Victorious said:
Bart, I know you said that the edge doesn’t need to be near shave-ready at the completion of the bevel correction stage, but does the edge at least need to be able to shave these smaller, thinner hairs? Also, how much pressure do I apply when doing the test shaving? Is it ok to use a scything motion, or should I avoid that?
The answer is simple. You dull the razor on glass to make it fail
your] test. It doesn't matter that you shave arm or leg hair, scythe or not. Just make sure the razor doesn't cut your hair in the way you do it. Next you can start the bevel correction stage. All you need to do, is stay at it till the edge passes
your test again. When it does, this means that your bevel is now flat and the very edge is responding to the hone. As soon as that happens, you're good to continue with the finer stages of a sharpening job. There is nothing mysterious about it. Worn out edges usually have a bevel that's not flat. Often the very edge does not make proper contact with the hone. Hence it can't pick up any sharpness before the bevel faces are rendered flat all the way to the very edge. That is all there is to it.
We are not aiming for a particular level of sharpness, we"re just waiting till the very edge
starts gaining keenness. That is the whole idea behind the strategy to dull it in the slightest way, before starting bevel work. If that edge starts shaving again, we don't have to doubt that it was caused by our actions. That's the important part, not how keen it exactly is at this point.
Victorious said:
In some of your articles on SRP, you say that a superb bevel will be able to pop a few hairs even when the edge is not touching your skin. Is this something that I should be aiming for?
No, I have made that statement when I was still using the DMT-E for that kind of work. The DMT creates a sawtooth patern at the very edge, which gives it an agressive cut. These teeth are lost further up in the honing progression. That's why you'll often read that an edge appears to have become less sharp on the next stone in a progression. The teeth are gone and not yet replaced by a continuous edge with better overall keenness. A Coticule does not create teeth, so the completed bevel of a Coticule with slurry will not appear so sharp. I believe that's the reason why people often pass by Coticules for that kind of work. They're used to getting the agrassive edges of synthetic hones at that level.
Let's reiterate at this point:
1. make your mind up about a shaving arm (leg) hair test (SAT).
2. use the trick wit the beer bottle to make the edge fail your SAT.
3. work with halfstrokes on thin, milk-like slurry till the edge passes your SAT. (Keep the slurry well hydrated)
4. finalize you bevel-stage with a few sets of halfstrokes on very thin, watery slurry. This will pick up additional keenness. Don't be afraid to use some pressure.
Always be very alert never to lift the spine above the hone, during no part of stroke. If you're not doing so already, flip the razor while the spine remains in contact. It isn't strictly necessary, but it gives the best guarantee that you won't start the stroke before the blade is laying down completely.
I can't emphasize enough: as little as one (1) partial stroke with the spine lifted above the hone can jeopardize the outcome completely. It creates a faux secondary bevel with unknown angle and roundness on the tip of the main bevel, that you created with so much attention. That faux bevel will shave, albeit poorly. All your subsequent efforts will be nullified by it, because we're working with very slow and gentle processes. Here's a series of drawings to show what happens in this case.
Please note that the creation of these faux bevels may lead to a false positive reading at the bevel creation stage. The majority of new honers think that keeping a razor flat on the hone is child's play. It also looks like child's play. But in the majority of cases where someone struggles with reaching a good Unicot edge, the culprit is the honing stroke. That is why I keep nagging about it.
Victorious said:
In the taped stages, what should it feel like when the razor is pushed across the hone? Should it almost feel like nothing is happening?
In any case, the sensory reading during the tape stages should be faint. During the first few strokes, when the edge is leaning only at its very tip, you will discern a gentle cutting sensation. Depending on the coitcule, it will often dissipate to an almost glass-like feedback. On the creamy side of a Les Latneuses, the feedback will be showing a very dim and fine abrassion. The hybrid side will show more of the glass-like feedback.
Victorious said:
Should there be a clear grinding sensation? You know that feeling where the razor seems like it’s being sucked to the hone?
Actually I don't know that feeling, unless you're talking about an agreeble and minor draw, that feels almost like magnetism.
During the taped stages of Unicot, pressure must be kept at minimal levels. Just gracefully bristle the hone with the razor, as if you were removing a bit of dust from the collar of your jacket. Just don't lift the spine.
Please make sure your tape is 0,15 mm thick. I use standard electrical insulation tape, but it comes in 0,10 mm too. In that case, I would opt for 2 layers. (Beware that "mm" is
not the same as "mil").
Kind regards,
Bart.
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