"Getting there" on an SRP TI

[PA23-250]

I really need to post more on this forum! It's been too bloody long!

Has anyone done either a unicot or dilucot on this razor? If so, I'd love to know exactly what you did. I've thought of getting a Norton or something for "trouble" blades like this & finishing w/ the coticule, but buying a hone I'd only occasionally use seems a little silly... I do have some (overdue to be thrown out) diamond lapping film that probably does more harm than good (razor never seems sharp off of this) & that didn't work. I did get it sharp on Naniwas (when I was using those, but I sold them to get my current 8x3. ), so I know it can take an edge.

It seems to generate an autoslurry on my stone (on the softer side) much more easily than any other razor I've honed. Any much more than the weight of the blade & presto! Misty slurry. Obviously this means light pressure is important! I know I'm missing something, though. If any of you gents have sharpened these, I'd love to know how you got it there.

 

[Smythe]

While I Don’t have a TI razor, from what I been reading about them, the steel in these new TI razors are harder than the usual vintage, so I would not be surprised it will take more effort to get it sharp.
It sort of like honing a near wedge blade, if the bevels are wide you have to remove more steel from the bevels to get it sharp (so it takes a longer time), but in the case of the TI, you are removing less steel per stroke, so it takes longer to remove a given amount of steel to get it sharp.

But was the razor “shave ready” to begin with, and now only now needs a touch-up? Or did it have a factory edge?

 

[PA23-250]

It's one of the old forgings (although slightly different than the usual "Wolf & Sheep" that Classic sells--different heat treatment, I think. The edge was factory & yes, the bevel is pretty uneven (some parts are quite wide, especially on the wash side). There is a slight smile. This makes me think a unicot is required (you think 2 lays of tape would be excessive?), but again, there's that autoslurry problem...

At least I get to sharpen my barber's razors here pretty soon (1 is a W&B full hollow).:thumbup:

 

[Bart]

I have not yet sharpened the SRP edition of TI. But I've honed plenty of TI's.
They sharpen up like any other razor, with the exception that the recent, extra hardened TI's tend to have brittle edges. Setting a bevel with one layer of tape and going to Unicot with a second layer has always solved any problem I had with the edge chipping during the shave.

All other TI razors I just take through a Dilucot procedure.
Whatever you do, you can't get a good edge, if you don't first get the bevel in good shape. Your Coticule will be perfect for that. If the Coticule really auto-slurries a lot, and you can't get the edge to good keenness because of it (try it with a test shave or rely on the HHT to see whether the hone renders good keenness). If keenness indeed is a problem because of the autoslurry behavior, finish with the Coticule under a tap, set to the slowest constant stream. So far I have only ever seen one Coticule that demanded such approach. Under a running tap it delivered very sharp edges at fast speed.

Best regards,
Bart.

 

[PA23-250]

I tried the unicot w/ 2 layers just to make it faster--no autoslurry problem at all as long as I stuck to normal pressure.

HHT consistently was about 1.5-ish; it never really seemed to improve much--I must have done hundreds of additional laps, including stropping strokes, lather. Eventually, I just whipped out my old (hardly used anymore) piece of balsa pasted w/ crox & that improved it quite a bit. Stropped 60/60 & awaiting a shave test, but it seems like it should work.

Off-topic (sort of), but I can't wait until my newest prep item gets here: Lucky Tiger lemon "face cleanser" (but it's supposed to be a great pre-shave as it removes all oil from the hair shaft).

 

[Smythe]

Sounds like the razor may still be dull, if the shave test fails then make some slurry with the rubbing stone and give it many laps... (100 laps is not much on a Coticule), don't allow the slurry to thicken too much, and if the slurry turns black (like an oil slick) then wash it of and make new slurry and continue until all the edge cuts arm hair easily. From there you may continue polishing with diluted slurry and then water or add a layer of tape and unicot.

Please keep us posted.