Thread: How Bevel is Affected by Taping

Originally Posted by Slant-Fan

I'm kind of new at this myself but I have jumped in with both feet. I am acquiring a fair amount of razors. Some high end and some cheap vintage ebay specials and I am doing a lot of honing. Having posted a poll asking if you tape the spine and looking at the posts that opined on the topic I have decided that I will only tape a spine if I am working a large chip out of a blade. Once it is out I will set a new bevel and hone without tape. That is the conclusion I have come to based on all that I have read on the topic.

Increasing the angle to get the chip out doesn't really save you anything except to give you the satisfaction of seeing the chip dissapear sooner.

Since you will then have to re-set the bevel with the tape removed. In the end you have to remove the same amount of material, and in my opinion it will be easier to do that with a single bevel, as you know when to stop when the chip is gone.

With a double bevel, re-setting the original bevel is more difficult, as it is hard to see if the very edge is still at the double bevel angle, or if you have finally got it back to the original angle. I know this, as I tried a double bevel, didn't much care for it, and had a long, uphill fight to regain my original edge.

If you want to get rid of a chip, go to some really low grits to speed the work (600 is fine), rather than changing angles. But that is just my experience.

Other than that, taping the spine to protect a gilded gold spine or something seems reasonable, but I don't go for that kind of thing anyhow.

P.S.- thanks Icedog for your calculations! When I did my double bevel experiment I used my CAD software at work to determine the angular changes.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

...
Since you will then have to re-set the bevel with the tape removed. In the end you have to remove the same amount of material, and in my opinion it will be easier to do that with a single bevel, as you know when to stop when the chip is gone.

Why do you have to remove the tape to set the bevel? On the last razor I sharpened, once I got it popping hairs off of a 1k stone, I added a layer of tape to set the bevel a little wider. This seemed to work very well... but as a newbie I don't really know how well it actually worked. Should I not do this anymore?

Thanks,
SHuka

Originally Posted by shuka

Why do you have to remove the tape to set the bevel? On the last razor I sharpened, once I got it popping hairs off of a 1k stone, I added a layer of tape to set the bevel a little wider. This seemed to work very well... but as a newbie I don't really know how well it actually worked. Should I not do this anymore?

Thanks,
SHuka

If you visualize it adding tape would cause a double bevel or you would have to hone completely through and beyond your existing bevel to create a wider bevel. In general a narrower bevel is preferable IMO. You live with what the geometry of the razor dictates.

The question of taping a spine or not has been a hotly debated one with advocates on either side of the issue. Doing a forum search for "tape" and reading the threads would be very instructive if not even more confusing.

IMO if you are new to honing taping the spine with one layer might be a good idea until you have your honing chops down. Once you feel competent and are getting consistent results you may decide to go one way or the other. I formerly was in the tape the spine camp but now find myself going the other way.

Hi Jimmy -
Actually, the way I found this thread was through searching for "tape" and "set" - and yeah, I'm confused!

Doesn't adding an extra piece of tape make the second bevel you mention (i.e. a micro bevel) a wider bevel at the edge of the blade? Then there is no need to hone beyond the existing bevel - in fact, this is why I don't understand why people set the bevel with tape, and then removed the tape. In that case I see why they would have to hone through the original, until the stone begins to "work" on the edge.

However, I guess from your reply that I don't have to worry about doing anything too bad. I think I'll keep adding tape, and maybe when I'm more confident I'll make a case for it (if I still find it working well).

Thanks -
Shuka

Originally Posted by shuka

Doesn't adding an extra piece of tape make the second bevel you mention (i.e. a micro bevel) a wider bevel at the edge of the blade? Then there is no need to hone beyond the existing bevel - in fact, this is why I don't understand why people set the bevel with tape, and then removed the tape. In that case I see why they would have to hone through the original, until the stone begins to "work" on the edge.

IMO if you have a lot of heavy work to do on an ebay special or a flea market find adding tape to set the bevel will save undue spine wear. Once the bevel is corrected if your preference is to hone sans tape then it won't take a significant amount of honing to get to a corrected bevel with the no tape geometry. So that is my take on why to do it that way.

Some people prefer a double bevel, notably Tim Zowada and Bart has recommended that in his coticule only honing thread. It is a matter of what each individual feels works best for them. There is some evidence that a double bevel may be stronger than a single and may actually require less work than a single bevel.

Right now I prefer a single but I haven't experimented with the double concept to come to a firm conclusion for myself. The one Zowada I have is an awesome shaver with the double but I haven't done any on the razors I've honed. Down the road a ways I will experiment with it. More fun & games.