Soap lathering 1k bevel setter

Recently on the "Setting a good bevel" thread, Slash McCoy discussed the benefits of soap lather at the 1k level. I have used lather on my finisher, but never thought to use it on my bevel setter. Well tonight I tried it and all I can say is wow. I took my least favorite shaver a Portland 1/4 hollow, and prepped my Chosera 1k with the little red brick it came with. I reset the bevel and through my loop I saw the same consistent scratch pattern I am used to. I then lathered it up with some Tabac. - I won't use a brush again as it left tiny annoying hairs in the lather which go bump on the edge. - I spent some time on the lather getting lighter and lighter as I went. I looked again through the loop and was amazed. The scratches were dramatically reduced. I then took a big chunk of very flat, very hard and fine Wakasa and prepped the surface again. I washed off all the slurry, added more lather and went to work again finishing very very light. Wow, wow, wow. The edge looked better than I ever got going King 1/6 to Naniwa 8k. It looked almost like a early stage JNat edge. It hit HHT, tree topped hairs and looked like it could shave. I stropped it on canvas and leather and gave it a test shave. It was very passable. No pulling at all, just not as smooth as it will be after a full Jnat progression. I used my homemade high alcohol Everclear based aftershave and there was little to no burn.

This is an interesting alternative for budget minded honers. You could easily follow this technique with any number of high grit stones or film. And, if you are just starting out you get to buy a keeper bevel setter. I'm convinced the chunk of Wakasa played a key role, but you could also use your finisher to prep it.

I hope others will give this a try and report their findings.

Soap lathering 1k bevel setter