Thread: Honing with/without tape... Testing the theories

Hey Glen!
I am really interested in this discussion because I have started an experiment if my own.

It all started for me when my uncle brought a boots razor for honing. I could not get an edge on this razor. The razor looked like it had never seen a hone in it's life. When I measured the razor using my calipers and did some math I got the angle at a nippy 8 degrees. I thought I had made a mistake maybe forgot to double the angle but that's where I ended up.

The steel on this razor is hard as hell and I imagine this is why it can hold such an acute edge. The problem with this razor is that getting it to a shave ready state takes so bloody long it is ridiculous.

Anyway back to the point. This made me think about the possibilities of modifying the bevel angles using tape. I have taken quite a few razors through a range of angles and each angle feels different. Some angles that are considered shaving angles won't shave on certain razors with different steel compositions.

I think an important point to note is that each batch of steel will be slightly different, which would mean the optimal shave angle (durability vs keen edge) would be different for that steel. I honestly don't think that razor manufacturers had the equipment to measure this accurately but I would love to know how they did it.

So from this I think that using no tape at all would be most important to try to keep as close to that optimal angle for the steel as possible.

Have you ever tried a range of angles on one razor? If you have what did you find.

Carl