Thread: How Bevel is Affected by Taping

Hi kids! It's been a while since I've checked in on this thread. Wow can one find a more controversial tech question?

My initial conclusion here was (and still is)that difference of bevel angle ground with the application of tape to the spine or without the application of tape to the spine is incidental. Therefore the only reason to tape the spine is to protect the spine. I want to make a quick point. Some have been proposing the idea that not taping the spine will allow for the edge and the spine to be ground uniformly thus maintaining a constant bevel angle. That is not true. The edge of the razor is going to wear much more rapidly than the spine and (especially in the case of full hollow ground razors) the edge will not wear so much in thickness as it will in width. What I mean is the 6/8 razor will begin approaching 5/8 at the very first stroke on a stone. This will cause the razor (over time) to actually rotate toward the edge with the necessary increase in bevel angle, tape or no tape. I wish I was smart enough to make a computer generated cartoon to show this. But I am hoping you get my drift.

Brad