Glorious past and elite present straight razor

Many of our readers ask us how to sharpen a straight razor, how difficult it is, and how does sharpening this truly rare tool these days differ from sharpening a knife? In this article we decided to answer all these questions.

So, before we talk about the basic technological techniques for sharpening a razor, a few words about what a razor itself is and what it is used with.

Until recently, the straight razor was the only tool of its kind with which, until the mid-20th century, a man could get rid of facial hair. With the active development of the cosmetology industry and the widespread distribution of safety razors, the straight razor is gradually leaving the market and losing its former position. The art of shaving with such a complex tool, together with the art of sharpening it, is gradually becoming a part of history and disappearing from everyday use. This was probably due to the acceleration of the pace of life in society - when modern people no longer had enough time to shave and periodically sharpen their razors.

Since then, the use, and even more so the sharpening of a straight razor, has become the lot of the elite, a kind of hobby and an element of a lifestyle - leisurely, stylish and measured. And, of course, the number of experts who could tell and properly sharpen a straight razor has greatly diminished.

Anatomy of sharpening: skins, belts and stones

So, sharpening a straight razor is not at all the same as sharpening a regular knife - primarily due to the specifics and purpose of this thin tool. The cross-section of a razor blade is characterized by rather sharp concave slopes, which widen towards the cutting edge in order to converge into the thinnest blade. This design allows you to make the blade as sharp as possible, and at the same time shave hair most effectively without damaging the skin. Moreover, if the knife is allowed to be sharpened slightly roughly, and the sharpener sometimes stops on a stone with a grit of 1000# - so the knife’s cut turns out to be quite aggressive, with a good and high-quality cut - then such sharpening is unacceptable for a straight razor - after all, the main thing here, despite The name of the tool is human safety.

Let's start with the fact that sharpening a straight razor can be done in three ways: sharpening on stones, sharpening on sandpaper, and sharpening or straightening on a belt with various abrasives. Each of these methods has its pros and cons. Sharpening on sandpaper is the easiest and cheapest way. All you need is sandpaper of various grain sizes, water, a solid base and glass to create a completely flat surface. However, in stores today it is difficult to find skins whose grain size is less than 2,000 - 2,500 thousand. And for a straight razor, this grain size is quite small. Therefore, having sharpened the razor on the sandpaper, you will no longer have to sharpen it with a belt.

Theoretically, the razor can be edited on any sufficiently velvety leather belt with regular GOI paste applied to it. However, it is certainly better to use specially sold belts for straightening razors. Working with the belt is simple and does not require special skills, allowing you to quickly finish the razor. However, professionals say that sharpening on a belt is much less effective than sharpening on stones. The blade will be less sharp and the cutting edge less durable. As a result, a person who often sharpens his razor on a belt will have to do this regularly - once every 2-5 days, until the razor requires a new sharpening on the skins.

The most reliable, correct and durable method of sharpening a straight razor is still sharpening with stones. It is in this way that all instruments are usually sharpened in sharpening workshops, of which there are very, very few left throughout Russia. However, this method is at the same time the most difficult - as it requires large quantity practices. For those who are just starting to learn how to sharpen a straight razor, experts warn: most likely your first experiments will be unsuccessful. And only after some time you will get good enough at it.

In addition to the fact that the method of sharpening with stones is the most effective and most complex, it is also the most expensive, since high-quality stones are quite expensive today, and for a full sharpening cycle - such as to turn a dull razor into a sharp one enough for a comfortable shave, you will need the entire range of stones ranging from 300#-400# to 10000#-12000#. However, they allow you to achieve the maximum possible from the razor.

Time to Collect Stones: Stone Sharpening Basics

So, before sharpening your razor, you need to make sure the blade is clean and free of rust. If there is rust, it must be removed before sharpening.

Before you start sharpening your razor, there is one very important thing to understand. important rule. The blade is always placed flat on the stone, so that both the back and the cutting edge always touch the abrasive. This is incredibly important for the reason that in cross-section the blade of a straight razor is a blade with concave slopes - a kind of reverse lens - where the protruding parts are the cutting edge and the back of the razor. The position of the blade flat on the stone guarantees a constant sharpening angle along the entire length of the cutting edge and the longest possible use of the razor. If, during sharpening, you give the blade an additional angle - either with your hands or with a piece of electrical tape glued to the back - this can permanently ruin the razor, or at least bring it to a state where it can take a very, very long time to fix it. for a long time: Due to unnecessary tilting, the original angle will be changed, becoming more obtuse (and therefore less sharp), and ultimately can lead to damage to the instrument.

Let us repeat once again: when sharpening a razor blade, the cutting edge is ground parallel to the back - that is, the blade lies FLAT on the stone. Only high-class professionals who want to preserve patterns or inscriptions on the backs of particularly expensive straight razor models can set a small angle at their own risk when sharpening a straight razor.

In addition, there is one more important point. The sharpening of the razor should be uniform along the entire length of the cutting edge. Therefore, professionals advise either buying stones that match the width of the blade, or sharpening them crosswise. That is, when sharpening, guide the razor not directly across the stone, but somewhat obliquely, so that the entire blade is used in one stroke.

Let's get started!

After we understood these simple, but very important points- We begin to sharpen the razor.

Sharpening a razor on stones can be divided into three stages.

The first is working with coarse-grained stones to reduce the cutting edge, remove excess steel, and rough sharpening

The second is a gradual transition to medium- and fine-grained stones, softer sharpening

The third stage is finishing, grinding on the finest-grained stones, and also testing for razor sharpness.

At the first stage, when working with coarse-grained stones, it is permissible to move the blade in both directions, that is, both forward with the tip and backward - this will speed up the process of initial rough sharpening. However, it is worth considering that when changing the abrasive to a new one, an incredibly important action will be to remove the burrs that inevitably form during such sharpening. Therefore, the last 20-40 strokes on each rough stone should be blade forward only. In the future, on medium and small stones, only this technique will be possible: moving flat across the stone with the blade forward, with crosswise movements.

It should also be said about the pressure exerted on the razor blade when sharpening. When sharpened on a rough stone it should be quite noticeable. However, the coarser the stone you use (provided good quality abrasive), the less effort should be applied. Ultimately, your best effort should be to simply let the blade rest on the stone under its own weight - and sometimes lift it slightly so that it just barely touches the plane of the stone.

By the way, about the plane: You need to be very careful that the stone on which you sharpen your razor is as smooth as possible. So that there are no bumps, depressions, or abrasive chips on it. For the same reason, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse the razor blade before changing the stone, and not soak the stones in the same container - getting larger grains of abrasive sand on a finer-grained stone can lead to very ugly scratches on the blade and ruin the entire sharpening.

In addition, it is also important to remember that the razor does not like sudden changes in grain size. That is, when changing a stone from a coarser-grained one to a fine-grained one, it is worth maintaining such an interval so that the grid values ​​on the next stone do not exceed twice the value of the previous one. The smaller the transitions between stones, the better results you will achieve.

Quality control: methods for checking razor sharpness

After completing the sharpening process, you need to check how well the blade is sharpened. Of course, it is impossible to determine this visually without conducting tests. Therefore, cutting hair is considered one of the safest and most revealing checks. The test process occurs as follows: The razor blade is fixed on the table with the cutting edge facing up. Then a hair is taken (any hair, from the head or body), and with a slow, gentle movement it is brought to the RK. At the same time, the hair is kept straight, no unnecessary sawing movements can be performed. The hair should only touch the blade. If the hair then splits into two parts, we can assume that sharpening is complete and you have achieved sufficient sharpness.

There is another test that can be used to check the sharpness of a razor - running a pad along the cutting edge thumb. However, for inexperienced sharpeners this experience is always quite traumatic and rarely passes without cuts. Therefore, we recommend that you beware of checking the sharpness of the razor in this way, at least at first.

Still have questions? Ask them in the comments to the article and we will be happy to answer them!

“It became obvious that for many people there is too much information there. And although the table of the grain size of sharpening stones (gritness of abrasives) given in it will probably be useful to everyone, listing the basic concepts used in sharpening knives, the properties of abrasives and other details is often unnecessary. Perhaps , having read such a comprehensive article, not everyone will find the answer to a simple question: what grit is needed to sharpen his knife? Therefore, I will try to briefly answer what kind of grit sharpening stones are needed for sharpening a knife, in particular, a kitchen knife, and how to choose the right stones for sharpening.

Type of abrasive grain in the whetstone

Due to the different properties of abrasives, it is important to choose the right type of abrasive for comfortable and quick sharpening. Diamond or cubic boron nitride (CBN) effectively cuts metal of any hardness. They even cut the zirconium dioxide from which they are made Ceramic knives. Therefore, diamond and CBN stones can be used to sharpen knives of any type, as well as cutters of metal-cutting machines and pobedite drills. Obviously, such sharpening stones must be available, at least for some specific purposes (a drill is dull, it’s faster to sharpen it than to go to the store for a new one). However, due to the excessive sharpness of diamond, the cutting edge formed by a diamond bar will have a distinct notch, reducing its strength. Accordingly, a knife sharpened with diamonds will dull faster than the same knife sharpened to the same sharpness with a less aggressive abrasive. Therefore, if you have to sharpen not only ceramic knives and knives made of powder steels, it is better to sharpen with something else.

The most versatile type of abrasive is silicon carbide. It copes well with hard steels and does not become dull, gradually chipping with sharp edges. The cheapest type of abrasive is aluminum oxide (corundum), but as it wears it rounds and loses its sharpness.

In order to sharpen with cheap abrasives without losing speed, the Japanese make stones from aluminum oxide on a soft, weak bond. The abrasive grains are weakly retained in them and quickly fall out without having time to become dull. Instead of worn-out grains, new ones quickly come into play, the stone is renewed without losing efficiency...

But also quickly wearing down

As a result, despite the cheapness of the abrasive, sharpening on soft aluminum oxide stones can be a more expensive pleasure than sharpening on silicon carbide stones.

However, if you only have to sharpen stainless kitchen knives (which have a relatively low hardness), you can reduce the cost of the process by using not too soft aluminum oxide sharpening stones, for example, Russian ones with hardness C, or European ones with hardness M (English).

Selecting the hardness of the whetstone

Since when sharpening a knife, the abrasive stone (block) is also ground down, for comfortable and quick sharpening it is important to choose the correct hardness of the sharpening stone. Soft stones work faster, but also wear out quickly. The higher the hardness of the knife being sharpened and the wider the sharpening chamfer, the greater the need for rapid renewal of the stone. Classic Japanese knives are made with a single-sided sharpening and a wide bevel made of very hard steel. Soft Japanese sharpening stones are designed specifically for sharpening them. For softer European-style knives (particularly the cheaper Tramontina series), sharpening stones with a harder bond are better suited. With the same efficiency on these knives, they will wear out less. For European knives made of hard steels, which are not inferior in hardness to Japanese ones, but have a narrow chamfer, an average hardness of the binder is needed.

Hardness selection whetstone is often problematic due to the fact that the manufacturer does not indicate it. In this case, you either have to look for reviews from those who have experience using specific sharpening stones (and hope that these people are competent in this matter), or select the right stone by trial and error.

Selecting a whetstone based on the type of coolant

In addition to the hardness of the bond and the type of abrasive, you need to choose the right sharpening stone according to the type of lubricating fluid (coolant). Water stones work faster due to the released suspension (a suspension of water and colored abrasive). However, quickly rusting knives, when using such stones, can become covered with rust right during the sharpening process. Oil stones do not create this problem. But they work more slowly (often the same stone can be used either with water or with oil, but usually, if the stone is started to be used with oil, it will no longer work with water, like a real water maker). Oil stones are more versatile. If they are also hard like aluminum ceramics, they are very good for processing knives made of stainless steels(aluminum ceramics are most effective for sharpening stainless knives). Due to the versatility of oil stones, it may make sense to sacrifice sharpening speed in favor of versatility and reducing the number of stones (having oil stones, you don’t have to buy a set of fast water sharpeners for sharpening stainless steel, using the same set for all knives).

Choosing the grit of a whetstone for sharpening a knife

In general, for kitchen knives it is enough to finish sharpening on stones with a grain size of 10 microns (1500 grit). Japanese system, 600 units according to FEPA-F). Although classic Japanese knives, which have very small sharpening angles and are made of brittle steel, and therefore prone to chipping, are best adjusted to 3000 grit (5 microns, F1000). If you sharpen a Japanese knife more roughly, the relatively large teeth on the cutting edge resulting from sharpening will cling more strongly, cut more aggressively, but also break off faster, dulling the knife.

For soft European knives, on the contrary, sharpening up to 3000 grit will be unnecessary, since the edge becomes very thin and on soft steel it quickly wraps like foil and is smoothed. Larger teeth are more durable. However, too large ones will not give the desired spiciness. We need to find a middle ground. Practice has shown that 1500 grit is a good result. The knife begins to cut tomatoes at any angle, even tangentially. So, he doesn’t have any problems with any products.

Having figured out what grit you should finish sharpening your kitchen knife with, it’s time to figure out what grit you should start with.

Some people recommend starting with the coarsest stones. There are many instructions on the Internet that state that you need to start sharpening with a stone of 120 grit, or something like that, and gradually move on to finer-grained stones. However, this method is good not so much for sharpening as for destroying the knife. The coarse grain removes metal fairly quickly. This is good if the knife is so damaged that it needs to be repaired. However, just because it doesn't cut office paper well (the paper cut test is often used to test sharpness), that doesn't mean it needs a rough grind. If the knife has already been sharpened once and has no damage, there is no need to sharpen it with a stone coarser than 240 grit (Russian M63, FEPA-F230), unless you want to soon have only the handle left of the knife. Moreover, even 240 grit is often too rough. Good kitchen knives have a fine blade (the thickness of the blade before the sharpening chamfer begins), on the order of half a millimeter. In order to return them to the desired sharpness, it may be enough to immediately start with a 1500 grit stone.

I specially made a video on this topic, using a knife and a stone, the characteristics of which are publicly available and known to many.

For classic Japanese knives with their small angles and brittle steel, the Japanese themselves recommend starting sharpening with 400 grit (Russian M40, FEPA-F320) to avoid chipping. But, since the Japanese do not wait until the knife becomes extremely dull, they usually start sharpening with 1000 grit (grit approximately between Russian M20 and M14, FEPA-F 400-500).

In general, what grit stone to start sharpening with is an individual question. This depends not only on the degree of bluntness, but also on the width of the chamfer and the brittleness of the steel. The larger the chamfer and the stronger the bluntness, the coarser the starting stone should be to reduce time costs. The more fragile the knife, the “thinner” the starting stone should be to avoid chipping.

As a result, it turns out that to sharpen a European kitchen knife you need stones of 240, 400, 800, 1500 grit. For classic Japanese you need 400, 800, 1500, 3000 grit. The Japanese themselves often use a reduced set, reduced by 1 stone: 400, 1000, 3000. As a result, less space is needed for the stones, the whole set is somewhat cheaper, but sharpening takes a little more time. For a Japanese knife of the European type, produced specifically for Europe, depending on the specific models, the best option may be either a set of 240-1500 grit or a set of 400-3000 grit. In many cases, a set of 240, 400, 800, 1500, 3000 grit is good for them.

From my statements about the sufficiency of 1500 or 3000 grit, it becomes unclear for what purpose finer-grained stones are produced. Some “Internet teachers,” apparently believing that since stones exist, they must be used, insist that a kitchen knife needs to be sharpened down to 30,000 grit stones.

But let's figure it out, do you need it, even if the companies that produce these stones claim that you don't need it? The Suehiro company, which produces stones of 30,000 grit, claims that higher than 1500 is not required for a kitchen knife. Hoji Hattori, president of the Masahiro company, in this video, referring to classic Japanese knives, says that sharpening above 3000 grit is not required for them either.

Of course, for microsurgery, where ciliates have to be dissected, stones of 30,000 can be useful. 15,000 grit stones can be useful for sharpening razors. But on a knife, chisel or plane, no one will notice the difference between 15,000 and 8,000 (2 times less grain). There are, of course, people who claim that they notice the difference between 8,000 and 15,000. But I think this is the result of self-hypnosis (if not deception). Because in theory there should be a difference, they want to believe that they feel it.

The 8000 grit stone gives a nice clean mirror. Such a stone is needed either for decorative purposes, or to give maximum sharpness to high-hardness tools that work on hard materials (for example, chisels). No person will notice the difference between 3000 grit and 8000 grit for any product. Accordingly, kitchen knives do not require stones with a grit value higher than 3000. However, if the knife is hard, you can add a small amount of sharpness to it by sharpening it on a stone of 5000 - 6000 grit. It’s possible even 8,000 - 10,000. But this is not so much for sharpness, but for a decorative effect. After 8,000 or 10,000 grit, cutting efficiency may decrease due to the smoothing of the teeth on the cutting edge. Some people, in order to get a mirror chamfer, but not lose cutting efficiency, after sharpening at 8000, sharpen the stone with 5000 or 3000 grit, slightly increasing the sharpening angle. Thus, the main part of the chamfer on the knife remains mirror-like, and aggressive teeth appear at the very edge. All this “dancing with tambourines” naturally takes a lot of time. And, in addition, a lot of money, because the higher the grain size of the stone, the more expensive it is (more overhead costs for crushing, sifting, preventing clumping, obtaining uniformity, etc.).

And now it’s worth asking yourself the question, are sharpening stones with a grit above 3000 necessary?

If you sharpen just to cut, you don't need such stones. If you enjoy the process, you don't mind the money, and you sometimes have time to meditate on the sharpening process - why not? It is healthier for your health to spend $400 on a 30,000 grit sharpening stone than to drink it.

But before you think about buying expensive fine-grained stones, get a basic set from 240 to 3000 grit (possibly 120 grit in case of a damaged knife). Over time, it will become clear to you whether you are ready to spend time on finer sharpening, or whether there is not enough time even for the set that is already in stock.

Abrasive pastes for sharpening knives

Abrasive pastes on leather, felt and other materials are not needed to sharpen a knife. The purpose of the pastes is to polish the surface. They don't add any spice. Often they even lick the teeth, making the knife duller. With careful control, paste on hard, smooth leather can compensate for the lack of fine-grained stone (around 8000 grit). But this replacement will not be effective and is justified only if it is impossible to purchase it. If there is a stone, the paste is not needed for sharpening at all. For surface polishing only.

Sometimes on the Internet you can find videos in which people quickly sharpen knives on leather with paste and, thereby, return their sharpness. But this sharpness is fleeting, as it appears mainly due to pulling out the burr. As soon as the hangnail is crushed (and this happens very quickly), it disappears. This means there is no point in sharpening with paste.

You can often see people straightening razors on their skin...

But, firstly, they edit the skin without paste, and secondly, a razor is not a knife. It is important for a razor to not have teeth so that it does not cause irritation. And editing the skin just smoothes out the teeth and removes any remaining burr, making the razor less aggressive. At the same time, they “pull back” the razor with the skin, just as they “pull back” the braid with a hammer. But for a knife, loss of aggressiveness is not necessary, just as drawing is not needed, since the drawn edge becomes thin, like foil, and quickly crumples, dulling the knife.

You can polish the knife with paste after sharpening. But it will cut worse than before the paste. You can remove the burr on the skin after fine-grained stones. But on the skin without paste, and with just a few movements, so as not to overdo it and start pulling out the metal. But just for sharpening, paste is not needed. Just to add more shine.

What specific sharpening stones are best to choose for sharpening?

There is no definite answer here, since it depends on what knives you sharpen. If it's inexpensive, you can look for Russian bars made of aluminum oxide, or even better, silicon carbide (more universal), 120-3000 grit. Then you can compare with the price of Chinese bars Taidea and YJSHARP on Aliexpress. I have not used the mentioned Chinese sharpening stones, but I have seen many positive reviews about them. Judging by the reviews, Chinese corundum bars are less salted than Russian corundum bars. Above 3000 grit you can take Taidea or YJSHARP, but personally I prefer natural stones. I don't like to soak a bunch of rocks, and natural rocks generally don't require pre-soaking.

Inexpensive natural stones can be purchased on Aliexpress.

If price doesn't matter, you can just take the Naniwa SuperStone kit and not have to wonder what it costs.

To regularly maintain working sharpness, you need a stone of approximately 1500-3000 grit. It must work without soaking in order for it to be as convenient to use as a musat. Spyderco Fine (diamond powder, boron carbide, aluminum oxide or, in extreme cases, silicon carbide, it needs to knock down the gloss from the grinder), White Hard Arkansas (lapped to about 1500 grit), Chinese “Red Ruby” and Chinese slates for 2000-3000 grit.

Trying to replace the whetstone with musat will not give long-term results. After several adjustments with musat, the knife will still have to be sharpened normally, starting with relatively coarse stones. And when using a sharpening stone of 1500-3000 grit, the chamfer is completely worked out, and coarser sharpening is not required.

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Stone for sharpening a straight razor in our catalog

Sharpening a straight razor is no less exciting than shaving itself. If you learn how to sharpen a straight razor, you will be able to handle any cutting object. Therefore, every man should acquire such a skill.

In order to sharpen a straight razor, various stones are used. No matter how much you want to save money, you will have to spend money on several copies, which you will use alternately each time. Today, synthetic stones are often used for straight razors, which you can buy in our store and accessories for them.

Buy stones for straight razors in the store website

Our online store is a specialized store of straight razors and accessories. We work directly with manufacturers, which means that we only represent original products. In our large catalog you can buy stones for sharpening straight razors, as well as straight razors from world-famous manufacturers: Solingen and Thiers Issard. Solingen razors are presented in two lines. With us you can also.

With proper care, these truly high-quality razors will last you for decades. To make shaving comfortable and safe, you need to buy a stone for sharpening a straight razor and a belt for straightening. Below we will tell you how to choose and use the right straight razor stone.

Choosing a stone for sharpening a straight razor

People who have recently purchased a straight razor are often lost in the huge offer of the modern market and cannot choose suitable stones for your instrument. Different materials, cross-section, quality - it’s really easy to get confused. Your choice should be stones that have the following qualities.

1. Nice stone To sharpen a straight razor, it must be uniform. Look carefully at its surface. It should be perfectly smooth visually. If you observe elevations or heterogeneity on it, then it is better to abandon such a stone.
2. Size matters! 150x50 stones are best suited. You can find other offers on the market: 60x180, 70x200, etc. We recommend that you stick to the optimal size so as not to overpay and sharpen your straight razor with maximum comfort.
3. Evaluate the shape of the stone. It should be smooth on all sides. Often there are low-quality samples in which only one side is declared smooth. Get ready for the fact that you will be buying a really high-quality stone.

For a complete and high-quality sharpening of a straight razor, you will need several stones of different grain sizes:
. #500;
. #1000;
. #3000;
. #5000;
. #6000;
. #8000;
. #10000.
The first stone will be useful to you for correcting the geometry of a straight razor, rough processing of the cutting edge and its repair. Further sharpening should be carried out on stones with an increasingly larger cross-section.

Natural or synthetic?

Among owners of straight razors, there is ongoing debate about which stones are better to use for sharpening their tools: synthetic or natural. Let's try to understand this issue.
For a long time, stones produced in Belgium and Germany were considered the best. These are natural stones made from slate. They were even once called “razor stones.” But progress does not stand still and can offer us alternative options. Recently, synthetic stones made in Japan have become increasingly popular. How are they better and why are they worse?

1. Think about what nature can provide us with and what a machine for making synthetic stones can provide. Slate can be heterogeneous in places, have different grain sizes, and gradually fail, which will lead to poorer sharpening time after time. Unfortunately, nature did not even imagine that it was creating stones for sharpening razors, so it was not in her plans to make them perfect.
The synthetic straight razor sharpening stone is made specifically for this purpose and therefore has optimal characteristics. Therefore, with a high-quality approach to the production of such stones, homogeneous samples are obtained without compactions, elevations or small depressions.

2. Experienced sharpening specialists still tend to choose stones created by nature. They say that using a straight razor sharpened on such stones is much more comfortable.

3. The use of natural stones is a real tribute to tradition. You will sharpen your shaving tools just like your ancestors did.
Which stone to choose is up to you. Still, for beginners, we recommend synthetic stones, which are easier to handle.
Alternative
The modern market is ready to offer us alternative options for making stones for sharpening straight razors and generally other methods that you will have to evaluate. We highly recommend that you try each of them individually to see which one is right for you. It is necessary that the sharpening process brings maximum comfort and pleasure.

Water stones

Most often, such stones are used for sharpening woodworking tools. However, it is also suitable for a straight razor. It should be used for honing a razor (very rough sharpening) when the tool no longer works as it should.

Water stones also come in synthetic and natural varieties. Most often, the composition of such products includes aluminum, silicon carbide and ceramics. Before use, the stone must be moistened generously. You need to buy stones for sharpening straight razors according to the size of the tool itself. Try to keep the length of the razor no longer than the width of the stone. It is better to purchase a water stone with a small supply in order to be sure to sharpen your instrument with high quality.

Ceramic hones

These are old-fashioned straight razor sharpening stones that you can still buy in regular stores, but you'll have to look for them. You can purchase domestic diamond-coated products. Such stones are called “butcher’s rod.” They are much softer than water stones, so they can be used for fine processing of the cutting edge.
As a rule, these are very small touches that give truly high-quality results. Suitable for dry work. You can also wet such a stone. It all depends on how comfortable you are with working in one way or another.

Fine abrasive grit or sandpaper

You can try this method only for the sake of experimentation, since you are unlikely to like it. Sandpaper needs frequent replacement, although it is inexpensive.
How to tell if your razor is sharpened

It can be very difficult for a beginner to determine that the cutting edge of a razor is perfect and suitable for use. There are two effective ways, allowing you to determine how sharp your straight razor is. To do this, you can use a hair on weight or a microscope. It's better to combine them.

First, try cutting the hair on the fly with your straight razor. You can do this on your hand without touching the skin. If the razor cuts hairs, then it is safe to use. Next, look at it under a microscope. At 500x magnification, the cutting edge should be mirror-like with only minor spots and scratches.

Common mistakes in using sharpening stones

When you're just starting to use a straight razor stone and haven't gotten any experience sharpening it yet, you may encounter some interesting effects and bugs. To quickly learn how to bring your cutting edge to perfection, we recommend that you avoid the mistakes listed below.

Sharp pain in the hand

You work with the razor for one hour, two, four, and now it is brought to perfection, cutting hair on the fly! Remember that you have been working for a very long time, so be prepared for the fact that individual fingers or the entire hand may experience spasms. It manifests itself as sharp pain.

The pain does not occur during the sharpening process, but after it. During the evening, we do not recommend that you carry fragile objects in your hands, or hold children or animals in your arms, because the sharp pain may cause you to drop them. Also, do not shave immediately after sharpening. This may cause injury. And if you drop the razor, it will result in chips and the blade will have to be sharpened again or even purchased a new tool. Many people think that they need to see a doctor for things like this. The fact is that spasm cannot be predicted. Beginners should be prepared for this effect.

Along the blade and in a circle

With all due respect to the people who taught you how to sharpen kitchen knives and other cutting tools, you must look at the facts and use a straight razor sharpening stone correctly. You must clearly understand what processes occur with the cutting edge due to certain manipulations with stones. And the first thing you need to know is that any stone leaves scratches on the cutting edge, right up to the final stages of processing.

When you move the cutting edge across the stone, this has a positive effect on the sharpness of the razor. The grooves will be across the blade. In this case, the razor will withstand a lot of stress when chopping, cutting and planing and will not become dull for a very long time.

This is not to say that circular and longitudinal movements will not make the razor sharp. However, she will not remain so for long. The fact is that longitudinal grooves create thinning in some places. This leads to the razor gradually breaking off in weak areas. “Where it’s thin, that’s where it breaks.” With this approach, you will have to use the straight razor stone very often.
It is acceptable to use circular and longitudinal movements on non-abrasive stones that do not cut off the cutting edge. This straight razor stone is designed to harden the tool.

Don't push!

Excessive pressure on the tool is a common mistake of new owners of straight razors. It is important to observe gradation here. At the very beginning of sharpening, when roughing the cutting edge, the pressure on the razor should be significant. The next time you use the razor, you should gradually reduce the pressure. In the final stages, the razor should press on the stone only under its own weight. In some cases, even this pressure should be reduced.

Why is this so important? The fact is that with high pressure the razor bends, and you are processing not the tip of the cutting edge, but areas located slightly higher. This will not lead to a positive result and can ruin the razor if you are particularly diligent.

Appearance or efficiency?

Even experts often use electrical tape or other interlayers when using a stone to straighten and sharpen straight razors. In the short term this will not cause serious problems. However, after 10-15 such sharpenings, the razor will work worse and worse. Why? Explanations will be required.

Electrical tape and other layers are used to prevent damage to the blade of the razor by abrasive materials. This measure ensures that the razor looks aesthetically pleasing, there are no rough edges left on it, and it remains mirror clean. But using such devices, you violate the geometry of the tool. It is already made so that anyone can sharpen it without resorting to the use of other materials and tools other than stones.

When you use duct tape, you change the angle of sharpening. He's getting dumber. Accordingly, the razor itself becomes duller and duller each time, despite the fact that you use a microscope to control its condition and other tricks. Therefore, we strongly do not recommend using electrical tape.
Use of low-quality abrasive materials
It is quite difficult for a beginner to buy stones for straight razors and not make the wrong choice. If you purchase a cheap, low-quality stone, you risk not only not achieving the desired result, but also ruining your razor. Such products are sold at every turn at prices ranging from 20 to 200 rubles. As a rule, they are made in China.

Determining if an abrasive stone is not right for you is not easy. First, look at the price tag. A good tool cannot be too cheap. Once purchased, test the stone on something less gentle than a straight razor. Take a kitchen knife and try sharpening it. If during the process grains break off from the stone or they are located on it in small clusters, then it can be thrown away, “buying your mind” in this way.

What is so bad about chipping grains? They can be simply fatal to the cutting edge! When they break off, they begin to roll between the surface of the stone and the cutting edge. This leads to blade damage and serious chipping. Naturally, this negatively affects the severity.

Level the stones!

It is very rare to find a perfectly smooth stone that will become a faithful friend to your straight razor. Therefore, any stone, whether it’s just from a package or an old one you inherited from your great-grandfather, should be leveled before use. The exception would be DMT grade stones. But even among such products there are crooked goods that need fine-tuning.
Finishing is a rather complex process. It can be done using another stone of a smaller section or special tools. In this matter, it is better not to take unnecessary risks and contact a specialist.

Cleaning before use

During storage, stones become covered with dust. Dust particles, although small, serve as an additional abrasive that interferes with work. Wipe away all debris from the stone with your hand, both before use and during work. Rinse and moisten water stones in a timely manner to achieve maximum results.

If you take care of the stones for sharpening straight razors, which you can buy in our certified online store, then your tool will delight you every day with its sharpness and efficiency. Don't make common mistakes and don't stop improving!

A knife accompanies a man with early childhood and until old age. Each of us knows that most often it is a dull blade that cuts the hand. To do this, the blade just needs to slide off the surface.

In order to avoid this, and also to make the cutting process quick and comfortable, knives are sharpened. But there are many different devices and methods for sharpening knives; it is worth considering them in more detail.

Sharpening: principle and options

Sharpening a blade is the process of removing an edge with an abrasive along the entire length of the blade at a certain angle. The sharpening angle depends on the hardness of the steel and the tasks facing the blade. So for household kitchen and hunting knives the sharpening angle is 30...35 degrees, hunting knife with resistance to dullness, sharpens to 40...45.

Blades that require special blade sharpness stand somewhat apart, usually chef knives or knives for professional food processing, in this case the sharpening angle is from 25 degrees.

Separately, it is worth considering the sharpening angles of razors and surgical instruments, since they require blade sharpness. For a straight razor, the sharpening angle is 14...15, for a surgical instrument - from 12 to 25 degrees.

Knives are sharpened by two methods: manually using abrasive bars or special devices and mechanically using a sharpening machine with a rotating abrasive wheel.

The first option requires skill, but at the same time it is easier to learn and accessible to everyone. Abrasive stones of various types are used for sharpening, the most common are:

• Arkansas, known as novaculitis;
• Japanese water stones;
• diamond bars;
• ceramics.

Each type of stone has its own advantages and disadvantages. These stones will be discussed separately below. To quickly sharpen kitchen knives, sharpeners with fixed or variable fastening of abrasive planes are often used, sharpening in which is carried out by moving the blade between sharpening surfaces.

Mechanical sharpening on a machine is much simpler, less time-consuming, but requires constant temperature control and compliance with safety regulations.

Important! When sharpening on a machine with electrocorundum abrasive, you need to control the temperature of the blade metal; if the blade steel overheats, it can change its physical properties.

Main types of whetstone

In the course of human evolution, materials of natural origin suitable for sharpening knives were identified, although at the beginning of civilization, even ordinary sandstone was trusted to sharpen blades.

Now information on metal processing has been structured and stones with the best abrasive properties have been selected.

Methods for working with them have been invented and developed. In addition, synthetic materials are widely used and often have better properties than their natural counterparts.

Arkansas stones

Novacula is a sharpening stone for a razor. It is a dense siliceous rock made from uniform quartz crystals. Extraction is carried out in quarries; bars made of Arkansas stone have several degrees of grain size, have excellent abrasive ability, but at the same time, due to their dense structure, they require the use of oil when sharpening.

Dry sharpening will clog the pores of the stone with dust and metal, causing the stone to fail. The main disadvantage of these bars is the price and unevenness of production when the blade is sharpened incorrectly.

Japanese water stones

A natural stone originally from Japan, it has a high sharpening ability, but at the same time it is quite difficult to use. Sharpening knives on it is almost a ritual. Unlike novaculite, this abrasive is softer.

Sharpening is done using water. The process itself is quite complicated and takes time. Stones with a grain size from 600 to 30,000 grit are produced in the Japanese JIS classification, while at the same time, 10,000 grit is quite enough for super-finishing the blade.

Therefore, 30,000 is already excessive grain size for blades household use. Before work, the block itself must be soaked in a container of water, after it has been soaked, it must be removed and a mud mass must be created on its surface using Naguro, the second abrasive stone in the water stone set.

Sharpening is done using this suspension. The abrasive surface wears out quickly and unevenly, for this reason it requires periodic restoration with the help of special bars.

Synthetic stones

Diamond whetstones for sharpening, synthetic materials - electrocorundum, chromium oxide or diamond chips on a silicate or ceramic binder. These stones have a uniform structure, different (depending on the bar) grain size and good performance characteristics.

The cost of such stones is usually low, and the bars themselves are available. Sharpening can be done either “dry”, which is not recommended, or using water or oil.

Ceramics

These materials are used for final finishing of the blade, finishing or super-finishing. The grain size of these materials is small, but at the same time they are quite cheap and will allow you to smooth out scratches from a peeling abrasive or straighten a serrated knife.

The use of liquid is mandatory, since the pores in fired ceramics become clogged very quickly and the surface becomes smooth.

Sharpening stones of various shapes are widespread, from standard whetstones, which are best worked with on a stable plane, to rod sharpening stones, with which the blade can be adjusted on the fly.

One thing remains the same, no matter what kind of bar or what kind of metal, but for high-quality sharpening, a lubricant must be used: water or oil.

Sharpening rules

First you need to prepare everything necessary materials. A sharpening stone, a container of water and a paper towel or a regular sheet of paper. A piece of rag will also come in handy.

You immediately need to decide on the sharpening angle. For example, 35 degrees is the most optimal angle for a kitchen knife or 40 for a sharp hunting knife.

Inspect the stone; if there is a trough or significant wear on it, it should be leveled, otherwise the sharpening will be uneven.

Leveling the stone is done with another block, some types of bars such as Japanese stones, are equipped with special ridge stones for surface restoration.

The block is placed on a flat, stable surface; a table is perfect. To minimize slipping, fabric or rubber is placed under it. You can fix it on the table in another convenient way. The surface of the bar is wetted with water or machine oil.

The position of the blade is adjusted using available means, for example, by placing a paper clip on the back of the blade or placing a coin. If the owner of the knife has strong nerves and a sharp eye, then simply holding the knife in the desired position is enough.

The knife is placed at an angle of 40-45 degrees to the center line of the blade, sharpening is done by forward movements of the blade away from you. For high quality sharpening, it is worth doing it in two steps.

First time on a coarse grinding stone. Then, on finishing, fine-grained. During sharpening, it is necessary to periodically wet the surface of the stone. The check after sharpening is carried out visually, by examining the edges of the blade against the light; the sharp part of the blade is uniform along the entire length and should not give glare.

You can also cut a sheet of paper by weight. A sharpened knife cuts smoothly, without snagging or tearing off the paper. The sheet cut is even, without shaggyness or tears. If the edge of the paper is torn, the knife must be fine-tuned again.

Conclusion

There are many stones, but each of them has its own characteristics, and, like a knife, is chosen according to your hand. Synthetic stones are inexpensive to use. They are inexpensive and widely distributed.

But at the same time, you can achieve a soft sharpening only by using natural stone, which has its own characteristics. Japanese water stones are good in terms of quality. But their price is very high.

In addition, sharpening with such bars is long and inconvenient. In addition, it requires mood and skill. The same should be expected from Arkansas.

Hence the conclusion, each stone is suitable only for its owner; if you are outdoors or adjusting the kitchen one during a break between TV series and reading the newspaper, then it is better to take synthetics.

It will forgive small mistakes, and the quality of sharpening does not play a role here. But to sharpen a hunting or combat knife before going out into nature for a long time, it is worth using natural stones.

After sharpening, the knife is sharp, with edges and shape close to ideal. If you give a knife a lot of time and warmth, it will definitely not let you down at the right time.

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