Thread: How did barbers hone a wedge in the olden days?

Wow! I feel you are certainly just as stubborn and opinionated as the principle players here.
To name the men (no women, I feel certain) participating in this thread Gentlemen, yet angry and stupid men. Indeed women?
Then, falling forth to the dished hone theory?
Nice job!
This is how some communicate and banter. Naturally, I like to make fun of them. I hope it is taken as good-natured.
Personal insults have just now come to fore.
I suppose this thread should be killed. It has brought out the worst in some. Indeed, were it not for the principles involved, I suspect it would have been closed long ago. JMO. YMMV.

Just for the recording...
All! the Thuringians and Coticules, other than NOS, ( about 30+) which I have recovered from the wild were hollowed diagonally across the top honing surface. I have flattened them as I use them for differing types of razors. What they did in the 18th century was their business and I have to live with every kind of blade from pure wedge to double hollow ground.

And... yes, I was a good machinist also, and could scrape to close tolerances and flatten surface plates. A Master Flat was used to locate high spots and a smaller plate was used with slurry to reduce high areas of a shop master plate.

Lots of words.
Can I hone a razor for comfortable shaves "on my face?" yes! That is my goal.
YMMV
~Richard

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Wow! I feel you are certainly just as stubborn and opinionated as the principle players here.
To name the men (no women, I feel certain) participating in this thread Gentlemen, yet angry and stupid men. Indeed women?
Then, falling forth to the dished hone theory?
Nice job!
This is how some communicate and banter. Naturally, I like to make fun of them. I hope it is taken as good-natured.
Personal insults have just now come to fore.
I suppose this thread should be killed. It has brought out the worst in some. Indeed, were it not for the principles involved, I suspect it would have been closed long ago. JMO. YMMV.

Tom, you have become such a self righteous gasbag and now you want to bring the axe down on a potentially invaluable thread that members in 300 years might find beneficial.

While there have been some high emotions in this thread, I am genuinely interested in both the dished hone discussion and the two hone flatness subject. I would be sad to see this thread end. I found no disrespect in the way Alex addressed us. I believe we have found civility and can continue calmly.

Right, time to hold hands and sing Kumbaya.

Originally Posted by bluesman7

While there have been some high emotions in this thread, I am genuinely interested in both the dished hone discussion and the two hone flatness subject. I would be sad to see this thread end. I found no disrespect in the way Alex addressed us. I believe we have found civility and can continue calmly.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Then, falling forth to the dished hone theory?

The fact is that it is not a theory, it is a working principle. If you have not tried it, the dished stone will remain a mystery to you. The original queston stands, HOW DID BARBERS HONE WEDGES IN THE OLDEN DAYS?

How do you think they did it, or they might have done it this or that way, is a theory, an opinion. I have proved that barbers by using their hones on a regular basis end up with concave stone surfaces, by default or a lack of knowledge to create truly flat hones like we now know them. And I have proven that dished or concave hones will efficently hone wedge razors.

Going back over this thread the answers provided to the original question were slim.

Deleting whole threads for the sake of a few choice words is a cheap button. Delete my constructive answers to the OP question only leads to more confusion. I have no sway in the matter.

Good luck with your honing,

Alex

Originally Posted by alx

The fact is that it is not a theory, it is a working principle. If you have not tried it, the dished stone will remain a mystery to you. The original queston stands, HOW DID BARBERS HONE WEDGES IN THE OLDEN DAYS?

We do not know and you have not given any proof to back-up your theory - that is all it is, a theory.

How do you think they did it, or they might have done it this or that way, is a theory, an opinion. I have proved that barbers by using their hones on a regular basis end up with concave stone surfaces, by default or a lack of knowledge to create truly flat hones like we now know them. And I have proven that dished or concave hones will efficently hone wedge razors.

No - you have not proved that.

Going back over this thread the answers provided to the original question were slim.

Your posts were lengthy I must admit, but the content re: dished hones was even slimmer than some of the replies to the contrary, IMHO.

Alex

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by alx

The fact is that it is not a theory, it is a working principle. If you have not tried it, the dished stone will remain a mystery to you. The original queston stands, HOW DID BARBERS HONE WEDGES IN THE OLDEN DAYS?

How do you think they did it, or they might have done it this or that way, is a theory, an opinion. I have proved that barbers by using their hones on a regular basis end up with concave stone surfaces, by default or a lack of knowledge to create truly flat hones like we now know them. And I have proven that dished or concave hones will efficently hone wedge razors.

Going back over this thread the answers provided to the original question were slim.

Deleting whole threads for the sake of a few choice words is a cheap button. Delete my constructive answers to the OP question only leads to more confusion. I have no sway in the matter.

Good luck with your honing,

Alex

Indeed. As to my honing, luck hasn't a thing to do with it.

IT'S ALIVE, IT'S ALIVE!

Originally Posted by alx

Gentlemen, angry men, stupid men, and women.

... my mantra is "content over comment"... Honing razors is less about theory and more about doing. Content over comment... over 200 posts to prove my exact point.

In the golden age of wedge razors, most barber were using concave hones.

... We all prove it everyday to ourselves, honing a razor on a flat hone will dish the stone more and more with each pass...

I here and now withdraw the polite wording in my post #59 because if anyone claims now after these 220+ posts that barbers in the 1750 to 1840 did not use concave stones, then you are hypocrites.

Remember, this original post was. HOW DID BARBERS HONE WEDGES IN THE OLDEN DAYS?

If this post and this thread are removed or deleted I think that a sham is afoot.

With my best regards,
Alex

Talk about 'puffing' a subject up, you did the same some years ago on Badger & Blade and got scant support there.

In fact you are doing the reverse of your aforesaid mantra by exceeding content with mere comment.

Why do you expect people to kow-tow to your comment that barbers in the 'golden days' used dished hones when you cannot put forward a single shred of evidence other than your own theory? I find that to be a piece of monumental misinformation.

As regards a hone becoming dished each time it is used, we all know this and it does not even need mentioning. It is why we lap hones frequently - well, those of us that do it for a living do.

And as for your opening and closing comments I am not a stupid man, I am not a hypocrite and I am not angry - I am furious! I am certainly no gentleman...

Neil