Thread: Problems with a wedge

I recently picked up a wade and butcher 6/8 wedge with a barbers notch at ebay.It looked like a mess, but not impossible to fix.I sanded of the spots and polished it down with sandpaper(Lots of elbow grease!)
It now looks good enough to become a shaver.I have no experience with honing a wedge, since this is my first.The edge was terrible, so I decided to "butter knife" it on my dmt 325.I then put on 3 layers of tape on the spine, and started making a new bevel on my dmt 325.The hone wear was uneven, so i tried using pressure at different spots to make up for it, it turned out ok.I continued with 400,800 and 1200 sanpaper,(since I don't have any hones of that grid yet.)And now I'm ready for some seriouse work on my norton 4000.I will keep one layer of tape all the way up to my shapton 16k, like I usually do.Here is my problem tough: I have established a new bevel,but its not uniform.The reason is the uneven hone wear and my lack of skill to completly make up for it.
What should I do now? Should I try taping the edge,and"hone" the spine back to correct proportions? Or should I try to use pressure at different spots like I have done? Or, as I have been wondering with all my razors, does it not matter so much? What I meen is: If you have an bevel that is not uniform, will you then manage to get it perfectly shave ready?
NB: when I say not uniform,I meen that the bevel is wider in some places.(At the middle at one side,and by the toe on the other.)

Thanks Kristoffer

Personally, I don't bother taping when honing a wedge. That's just me.

My thinking is you have a super meaty piece of steel, and there's no reason to baby it. I hit mine up with 220, 320, 400, 600, and then a DMT1200 and kept working that 1200 without going easy on the pressure until I had a hair cutting edge along the whole length. Then proceeded on to my usual progression.

I ended up with very wide bevels, close to 1/4" wide each, but it took a fine edge, and shaves like a dream!

I did use a taped spine when honing my recent Marshes wedge, but that was to protect the worked back I had put on there. I'm actually thinking to re-do that, as the stropping feels horrible with the 600 grit finish that's on the spine bevel now.

I am also of the opinion that butter knifing does not save you any time whatsoever

I just re-read your post.

I think since you set your bevel with three layers of tape, you have to stick with that throughout the process, or you will truly get frustrated at not getting anywhere with your 4k Norton.

You can start with one layer and then go for two or three for a final edge, which works well, if you're into that. But the opposite way does not work since you are going from a higher angle to a lower one.

Here's a pic of why:

Originally Posted by KristofferBodvin

...
Or, as I have been wondering with all my razors, does it not matter so much? What I meen is: If you have an bevel that is not uniform, will you then manage to get it perfectly shave ready?
...

A uniform bevel isn't needed. As long as the 2 bevels meet at the edge, it'll be sharp.

Congrats on your new wedge!

The above 2 guys have got it right.

1. Uniform bevel widths are not necessary.
2. Since you started with 3 layers of tape then you should stay with that especially since you are honing a wedge which usually has a wider bevel.


Just my $.02,

Ok, here is the reason I started with 3 layers of tape:
( From one of glens threads)

"Now comes the re-set, this is what I have used with the most consistent success….
Use 3 layers of electrical tape on the spine, this concentrates the honing to the edge, use a low grit stone I use a 220 Norton here, you are re-cutting the edges of that square bevel off, it needs to take a lot of metal off fast (any fast cutter would work) Do heel first angled laps, no X stroke here, across the hone you might as well get a nice even bevel started right off…I have my own system here…. I use 10 lap sets on all my honing, after 10 laps I rinse the stone and spin it so I am using the other edge now, and repeat until the edge starts getting sharp…
As soon as you can feel an edge, I switch up to make sure of an even bevel… I do 3 of the heel forward straight laps down the hone, then 2 actual X strokes still heel forward, then 3 straight then 2 X stroke laps continuing with the 10 lap sets until I have a sharp edge… It will feel like a very sharp kitchen knife at this point….

Now comes decision time, remove the 3 layers on tape at this point….. I personally use 1 layer of tape until I finish on the stones but that is your decision…
Move to your 1k stone and establish a true bevel, this will go much faster, and way more even, since you started the work on the low grit cutter…
Again I use a 10 lap set, with the 3 straight and 2 X strokes mix, spin the stone and repeat, until that edge is nice, even, and sharp… At this point the edge is passing the TNT the TPT and it will pop arm hairs at the base of the hair with just a touch….
For stubborn spots that just don’t want to come into line, using circular or Japanese style honing methods, will normally do that for you, just remember to follow that with a 10 lap smoothing set…"

I use 1 layer unless it is a frowning blade and then I might use 3 to get the profile before going back to one layer. If the wedge had a lot of wear on the spine I might use more then one layer. It would depend on the particular blade but I don't like using more then one under normal circumstances. If there is more metal to be removed using one would use a heavier grit in the early stages..

Originally Posted by KristofferBodvin

Ok, here is the reason I started with 3 layers of tape:
( From one of glens threads)

"Now comes the re-set, this is what I have used with the most consistent success….
Use 3 layers of electrical tape on the spine, this concentrates the honing to the edge, use a low grit stone I use a 220 Norton here, you are re-cutting the edges of that square bevel off, it needs to take a lot of metal off fast (any fast cutter would work) Do heel first angled laps, no X stroke here, across the hone you might as well get a nice even bevel started right off…I have my own system here…. I use 10 lap sets on all my honing, after 10 laps I rinse the stone and spin it so I am using the other edge now, and repeat until the edge starts getting sharp…
As soon as you can feel an edge, I switch up to make sure of an even bevel… I do 3 of the heel forward straight laps down the hone, then 2 actual X strokes still heel forward, then 3 straight then 2 X stroke laps continuing with the 10 lap sets until I have a sharp edge… It will feel like a very sharp kitchen knife at this point….

Now comes decision time, remove the 3 layers on tape at this point….. I personally use 1 layer of tape until I finish on the stones but that is your decision…
Move to your 1k stone and establish a true bevel, this will go much faster, and way more even, since you started the work on the low grit cutter…
Again I use a 10 lap set, with the 3 straight and 2 X strokes mix, spin the stone and repeat, until that edge is nice, even, and sharp… At this point the edge is passing the TNT the TPT and it will pop arm hairs at the base of the hair with just a touch….
For stubborn spots that just don’t want to come into line, using circular or Japanese style honing methods, will normally do that for you, just remember to follow that with a 10 lap smoothing set…"

The way I read it:

He goes to one layer of tape, but he first starts there with a 1k stone, which is still quite aggressive, and will have no problem with bulk material removal.

He doesn' remove the tape and then continue on down the grit size.

With a 1200 DMT plate I can really do quite a bit of heavy work, even without any taping of the spine.

Go get a 1200 DMT plate. The 2x6 plates are pretty cheap, and help out ALOT on re-setting EBay bevels. Be sure to break in the 1200 DMT before trying to achieve a nice razor edge, as I found that in the new state it caused a fair bit of edge chipping.

Thank you my friend, I see the difference.I think I'm gonne buy the shapton 1000, instead of the dmt.I read that the dmt leave really deep scratchmarks....

Originally Posted by KristofferBodvin

NB: when I say not uniform,I meen that the bevel is wider in some places.(At the middle at one side,and by the toe on the other.)

Thanks Kristoffer

This is possibly due to a warped spine. I prefer narrow hones for that sort of work but see how you go.

FWIW I only have one wedge that I hone with tape.