razor sharpening

[skip]

will the extra fine spyderco hone sharpen straight razors?

i have a puma straight razor and i have never been able to recreate the factory edge. i would love to shave with itbut i lack the talent to put an edge on it. is there a secret?



skip@mail.cwo.com

[sal]

Hi Skip. Welcome to the Spyderco forum.

The extra fine stone will do a fine job (as will the white triangle). The 204 video will give you some info. A 10X-12X lupe also helps. sharpen until very sharp then strop, strop, strop.

The stropping creates the burr that will actually do the shaving. Don't touch the edge with anything but the hair on your face. touching the eddge with your finger will break off the burr and then you're back to square one.

I would strop 40-50 strokes before shaving and often will go back to the strop during a shave. There are leather and synthetic strops. You'll have to try both to determine which you prefer.

You shouldn't have to sharpen on the stone more than 2 or 3 times per year if you keep the burr crisp.

hope that helps.

sal

[skip]

what do i look for with the glass?

[stu]

Hi everyone,

Sal, where do you get a good strop and would it be useful for blades other than the razor type?

Thank you.

stu

[Clay Kesting]

Stu,

Check out http://www.handamerican.com/ for an excellent selection of strops for knives and woodworking tools. They also have polished steels which are fairly hard to find elsewhere.

Take care,

Clay

Living your life is a task so difficult, it has never been attempted before.

[sal]

Hi Skip. If you study the edge with the glass, you will learn about edges. As you sharpen the razor, periodically look at the edge and watch the edge "grow". Once sharp, do the same while stropping and watch the burr "grow".

Hi Stu. IMO, it is of little value to strop a blade that is not used for shaving. The first thing you cut that is harder than a hair will remove the effect of the strop.

Thanx for the info Clay.

sal

[bad4u]

For edge-polishing blades, I use the 2-stage leather hones (bench-strop system) availabe at www.handamerican.com. I use 600-grit for edge touch-up and 10000-grit for final polishing.

To judge sharpness and detect edge imperfections, I use standard newsprint. Slowly slicing through newspaper, I've detected edge-knicks that I couldn't see with a 30X magnifier.