneven, with a “smile” and a “frown” it took a lot of work to smooth things out. Ultimately, I ended up taking about 1/4 off the edge, resulting in about a 5/8 final width. Because I knew I would be taking so much width off, I chose to leave the spine untaped, allowing the spine and edge to come to a new place together.
After getting the curves removed and getting the razor to lay flat on a flat surface, I began working on honing the edge. As I worked up from one stone to the next I would check my progress using the microscope. I have spent several hours on this, but it seems I am simply unable to get the bevel to end up scratch-free. It is full of scratches and definitely not polished. The edge is fairly nice, but not where I want it. I can easily shave arm hair if the blade is touching my arm, but I can’t lop hairs off mid-strand, nor will it pass the hanging hair test.
I’m unsure if I am using too much pressure, not spending enough time on each stone, if my stones are actually of lesser quality than I thought, if it’s a combination of all three, or something else all together.
I shaved with it and was only able to do one pass. I could feel that the amount of pulling would have resulted in razor burn if I had done a second pass.
I have another razor which I purchased from a respected member on this forum. I looked at that razor under the microscope and it has a mirror polish and a beautiful edge...and it shaves wonderfully. I’m sure I could contact the member through private message and get some guidance, but I thought I’d ask here first. Maybe others can benefit from this as well.
Though conversation can’t replace hands-on experience and in-person training, I am open to any and all critiques, criticisms or suggestions.
This is my first attempt to refurbish an old razor. I got an old Mark Cross (Sheffield England) straight razor from an antique store for a few dollars. I should have taken a “before” picture for reference.
I have a set of Kramer/Zwilling glass-ceramic synthetic stones (400, 1K, 3K, 5K and 10K with a sink bridge). An Imperia La Rocca natural stone, an old Norton HB6, an Heirloom Strop and a DMT D8C for lapping. I also have an affordable 400-1000 power USB microscope which allows me to see what I’m doing.
When I got the razor it was about 7/8, stained and had been poorly honed, but had no rust or chips etc. Because the edge was severely uneven, with a “smile” and a “frown” it took a lot of work to smooth things out. Ultimately, I ended up taking about 1/4 off the edge, resulting in about a 5/8 final width. Because I knew I would be taking so much width off, I chose to leave the spine untaped, allowing the spine and edge to come to a new place together.
After getting the curves removed and getting the razor to lay flat on a flat surface, I began working on honing the edge. As I worked up from one stone to the next I would check my progress using the microscope. I have spent several hours on this, but it seems I am simply unable to get the bevel to end up scratch-free. It is full of scratches and definitely not polished. The edge is fairly nice, but not where I want it. I can easily shave arm hair if the blade is touching my arm, but I can’t lop hairs off mid-strand, nor will it pass the hanging hair test.
I’m unsure if I am using too much pressure, not spending enough time on each stone, if my stones are actually of lesser quality than I thought, if it’s a combination of all three, or something else all together.
I shaved with it and was only able to do one pass. I could feel that the amount of pulling would have resulted in razor burn if I had done a second pass.
I have another razor which I purchased from a respected member on this forum. I looked at that razor under the microscope and it has a mirror polish and a beautiful edge...and it shaves wonderfully. I’m sure I could contact the member through private message and get some guidance, but I thought I’d ask here first. Maybe others can benefit from this as well.
Though conversation can’t replace hands-on experience and in-person training, I am open to any and all critiques, criticisms or suggestions.