Thread: Just to get one thing straight..

I've been reading a few posts where people talk about restoring the blade geometry of razors that has uneven hone wear.I've got more then a few of these.I've never been able to make a completly uniform bevel on them tough.Some people here says that it really doesn't matter if the bevel is somewhat wider or narrower along the edge.I don't know, I'm not a very experienced honer, but my best shavers all have a very uniform bevel.Sorry for having to spoon feed me this, but I never really understood how this works.To you guys actually "hone" down the spine, so that the bevel will form right when put flat on the hone? In case you do, how?

I understand that this is not the issue with warped blades.


Thanks Kristoffer.

Yes it is possible to reset the old hone wear,(without a regrind) I only do it on razors that have tons of life left in them, but the bad honing is setting off the bevel....

If the spine is straight and the blade is warped (the most commonly found condition), then there are two possibilities.
I have addressed them both in a wiki article about bevel setting.

1. if you hone on a wide hone, and the warp is not too severe, the edge will develop straight, and the warp shows up as uneven bevel sides. If the condition is too extreme, one side of the bevel will become so thin at the bend spot, that the edge has little support on that side. That introduces a weakness in the edge at that spot.

2. If you hone on a smaller hone and/or use an "outspoken" X-stroke, then the edge will start to follow the curve of the warp. The resulting bevel panes will be more equal in width. If the warp is severe, this is the way to go, but it is more difficult to achieve a good keen bevel. It is important to copy the same stroke during the entire honing job.

If the spine is warped too, then the razor can wobble on the hone, when it rests on the bulging side. In that case I believe is is best to tape the edge and straighten the bulge out the spine. Whether you straighten the concave side out as well, depends on how severe the condition is. The concave side doesn't wobble, so it is less a problem.

Based upon the razors I have honed, I think a warped spine is very rare, but a bit of twist in the blade is very common.

Hope this helps. Check out the drawings in the Wiki. I believe they really illustrate what I'm trying to explain.

Bart.

It all depends on how off the blade is from straight. Breadknifing works fine for tiny chips out of the blade but for deep smiles and frown i.e. >1/16" I don't go to the trouble. The bevel is everything. If the bevel is set right, the rest of the honing proceeds quickly. If it's not right to start with, it will continue to be an issue.

The general rule is that for a bevel to have a uniform width requires the the blade width be the same from heel to toe and the thickness of the spine also must be uniform. That way there is a constant angle from the spine to the edge.

Most razors have a slight smile so the width of the bevel will be greatest at the middle and tapering to less at the heel and toe.

A bevel with a uniform width is nice to look at but not necessary for a super sharp edge.



Hope this helps,

If I'm understanding you correctly, I think you're talking about two separate issues. One is bevel width and the other is a blade that has a frown or smile edge. Frowns can be jointed or "breadknifed" to work them back to straight but that's a long process. The bevel on a frowned razor will vary in width if the spine is straight and not twisted. You can still hone it but it won't be pretty and it can be made to shave well. I have had people send me their new razors to take out the smile and I had to let them know it wasn't a smile but the shape the manufacturer intended. In other words, it wasn't a smile but just a gently curving blade. A good honemeister should get a same size width bevel on a razor all else being equal.