Thread: What to do with a warped blade

Just received a new old stock razor and is the same as 2 others I have. I was just honing it up but could not seem to get a decent edge and noticed, when looking down the length of the blade there appears to be slight warping.
Are there any honing techniques I can use to get this ok again or did I just waste my money?
Thanks

You can try honing at a 45 degree angle instead of the normal 90 degree angle and/or using a narrow hone. If that does not do it for you then I think the only way to get sufficient contact with the edge would be to remove a fair amount of metal.

It depends how bad the warping is. As long as you can hone it in such a way that you get the entire blade to contact the hone, maybe a rocking motion as you hone will do the trick. Some use the narrow hone approach also. If the warping is more severe the only choice you have is either cut the razor down in size or trash it. So the key is contact with the hone at an equal rate along the entire blade otherwise you'll really mess up the blade.

the Warping I guess is more of a bow shape. While the near and far end of the blade are aligned it bows out in the middle.
If I was to use a narrow hone (and i'd have to as this is all I have) should I apply pressure to the middle of the blade on one stoke and then at either end on the return stroke or is pressure just a really bad idea?

Hi Pete,

I got your PM about this but I can't really think of anything to suggest I'm afraid. I've had a couple of problem razors in the past which I sent to Lynn to be sorted, but yours sounds like even more of a challenge.

I suppose as you say it's lucky it's a cheap razor, and you can afford to try some weird and wonderful ways that people suggest to fix it - if you end up trashing it then it's not the end of the world.

Just be really carefull if you're using pressure to flex the blade and straighten it out, being hardened steel it's not going to deform much before it reaches the brittle fracture point - and you could end up hurting yourself quite badly!

Cheers,

Iwan

Thanks Iwan,

You did such a wonderful job on my last razor I sent you I just thought I'd ask if you had any tips, While I've not been able to compare your work to any one elses you're a honemeister in my eyes

Cheers

Pete

Originally Posted by 250316

Thanks Iwan,

You did such a wonderful job on my last razor I sent you I just thought I'd ask if you had any tips, While I've not been able to compare your work to any one elses you're a honemeister in my eyes

Cheers

Pete

Aw.

You should try shaving with my Takeda after a bad day on the hone, then you'd think differently!

Use an X pattern with the tip of the blade angled back a bit. At the end of the stroke only 1/2 inch should remain on the hone. This is how I deal with warped blades and it works every time.


Hope this helps,

How do you mean angled back a bit. Rather than being at right angles directly across the hone lead with the end nearest the scales?

Originally Posted by 250316

How do you mean angled back a bit. Rather than being at right angles directly across the hone lead with the end nearest the scales?

Yes, a heel leading stroke combined with a sharp X pattern stroke.