Thread: Bevel Level

Originally Posted by Russel Baldridge

I have to, respectfully, disagree.

The width of the bevel is directly related to how thin the metal was at the edge of the razor after the inital hollow grinding, the angle that is defined by the blade's dimensions, the actual grind of the razor (1/4 hollow, full hollow, etc.) and, finally,the amount of hone wear.

As for the feel of the razor changing over time, that may or may not be perceivable to everybody and may be a moot point for anything other than a hollow ground razor since the edge doesn't flex nearly as much with any blade that's got a little more heft.

We've discussed many times how taping the spine effects the razor's performance, a quick search will give more info than you probably wanted.

The short answer is no, there is no practical difference. The only razors that have been poor shaver's in my experience were those that had lower quality steel from random quality fluctuations or otherwise. But wear and tear have never been factors. In fact, one of the best shaver that I own is 150 years old and has bevels that are half as wide as the blade itself.

Wider bevels do mean more time spent honing, though, because there is more material to be abraded away as well as more surface area to disperse the weight of the blade.

What he said.

This is one of my best shavers as well.

Thanks dudes. Sorry no pic until i can trick myself into a new camera. I hate spending money on dumb crap like that.

Being no expert, to me it looks like this razor was given too much pressure on the spine, prematurely thinning the back while the original width of the razor seems little changed.

What I want to do is add maybe 3 ( more?) layers to steepen the angle, shorten, stiffen the bevel so it flexes less. Which, hard to say really, could be why it's not doing what i want. Good idea? dumb move?

I'm willing to accept the idea that I just screwed it up myself somehow maybe. haa haa no way or maybe it's a lemon and the last guy had trouble keeping it sharp too.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

What he said.

This is one of my best shavers as well.

ahh the wb kamisori. I heard they made a few

Just from a purely empirical perspective, I've never noticed any relationship between the width of the bevel and the shaveability of an edge, except (as others have mentioned) if you're talking about giving up a bit too early on a wider bevel because of lack of patience. But that's a honing issue, not a bevel issue.

A lot of the older blades I have - 1810 - 1850 - are the old-style wedges with fairly huge bevels. These shave just as well, if not better, than some of my newer blades with almost imperceptible bevels like, say, the Wapis.

Personally, and I'm certainly no expert, I think shaveability is simply related to how close to a point you can bring the two sides of the bevel at the edge. Plus, of course, quality of steel.

James.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Just from a purely empirical perspective, I've never noticed any relationship between the width of the bevel and the shaveability of an edge, except (as others have mentioned) if you're talking about giving up a bit too early on a wider bevel because of lack of patience. But that's a honing issue, not a bevel issue.

A lot of the older blades I have - 1810 - 1850 - are the old-style wedges with fairly huge bevels. These shave just as well, if not better, than some of my newer blades with almost imperceptible bevels like, say, the Wapis.

Personally, and I'm certainly no expert, I think shaveability is simply related to how close to a point you can bring the two sides of the bevel at the edge. Plus, of course, quality of steel.

James.

The more I hear the more i'm inclined to feel that I have made an error. However both these are full hollow not wedges- but ddd has nothing like a wide bevel Seraphim showed. obviously though they would by nature of the beast behave differently from the get go.