Thread: using shim steel to set a bevel and hone a true wedge

Originally Posted by Bruno

It varies. In my experience, the tape can last a long time on the DMT C, even hundreds of laps. The trick is not using pressure, because that will indeed melt the tape fast, and it also clogs up the DMT.

I've never used a DMT but on 1000 grit paper I've only had one instance where I wore through the tape.

When I was removing a huge chip, I took a measurable (with a ruler) amount of metal off the whole length of the blade on the 1000 grit paper and went through only two pieces of tape in the process. If you have that many strokes to do I wouldn't worry about wearing through the tape. You are using it at that point to simply protect the razor while you remove a lot of stock. I wouldn't even consider this setting the bevel, its chip removal plain and simple. Add new tape once the edge is free of imperfections, then you'll be setting the bevel, and you probably won't wear through that piece until the razor is shave ready.

FWIW 3m temflex 1700 tape is probably the better tape for honing rather than the 3m 33+ tape. Reason being that the 1700 is a tougher tape that is less prone to stretching (a change in thickness) and is more durable and is also way cheaper to buy. The 33+ acts more like a rubber than vinyl. if you take a four inch piece of celephane tape and stick it to the center of a piece of paper the paper will stay flat. But if you pull a piece of electrical tape off a roll and put it on the center of a piece of paper it will begin to warp because the tape is going back to its origional shape and thickness before you tugged on it.

my .02c
john

Some of the old "Frame back" razors were nothing more than a very thin , beveled, piece of steel ( for the blade) that have a piece of brass type metal pressed on/over the spine. One that I have I can actually slide the brass "spine" off the blade.
I call them a "Poor mans frameback".


Just my two cents,