Thread: Why tape the spine?

With the exception of it helping with wedges for most people with NOS/mint razors its just looks. If I had somthing I planed to re-sell then I might but if its mine then no. Like you said its a can-o-worms subject!

That makes sense Matthew, I'd probably do the same thing, at least with regards to keeping a razor looking good if that's what I'm trying to do.

Welcome to the vipers pit Dave.

Mainly i do not tape the spine on my razors. there are a few exceptions a couple NOS blades and some custom blades. those are only for looks and i limit to 1 piece of tape bu the time you are done honing most of it will be worn off.

as for the common everyday blade like the 19th century Sheffield steel and the pre WW2 Solingen and USA blades no tape! if the original buyers saw fit to hone them naked i can at least do the same!


in the end they are you tools treat them as you see best.

and if nobody has told you yet back-hone a couple laps on the 30k shapton the edge seems nicer that way

The history of taping the spine? Well...it probably gained favor here.
The why is because we now have a product that works...black electrical tape, and, it avoids the dreaded hone wear on the spine. The other tapes I have tried simply do not last very long.
I use it on all my razors now simply because it was to hard to remember which ones I did not use it on!

But...there really is no correct answer. It is all personal preference.

Just my $.02,

Thanks for the input guys.

Dave,

besides all the above reasons I can't stand that horrible scratching noise of the spine wearing against the hones. Especially the coarser ones. It's not only horrible it's also heart braking to me.
I've always taped the spines.

There also is a thread in the advanced honing section about honing wedges and the fact that many of the older wedges have extreme angles on the bevel that "might" have come from using a type of honing bar/spacer in the past, you should find that one and do some reading if it interests you...

I have noticed that when I use tape that I can hear the edge on the stone, which tells me a lot about where I am on any particular stone.


R

Originally Posted by gssixgun

There also is a thread in the advanced honing section about honing wedges and the fact that many of the older wedges have extreme angles on the bevel that "might" have come from using a type of honing bar/spacer in the past, you should find that one and do some reading if it interests you...

I read that the other day, interesting ideas.

Originally Posted by riooso

I have noticed that when I use tape that I can hear the edge on the stone, which tells me a lot about where I am on any particular stone.


R

Early on I honed without taping the spine. One thing I can say for it is that it is a different experience without tape and I do think you get more feedback. If I only had a few razors in a rotation instead of 100+ to keep track of than I would probably opt to hone without the tape.

Just a thought on the big Sheffield wedges that someone posted way back.... there were men who went around in a wagon back in merry old England a couple of hundred years ago with a pedal type grindstone and they would sharpen knives, scissors, and razors for the general public. Or so I hear. Some of them may not have been as attentive to the width of the bevel as we are. BTW, I don't guarantee that this is a fact...... just what I heard.