Thread: Fin: fact or fiction?

Would the notion of a 'fin' explain why one of my razors, a 6/8 full-hollow Bengall, gets so sharp and stays so sharp that it is the standard by which I judge my other razors? I have spent countless hours and strokes on my rotation trying to get them to the level that the Bengall has achieved and maintained. If I consider this particular razor 99.5% in sharpness and edgeholding abilities, none of my other razors get past 98%. There has to be something magical going on at that V.

From my many years of knife sharpening experience, I vote YES.

I really don't understand all the speculation (other than it's fun to debate). If it's there, you can see it under a microscope. If you can't see it but still believe it's there, then it's magic. How about if someone just looks?

I dont have a high power scope, just the radio shack 100x. If fin is existant, I dont think that scope would show it.

But surely we have some meisterhoners on here who either have or have ready access to an appropriate scope and know how to use it?

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I actually was going to try and sneak in on the SEM I have at work today (most folks are off for the holidays...), but alas it was down for repairs.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I don't know about fins or no fins. If the razor is sharp I shave and if isn't I hone it until it is.

Hell yeah Jimmy! I can't say I've put much thought into the subject so I can't post an accurate vote.

If there really is a fin I think one would have to know how to apply one and would be cognizant of its existence. You would have a really good shaving razor.

I think you can have a good razor without a fin.

It would be all too easy for some guy that "thinks" he knows how to hone to create very, very sharp razors that shave without ever having produced a true fin.

We have to be very careful about deciding that they don't exist even if we look at them and fail to see them.

I would suggest that only a razor that truely passes the genuine TPT test of "feeling sticky" are the only razors that we (I've) ever produced an honest to God "fin" on (if we agree they exist).

I'm also concerned that a "fin" and all its characteristics that are important could simply exist at the edge of the edge of the bevel. I mean a "fin" would simply be a thin section of metal honed on both sides of the bevel right?

I keep envisioning this gigantic flagpole of steel off the edge that I'm sure doesn't exist. A fin is not a physical extension beyond the bevel (I believe). Again I don't know if it exists independently of a bevel enough to have its own name.

Perhaps it, and its resulting properties exist and we just don't understand what it really is, how it gets consistently created, how it keeps an edge sharp for months, or how easily it "rolls".

I also think we have to be careful and remember that everything we don't understand isn't "magic". Just because we don't get something doesn't make it "magic". We really aren't as smart as we think and we also don't have to act like straight razors users are witch doctors. I think we spend a lot of time stumbling onto great edges that shave. That doesn't make us experts at this art. Scientifically, we should all be open to our own ignorance, despite the fact that we feel so confident in our mastery.

If anyone has access to an EM then please by all means, put this to bed one way or another. lol :-)

Or are we suffering from a severe bout of ANALYSIS PARALYSIS?

I just honed up my ceramic razor, and I can assure you there is no "fin", nor burr on there!


Haven't had a shave with it yet though.....