Thread: Sharpening guide rails

Originally Posted by hardheart

lighter fluid will remove the tape residue with almost no effort, and it is cheap and readily available

I've found rubbing alcohol is very good at removing any tape residue also.

I remember seeing bad reviews of these things on the US site, so I went back and checked. People claim the things scratch their knives, and remember, when used on a knife they are meant to keep the knife at around a 20 degree angle.

I used to have a problem with the tape residue. I have tried all the solvents also with very mixed results.
The most effective is plain mineral oil with a bit of elbow grease.
It also helps to apply a lite coat of oil on the blade before you apply the tape.


Hope this helps.

Old Etape does leave quite a lot of residue. New stuff leaves very little. I don't think the adhesive has been changed, I believe it just degrades over time.

Goo Be Gone is a great residue remover. it is all natural and shouldn't harm the finish on the blade or scales, plus it smells like oranges which i like. if your tape gets really hot one time the glue breaks down and will always from then on leave residue.

Originally Posted by hardheart

lighter fluid will remove the tape residue with almost no effort, and it is cheap and readily available

After cleaning a razor with a solvent like lighter fluid or alcohol do
make a point of lightly wiping it down with a light oil or some other
surface protector.

Two nights ago I washed off some strop crud with 99% Isopropyl
and a splash of very hot water. The next day I noticed a number of
small rust spots. Nothing bad and a quick polish made them vanish
but rust they was.

It is amazing to me how well shave creams and super fated soap preserves
steel..

I have a set of these, I'll try the small one on a razor when I get home and see what it does to the angle.

Originally Posted by ziggy925

I remember seeing bad reviews of these things on the US site, so I went back and checked. People claim the things scratch their knives, and remember, when used on a knife they are meant to keep the knife at around a 20 degree angle.

They will only scratch the blade if there is grit under them when you slip them onto the knife (they have a flexible plastic liner), which the instructions specifically state to be aware of.

Also, they are made for japanese knives which generally have around 18 degrees included angle, so they would keep the knife around 9 degrees edge angle (I presume you meant edge angle when you said 20 degrees).

It adds about 1.4mm height to the spine while honing and it is quite hard to slide on and off, you would have to keep buying new ones too, as they would wear out. Stick with tape, it's cheap and easy.

to get the residue off i ues the same tape with the stickey side just pad the stickey on the blade and peel it off fast and simple.