Honestly
saying, I was thinking a lot before write this article. The reason is a simple one
: as many sharpeners, as many ways of honing. It is clear that the honing of
the knife differs from the honing of the scissors, and both of them differ from the
honing of the blade razor. The last is an invitation to a regular discussion. But to the
constructive discussion, where there is no place for trolling and disputes until the
hoarseness about which of us, the"sharpeners"is more
awesome.The question of
honing razors is not an easy one, and you need to approach it carefully. At the same
time, I do not like to cast a shadow on the fence and I think that the problem of
honing is so important and always relevant that it would be wrong to get around
it’s attention in the blog. I will try to present the material in such a way that it is
also understandable to the reader who does not have the training of a sharpener
and generally faces such a discussion for the first time. An additional motivation
for writing the article was the questions of our customers who note the high quality
of the razors “Art•RAZOR” and, at the same time, sometimes
show surprise at
our choice of honing materials. In fact, many European razor lovers still believe
that the best sharpening of the blade can be achieved solely on expensive natural
stones!
The RAVEN razor (produced by “Art•RAZOR”) on the working surface of NANIWA SS synthetic stone (800 grit)
There is
one more moment. Many users of blade razors have grown adept at self-honing
their tools, and some even get pleasure from this process, simultaneously gaining a
purely practical benefit, i.e. They do not have to pay professional sharpeners.
However, in any case, in order to do this work, we need quality stones. Well, and
skillful hands, of course :). And if the first is relatively simple to solve with the
help of money, then the second is a question of a rather sophisticated skill and
abilities of motor skills. I think I will still touch on
"amateur" problems, but now I want
to focus on the professional honing.
What is it?
What are the criteria for professional honing? Personally, I single out three of
them:
• the ability
to shave qualitatively right out of the box, without any dodges and additional
tweaks;
•keeping
the razor its excellent shaving properties for a long time (at least half a year or a
year), provided that the user is properly used everyday ;
• comfort,
"softness"; of shaving, when during the procedure it is not
required to exert any
special efforts.
The listed
items can be put in any order, the essence of this will not change. Actually,
it is on the performance of these tasks and concentrates any sharpener. But the
result is achieved in different ways. Unfortunately, due to the involvement in the
discussion of a fairly wide range of people of varying degrees of preparation, the problem
of the image of a large number of myths, prejudices and even outright "sectarianism";
Sometimes these controversial and false stereotypes penetrate into the
professional environment.
Japanese natural stone NAKAYAMA Karasu with a finish pile 5000+ grit.
Razor - Camisori «HAIKU» (production “Art•RAZOR”)
The main
issue that causes conflict of opinion is honing on natural stones or synthetic
materials? Let's look at this in more detail. And for this we will make
a very small
theoretical excursus.
My working set of Japanese synthetic water rocks NANIWA SS, from left to
right: S 400, S 800, S 3000, S 10 000. There is not one more "step" 6000 grit, as I
use a stone from another ruler; So historically happened :)
Honing is
the formation of the working surface of the cutting tool. In the overwhelming
majority of cases, and in relation to the razor always, the honing is performed
mechanically, by removing the "excess" metal in the cutting /
shaving area.
Sharpeners of blade razors one way or another tend to the so-called rapid honing.
This means that when working on each abrasive material, we get a gain in sharpness,
and so we move from coarse-grained abrasives to less coarse-grained ones. Since
the correct honing of both the razor and the knife is made exclusively across the
cutting edge, a micropyles are formed, which is responsible for the cut. I note
incidentally that much higher demands are placed on the microscope of the razor,
since the cutting of the hair is done in one movement, sliding at a certain angle to
the surface of the skin (about 15-20 °, contrary to the common misconception
about 30 ° due to inattentive reading of the special hairdresser's literature)
and At a certain angle (about 25-30 ° C) to the general direction of shaving the
site. If this second angle is ignored, then shaving does not occur, but as a matter of
fact scraping; Then they say shaving is a "direct pull" which is not very welcome, as
it traumatizes the skin and does not use the full potential of the instrument.
When the
correct geometry of the edge is set already at the very first stages, then in fact the
sharpener only removes the risks left by the previous coarse abrasive, and even more
precisely - covers them with new ones, which are much smaller. The smaller the
risks, the sharper the razor. In theory, everything is extremely simple :).
Almost all
those who are engaged in honing razors are united in the opinion that the
following stages should be taken: 1,000 grit (sometimes it is possible to
skip), 3000 grit,
5000-6000 grit (depending on the makeup of a particular manufacturer), 8000 grit,
10,000 Grit, and ... further, as they say, to taste; Some go further, up to 15 000 and
even 18 000 grit, which I personally think is superfluous. (In passing, I would note
for the uninitiated, simplifying to the point that grits are such a measure of abrasive
materials that shows how many uniformly distributed and almost identical
particles of abrasive fit on the square centimeter of the tool - stones, circles,
sandpaper, etc.) But, this is not very standardized to date, and therefore there are
even some comparative tables that bring grits into line with microns, in which
roughness is usually measured (a fairly good though brief review of the question
can be found, for example, here:
Roughly
speaking, leading manufacturers of honing stones are tied to their own, internal
industry standards, and they correlate nonlinearly with each other. With synthetic
stones, everything is somewhat simpler and more standardized, although here there
are certain differences depending on the manufacturer.
As I have
already said, many sharpeners of blade razors believe that the
"real" honing must
be done on "natural", or natural grinding materials, -
Japanese solid water
stones using so-called nagur (giving fine water with water, it is the nuggery that is set
The sequence of increase in gravity), various American "Arkansas"European or
Chinese shales, etc. And there are also such stones,which are sharpened
with the use of oil. Generally speaking, a complete list of all kinds of stones
would make up a rather impressive catalog. Sometimes Japanese stones are simply
cultivated; Their supporters create around the subject a whole philosophy and in
general, that is called, they catch Zen. In fairness, it should be noted that before the
appearance of high-quality synthetic stones, the yapnaths gave a very good and,
as a rule, predictable result ... I think the honing on natural stones was widely
spread and appreciated due to the fact that many advanced users do not periodically
sharpen, but simply They undermine their razors, and this entered into a good
habit at the level of reflex. In this case, naturalists are quite an acceptable option.
On the
other pole are those who generally prefer to form the cutting edge of the shaver on
the emery, and then bring the sharpness of the razor to a comfortable state on
the pasted belt is leather or fabric, greased or grated abrasive paste, in the simplest
case, GOI paste. On this method, I do not want to dwell too much, because I
consider this approach amateurish and leads to rapid wear of the razor itself and
the inevitable distortion of its original geometry. However, for a not very demanding
user this is almost the only way to keep the razor in working order, without
incurring any particular costs, without delving into the subtleties of our craft and
dispensing with the services of a professional. In the end, our grandfathers
were honing razors like this :).
An example of a razor that was sharpened correctly, and therefore its
original geometry is kept in excellent condition, despite a very "venerable" age
(razor ERIK ANTON BERG, Sweden, Eskilstuna, end of XIX century - early XX
century).
This razor was less fortunate (the razor BENGALL, England, Sheffield). In
this case, I do not mean the damage to the handle, but the defects of the canvas,
which are a direct consequence of systematic non-professional honing, most likely
with the use of emery and a pasted belt: the thickening of the canvas, the
considerable stiffness of the butt and the obvious tendency to so-called. The
reverse smile - the curve of the shaving edge in the direction of the butt ... But this
razor, originally excellent - almost the same age as the previous one!
In the
process of becoming as a sharpener, I tried all conceivable and inconceivable
methods of honing razors and chose Japanese synthetic water stones (I use the
NANIWA SS brand, do not think for advertising, just for the sake of information).
Firstly, because they perfectly cope with the task that I formulated at the very
beginning. Secondly, these stones minimize the various unpleasant surprises
that can lead to a marriage of sharpening. For example, the accidental chipping of
an abrasive particle can, as they say, plow the furrow on a shaving edge, and
the sharpener has to start all over again. In natural stones, the probability of such a
failure is quite high. Third, the distribution of abrasive particles in a synthetic
stone is much more uniform than in a natural stone; Hence, the claimed grit is in
synthetic not exemplary, but a more or less accurate characteristic. Fourth, not only
the micro-, but also the macrohomogeneity of the grit and hardness of the natural
stone is questionable due to veins, foreign inclusions and other variables inherent in
everything natural.
And what
about the notorious mirror luster of the edge? The play of light on the edge is a
spectacular thing. Of course, such an effect in combination with a successful
hair cut test, as a rule, indicates a qualitative, good honing. At the same time, the
"mirror" is not an end in itself. But the width of the edge
is directly related to
the ergonomics of use. The tool with an edge "in a string" is
easier and faster to
be fixed on a clean belt, this honing promises to be more durable. But this is just a
natural consequence of the correct actions of a qualified enforcer. The main
argument in favor of synthetic stones is an argument that reflects the physical essence is
that at each stage of gravity, up to the highest values, it is sharpening, not
polishing and smoothing. After all, at each stage there is a metal removal,
that is, the
edge in the transverse projection becomes more acute. The removal of metal and
provides a mirror, because the fresh regular risks left by the abrasive on
steel are very
small; At a high degree of their even using a magnifying glass is not so easy to
consider, you need a good microscope.
The shaving edge of the razor "ERIKA" ((production “Art•RAZOR”)
demonstrates our internal honing standard.
What
happens when using natural stones as the number of grit increases? Up to a certain
value of gravity (this boundary, in my experience, lies somewhere around 3000-6000,
depending on the brand and the quality of the stones), the difference between a
naturalist and a synthetic is practically imperceptible, insignificant. There is an
intensive removal of metal (at the micro level, although the synthetic stone gives
a more regular picture after all), the shaving edge is formed in the "standard" mode. But at a certain stage, the natural stone starts to work just like a flat table
with a certain coefficient of medium roughness, and a soft suspension of nuggery has
practically no abrasive properties in relation to steel. It, of course, is needed for
another, for slipping and protecting from the peculiar microtrauma edges, for
the movements of even a very good calculator are not ideal. So, the metal is no
longer removed, and the shaving edge begins to simply flatten out, more or less
polish well. At the same time, the severity of the blade also increases, but this is
not a completely controlled and controlled process, which is closer to art than to
technology. With all the ensuing consequences. What happens when smoothing
out is a microscopic analog of "hard work" when the geometry
of the cutting
edge is corrected by the pressure applied perpendicular to the aligned plane. So the
usual braid prepares for work; An experienced mower easily improves the cutting of
his tool, beating off the edge with a hammer on the anvil. As you can see, the
physics of the process in the work on high horizontality among naturalists and
synthetics differs significantly. With a micro-plate, it is much more difficult
to achieve a
mirror gloss of the edge. However, some vendors can do it.
In general,
today I do not know the fully developed and exhaustive in the smallest details of
the process of honing the razor. The above considerations and deep theoretical
knowledge of anyone, in fact, are worthless without skilled and experienced
hands. Honing the razor is one of those exercises in which the combination
of an understanding of the theoretical foundations and the development
of sustainable practical skills is better manifested. Here, the practice and quality
of the result act as a measure of things. And of course, each master owns his
own manner, a set of techniques and professional "secrets" that you will not pass in
a simple social conversation.
I really do
not want to seem categorical. Inevitably to someone my reasoning seems
controversial, it is quite natural. I do not consider myself an infallible guru of the
process of honing razors. But all that I am writing about here is the conclusions
drawn from my own experience, both positive and negative. In addition,
almost any user who has purchased our razor can testify to the high quality of
honing and the comfort of shaving. And therefore I will allow myself to draw
several conclusions, which I formulated primarily for myself and for the Freelance Masters Club “Art•RAZOR”.
Conclusion
the first: if you need the most predictable result, then it is easier to achieve it
on synthetics, especially if there is no long-term habit to natural stones.
Conclusion
the second: when honing the razor, one should take care not only of the momentary
suitability of the instrument, but also of the duration of the result achieved
and the safety of the blade.
The
conclusion the third(main): you can sharpen in any way and on any stones, if you know
how to do it really well! If not, then it's better to turn to a
professional and get a
quality shaver, which initially delivers a minimum of hassle, experiences.
I
responsibly declare that with the razors “Art•RAZOR” you
can shave right out of the box.
By the way, the development of the necessary honing skills for all and inevitably
leads to a spoilage of at least one or two razors. This is a harsh truth,
it's a trial and
error path :).
In
conclusion, so as not to be regarded as a boring theoretician, I will show how
to sharpen
myself. This is just a fragment of the video, it does not reflect the whole process,
but shows the nature and intensity of the movements in the final stages of honing.
I wish
everyone, professionals and enthusiastic amateurs, successes in the field of business
and is ready, as far as the strength and knowledge, to continue the conversation
about the technology of the process of honing razors.
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