Thread: How Bevel is Affected by Taping

Originally Posted by icedog

Jimbo,

You are right, you are wrong.

In my measurements I reduced the razor blade down to a right triangle. The diagram I so poorly drew is essentially the same as the way awesome diagram Seraphim somehow posted (except my edge is pointing toward the right and I called my adjacent side A and my opposite side O). The hypotenusala is actually an imaginary line drawn somewhat through the razor from the center of the thickest part of the spine to the edge.

Sorry, but he's right. you can't just flip the triangle around because your measurements and the equation are dependent on the right angle being in the center of the blade between the honing flats.

The formula for angle, as corrected, is 2 * asin( (T/2) / S), where T is the thickness between the honing flats, and S is the distance from the edge to the part of the honing flat that was used when measuring T.

As for the tape, I've never found the difference in angle to cause a problem when honing. Just leave it on the entire time. The difference in angles also won't cause problems with stropping, unless you've got a huge bevel.

As for the relative rates of spine and blade wear, I think you'll find that the edge always wears faster than the bevel. If it doesn't, then the hone will never touch the edge of the blade - you'll always be in the sort of situation as when you first untape the spine.