Quote Originally Posted by Quick View Post
8 layers of tape?!?! Measure that and see what kind of bevel angle you're dealing with. I'm guessing you're close, if not out of range. I'd say use 1 layer of tape if you want to avoid (further?) hone marks on the spine. My feeling is that manipulating the bevel angle to get an edge that won't crumble is futile. Using exotic stones and techniques to hone the edge without having it crumble is futile. Any edge you acheive with such methods won't be serviceable and wouldn't be maintainable thereafter either. The chances of a particular blade being radically different (steel-wise) from all the others of it's brand and model are pretty much nil. Continue with normal honing and you'll either get into good steel if there is any or you won't if there isn't.
8 layers of tape is a over the top. I knew that up front. But I wanted to see if I could create an undamaged edge, even in the problematic part of the steel. Combining a steep angle, very gentle hones and some serious stropping on CrO, I could succeed in that.
But this edge couldn't the shaving forces. At least, not at the weak part of the steel. I suspected that much, but at least now I know for sure that it makes no sense sharpening the "crumblesome" steel.

On another note: these old wedges were not always honed with the edge laying flat on the hone. Glen got me thinking on that one in this thread, a while ago. http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...ned-day-2.html. I have honed a few wedges ever since reading that thread, that changed my views on the subject. I usually start out with 3 layers of tape on them, not just to protect the spine, but to get more consistently even and less wide bevel panes. I've went as far as 5 layers on wedges with heavy spine wear, and got premium results.
But 8 layers of tape on this W&B was definitely too much.

OldSchool, your input was and is certainly valued. I believe I understand what you are suggesting. But I have examined this blade long and thoroughly under magnification. The steel crumbles as soon as it becomes too thin near the apex of the edge. But there's nothing to see to predict it: the small parallel cracks I spoke about, only occur near the very edge, prior to the crumbling. Other than the crubling, the affected steel looks precisely the same as the sound part of the edge.

Best regards,
Bart.