Thread: Do you use the toe more than the heel?

Well all of this makes sense because I have a Goa-Tee so I tend to use the toe in many spots and where you would use the heel I don't shave.

So what do you recommend for honing then? Focus on honing toe more or equally? If equal then what about over honing the heel?

Honing is always the same. Hone the whole blade nice and even. You shouldn't have to be honing THAT much anyway. You want to keep the razor geometry straight or you will be adding problems to your honing later not to mention making a razor with 6/8 on one end and 3/8 on the other .

I remember first starting, I used the toe half of the razor much more than the heel. However, the more I shaved the more I realized how to use and appreciate the heel as well.

Originally Posted by Steel

Well all of this makes sense because I have a Goa-Tee so I tend to use the toe in many spots and where you would use the heel I don't shave.

So what do you recommend for honing then? Focus on honing toe more or equally? If equal then what about over honing the heel?

If you honed the edge equally how can one part be over honed ?

I liked the question about overhoning the heel because logical thought is "I've mostly produced wear on the toe so the bevel at the heel is still nearly perfectly formed and polished. If I hone evenly then I'm bringing the toe back to perfect condition but the heel will form a wire edge." I might be wrong as to op thinking but that's my take. You will need to remove metal from the heel to bring the toe back into shape after all the "face time" with stubble has caused enough microchipping that stropping cant resolve, but its microscopic and can be done without going to a course stone. At the coursest an 8k with slurry will handle the deal. Overhoning on this scale is really not something to be concerned about. If a wire edge forms it is usually at the hands of courser stones and will actually be polished off once you hit 8k and higher. Also, Nice and even honing done periodically extends the life of a razor because it negates the need for aggressive honing. Rant complete, sorry

Originally Posted by silverloaf

I liked the question about overhoning the heel because logical thought is "I've mostly produced wear on the toe so the bevel at the heel is still nearly perfectly formed and polished. If I hone evenly then I'm bringing the toe back to perfect condition but the heel will form a wire edge." I might be wrong as to op thinking but that's my take. You will need to remove metal from the heel to bring the toe back into shape after all the "face time" with stubble has caused enough microchipping that stropping cant resolve, but its microscopic and can be done without going to a course stone. At the coursest an 8k with slurry will handle the deal. Overhoning on this scale is really not something to be concerned about. If a wire edge forms it is usually at the hands of courser stones and will actually be polished off once you hit 8k and higher. Also, Nice and even honing done periodically extends the life of a razor because it negates the need for aggressive honing. Rant complete, sorry

Yup. What he said. But evidently over honing is very hard to do and easily corrected anyways with back honing so I am no longer worried about this. Plus I am purposely using the heel more now. Thanks everyone.

Originally Posted by Steel

Yup. What he said. But evidently over honing is very hard to do and easily corrected anyways with back honing so I am no longer worried about this. Plus I am purposely using the heel more now. Thanks everyone.

The degree of "wire/burr" you can create with a polishing stone is also easily remedied with a Cro pasted strop & sometimes just canvas but if you create one it may mean you should have been on a coarser stone to start with. You can also apply pyramid honing principles.