Thread: Bevelsetting on a Coticule.

I'm absolutely dying to get mine! If only Canada Post could be quicker. The stone is a warehouse about 2 hours from here....sounds like a road trip might be in the works for today...:P

This is an awesome thread Bart! Very educational. Thanks!
khat

Fascinating reading - thanks. I'm a little confused - please forgive my newbie ignorance and what might be a dumb question to ask in this revered thread! When honing to set a bevel (let's say for a new old razor purchase), is the fundamental difference to honing that of the grit size or a different angle of attack (for example, with taped spine)? I have visions of two processes but common sense tells me that this cannot be as the 'routine' honing is done with spine flat against the hone. I think I've answered my own question but you guys could perhaps straighten me out by explaining the special process of setting a bevel - I take it to be the initial extra work that is done on a razor that has lost the bevel, through wear or damage and done with a relatively coarse grit, (maybe 1000) to get the cutting done. So the complete honing would be: set bevel - perhaps lots of laps on coarse grit; progression honing through finer grit sizes to develop the edge; finishing to make it super sharp.

I've been wrong before

I think you got it right.
"Bevel setting", or "bevel correction" simply refers to the formation of two flat planes that run all the way to the outer limit of the blade. The finer hones that are used on a razor's edge don't have the speed to correct geometrical issues of the edge, hence it needs to be taken care of first, using a hone that has enough cutting power to shape the cutting bevel. Every razor has a preset bevel angle, defined by the thickness of the spine and the width of the blade. The angle is easy to repeat and to maintain by placing the blade flat on the hone.
All razor honing is generally done with one angle: bevel correction as well as the rest of the progression.
You can add one (or even more) layer(s) of tape to the spine, which slightly alters the bevel angle. It is important to maintain the tape for the entire honing job. Usually tape is added to protect fancy spine decorations form hone wear. Sometimes also to tackle problems with wedge-style razors.
Here's a more in depth article about bevel correction.
Bevel-setting in theory and practice - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Best regards,
Bart.

Thank you Bart. Very useful and much appreciated.