Shaving with an SE Wedge Blade

My first attempt was with a piece of tape but I was doing more harm than good.

View attachment 18866
A honemeister (based on that same picture) recommended to look for the for the original angle on the bevel and to find a way of making a guide for it. So I used the blade holder for stropping that comes with the set.
View attachment 18867
As you can see, the razor handle acts as the stropping handle, but IMO its too heavy and bulky for honing and stropping.
So I used the holder only. That alone improved my honing tremendously. It also made sense to me since I will be stropping using that blade holder so honing with it should give the bevel a similar angle to what it will get when stropping. I inked the bevel to guided the honing.

View attachment 18868

That holder is covered in tape on the chopstick handle picture (so I missed to mention that). After honing without a handle I felt the need for one for the x strokes and then the rolling strokes. I used the original handle and did not like it but did notice I liked how it felt better than no handle, so I replaced it with the chopstick. After that I used this approach with another dull blade start to finish and its working better for me.
To make pressure when setting the bevel I put my index finger on top of the blade, similar to what I've seen on straight honing videos (or so I like to think). No flexing issues and in fact I get better results with the chopstick than with the original handle or the blade holder alone.

This are my first honing steps and am sure this approach can and will get improved. Right now am already getting better shaves than with a GEM blade; quite encouraging.
I Don't Know who gave you that Advice but its Way off the Mark..I have been Honing these Blades for sometime Now..I sent my Friend One that I Honed & he said its Sharper & Smoother than the One he Got Honed from a Honemeister..As I said..One Layer of Tape..The Tape is only there to Protect the Spine from Hone Wear..You Don't Need it..I only Use a Decent Thin Cello Tape as Well..;)

The Blade Needs to be Flat on the Stone the Same as an SR..That's it..o_O

Billy
 
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My first attempt was with a piece of tape but I was doing more harm than good.

View attachment 18866
A honemeister (based on that same picture) recommended to look for the for the original angle on the bevel and to find a way of making a guide for it. So I used the blade holder for stropping that comes with the set.
View attachment 18867
As you can see, the razor handle acts as the stropping handle, but IMO its too heavy and bulky for honing and stropping.
So I used the holder only. That alone improved my honing tremendously. It also made sense to me since I will be stropping using that blade holder so honing with it should give the bevel a similar angle to what it will get when stropping. I inked the bevel to guided the honing.

View attachment 18868

That holder is covered in tape on the chopstick handle picture (so I missed to mention that). After honing without a handle I felt the need for one for the x strokes and then the rolling strokes. I used the original handle and did not like it but did notice I liked how it felt better than no handle, so I replaced it with the chopstick. After that I used this approach with another dull blade start to finish and its working better for me.
To make pressure when setting the bevel I put my index finger on top of the blade, similar to what I've seen on straight honing videos (or so I like to think). No flexing issues and in fact I get better results with the chopstick than with the original handle or the blade holder alone.

This are my first honing steps and am sure this approach can and will get improved. Right now am already getting better shaves than with a GEM blade; quite encouraging.
From what I can see the handle is intended for honing but not stropping - if the strop is a Kindall it should be hung from a support and in between the leather is an attachment for the blade. By pulling on the right hand side of the strop, the machanism should flip the blade to the right for stropping. Then, pulling the left hand side of the strop flips the blade to the left - you continue this rotation for as long as required but no more than 60 per side.
The honing attachment is not easy to use but that's why it's included - it generates the correct bevel angle. Using tape helps in two ways, it helps to secure the blade in position during honing and also protects the holder from hone wear. If you don't use tape, the holder wil eventually develop flats on either side which will affect the bevel angle adversely.
It does mater what kind of tape is used in my mind, a better quality tape such as 3M does not break down as quickly as cheap tape. If you have to use low grit hones for bevel setting, make sure you replace the tape regularly.
 
I Never Got a Handle with My Set Rob..I have a Complete Set..Mine only Came with the Magnus Strop..That is the 1st Set that I have seen with a Stropping Handle along with the Magnus Strop unless it never Came with it..The Sets that come without the Magnus Strop have that same Stropping Handle..Its Not for Honing..I have had other Stropping Handles Identical to that with Other Sets..;)

That Set there is giving You the Option to Strop with a Handle or Use the Magnus Strop if it did come with the Set..Its Usually One or the Other..That's a Stropping Handle..:)

Billy
 
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Fwiw my set had both


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Well..If it has Both then you have the Option of Using Both a Stropping Handle on a Leather Strop or Using the Magnus Strop..I am in Touch with a Number of Hollow Ground Blade SE users & We all Hone these Blades Flat on the Stone or Lapping Film..I Don't Care What that Honemeister Says..All of these Guys are Far More Experienced than I..:eek:

We all Cant Be Wrong..That's for Sure..;)
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/483222-Star-Kampfe-Wedge-Blades

Billy
 
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Billy - your pal Slash McCoy refers to using a stropping handle for honing and there is nothing in that link that refers to honing without using a handle. You may have found something that works for you but please stop saying anyone who disagrees is wrong.
 
Billy - your pal Slash McCoy refers to using a stropping handle for honing and there is nothing in that link that refers to honing without using a handle. You may have found something that works for you but please stop saying anyone who disagrees is wrong.
attachment.php

Well.. Folks can Do what they Like Rob..No Odds to Me..I have Never Seen or Heard of anyone Doing it Any Other Way..And Yes there is a Link there with a Blade being Honed Flat on the Stone with Tape as Above..:p

Billy
 
Gentlemen, first of all I want to apologize for not sending the right message from the beginning. I find this thread tremendously encouraging and wanted to share my experience so that if someone is looking into these interesting systems, they can learn from a lamo's experience in the same place. Like I said, I think there isn't enough info about sharpening this blades, and so that they don't make the same mistakes. I never intended to imply that the only right way of honing these blades is with a holder of some sorts. Neither did the honemeister that kindly advised me when desperate; it was merely one of the many "try and see if this works" pieces of advise he gave me. For that I am very thankful and am guessing Rob's experience with straights resonates with his colleague's. It happens to be working for me at the moment and so I wanted to share that with you.

Before I even had a stone, I saw Bob's and Billy's pictures (actually, the picture of the blade sent to Karl G is my reference point) and that is exactly why my very first approach was to tape the blade leaving those wings and laying it flat on the stone. Am sure Billy is getting those blades very sharp with his method. I'll continue to do what I can to get mine sharp as well.
 
Gentlemen, first of all I want to apologize for not sending the right message from the beginning. I find this thread tremendously encouraging and wanted to share my experience so that if someone is looking into these interesting systems, they can learn from a lamo's experience in the same place. Like I said, I think there isn't enough info about sharpening this blades, and so that they don't make the same mistakes. I never intended to imply that the only right way of honing these blades is with a holder of some sorts. Neither did the honemeister that kindly advised me when desperate; it was merely one of the many "try and see if this works" pieces of advise he gave me. For that I am very thankful and am guessing Rob's experience with straights resonates with his colleague's. It happens to be working for me at the moment and so I wanted to share that with you.

Before I even had a stone, I saw Bob's and Billy's pictures (actually, the picture of the blade sent to Karl G is my reference point) and that is exactly why my very first approach was to tape the blade leaving those wings and laying it flat on the stone. Am sure Billy is getting those blades very sharp with his method. I'll continue to do what I can to get mine sharp as well.
Yeah Bob was One of the Folks that I learned from..As Rob says We all Find Our Own Way..For What its Worth..We are Talking of the C.V Heljestrand in Particular here..I have Personally Honed the Blade with Electrical Tape & Without Tape..I have found that my Blades are Far Smoother when I don't Use any Tape..In other Razors the Difference wasn't so Obvious I May Add..o_O

I only Found that by Out by Accident when I forgot to Tape a Spine Once & then I Repeated it to See if it would Reward Consistent Results & it Sure Did...Because of the Subsequent Hone Wear I decided to use a Thinner Cello Tape to Protect the Spine from Hone Wear & Compare the Difference..I Got Similar Results as with No Tape..:)

In Other words I Personally Don't Use Electrical Tape to Hone a Blade for the CV heljestrand..The CV heljestrand like some of the French Hoe Razors has a Very Rigid Base Plate & the Frame Doesn't Flex when Loaded with a Hollow Ground Blade..:rolleyes:

In Other words it has Closer Tolerances than any Gem or Kampfe/Star Lather Catcher or any other so Called Lather Catcher..The Frames in most Lather Catchers Flex to some Degree when Loaded..In my Humble Opinion there is No other Hollow Ground SE that Shaves like the CV heljestrand..The Engineering Quality of it is Astounding..:p

The CV heljestrand is Precision Built like No Other..I Hone my Blades for Optimal Performance in the CV heljestrand..I sold off all my Other Lather Catchers & I had just about all of them including a Number of French Hoes..:D


Billy
 
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I think I may have turned the corner on shaving with a wedge SE. This was the first shave I've had where all three passes were smooth and easy. :p

Reduction after the first pass was the best yet and this was the closest shave I've gotten with the Heljestrand - mostly BBS with a few DFS spots on the neck. While some of the improvement is certainly technique I think learning proper blade maintenance is a very large factor. I've cut down the laps when stropping and also remounted my strop to make it easy to make a lighter draw. I also refreshed the blades on my lapping film at 1 micron and .3 micron which was far more effective than the .3 and .1 refresh I was doing on a balsa strop with paste. :)

Shaving with the wedge SEs requires learning and effort before they come into their own but it has it's own unique rewards. :cool:

AOS Lavender PSO
Sterling Soap Glacial Lemon
T&H Wellington Super Badger
C.V. Heljestrand
C.V. Heljestrand (8) (1)
30 laps before/20 laps after
T&H Classic After Shave Balm

Heljestrand AOS SSLC TH TH.JPG

Happy shaving - Karl
 
I think I may have turned the corner on shaving with a wedge SE. This was the first shave I've had where all three passes were smooth and easy. :p

Reduction after the first pass was the best yet and this was the closest shave I've gotten with the Heljestrand - mostly BBS with a few DFS spots on the neck. While some of the improvement is certainly technique I think learning proper blade maintenance is a very large factor. I've cut down the laps when stropping and also remounted my strop to make it easy to make a lighter draw. I also refreshed the blades on my lapping film at 1 micron and .3 micron which was far more effective than the .3 and .1 refresh I was doing on a balsa strop with paste. :)

Shaving with the wedge SEs requires learning and effort before they come into their own but it has it's own unique rewards. :cool:

AOS Lavender PSO
Sterling Soap Glacial Lemon
T&H Wellington Super Badger
C.V. Heljestrand
C.V. Heljestrand (8) (1)
30 laps before/20 laps after
T&H Classic After Shave Balm

View attachment 18934

Happy shaving - Karl

Karl

Glad yo hear it. How often are you refreshing the blade? I tend to get 4 shaves with stropping only then a refresh.

Tom


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Karl

Glad yo hear it. How often are you refreshing the blade? I tend to get 4 shaves with stropping only then a refresh.

Tom


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I think I first refreshed around 5 or 6 shaves but I probably waited a little long and then the refresh on the .3 and .1 paste wasn't really enough. I am guessing 4 or 5 shaves will probably be about right for me as well.

I just got my modular paddle strop from Straight Razor Designs today. It comes with some felt pads and a .5 micron diamond spray so I will try that out as a means of refreshing with at least one of my blades. I hesitate to get too many methods going at once but being able to swap in a felt pad and do a refresh does add some convenience. So, I think I'll stick with the film for one of my blades and try the felt pad for the other to see if there is a noticeable difference and eventually settle on one.

I am sure I will continue to use the film for when I need a more aggressive grit or a honing. :)
 
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