Thread: Looks like two bevels

Hi
Completely new straight razor shaver wannebe here.
I'm attempting to hone an old razor. For some reason, while
honing with X pattern on 3000 grit the other side of the razor
looks like normal but the other side has two...areas? near
the edge.
Attached a picture taken with 45X loupe. Needless
to say the edge at the moment is so dull i can slide my
thumb on it without any sensation of cutting.
Any help appreciated. The two areas stay even if
i hone for about 10 minutes.

Magic marker the bevel, then a couple strokes on hone to see where the hone is touching. I'm no expert but looks like maybe it was honed with tape on spine and you are not using tape or vs. Double bevel. Use tape, use lower grit hone, magic marker edge and start over and reset bevel.

Yup, marker ink to tell which is the new bevel.

Probably honed with tape. A photo of the other side might be helpful.

That’s a good photo taken through a hand-held loupe.

OK
Magic marker helped.
The area near the edge had magic marker left on it.

Honed the razor with lower grit until the two areas had
merged into one. Then honed with higher grits and stropped.
I actually managed to shave for the first time. Not perfect, cheeks
were shaved well but other areas not so well as the i'm perhaps
still too careful

In attached photos with frontside i mean the side of the blade
with engraving and backside the other. The backside did not have
two bevels.

Originally Posted by racer

OK
Magic marker helped.
The area near the edge had magic marker left on it.

Honed the razor with lower grit until the two areas had
merged into one. Then honed with higher grits and stropped.
I actually managed to shave for the first time. Not perfect, cheeks
were shaved well but other areas not so well as the i'm perhaps
still too careful

You did it perfectly! When something changes the angle of the bevel, you have to keep honing away at that bevel until it reaches the edge. It is the meeting of the bevels on opposite sides that form the edge so those bevels must meet.

Was any tape involved with any of this honing?
If you are new to honing, then you should use electrical tape on the spine. It prevents damage from stupid mistakes while you learn to hone.

Just be aware that taping the spine slightly raises the spine and makes the edge angle slightly more obtuse. As the tape wears, the spine lowers and so the cutting of the bevel no longer reaches the edge. You need to be conscious of this and occasionally switch to fresh tape.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Was any tape involved with any of this honing?
If you are new to honing, then you should use electrical tape on the spine. It prevents damage from stupid mistakes while you learn to hone.

Just be aware that taping the spine slightly raises the spine and makes the edge angle slightly more obtuse. As the tape wears, the spine lowers and so the cutting of the bevel no longer reaches the edge. You need to be conscious of this and occasionally switch to fresh tape.

No tape. I'm just learning this stuff, Actually i'we wrecked one cheap razor while honing on 300grit stone
and applying lots of pressure. It's a learning curve.

Ok, while you are learning, you will prevent a lot of spine damage by using tape. Long term, tape is not necessarily necessary, but it is a good idea to use it when you are in the early stages of learning how to hone. At a minimum, it would be a good idea to use it during the bevel set, as that is the stage when the most beginner damage is done.

I put tape on both sides of the razor once. Just to get an idea for the feel of razor weight on the stone & lifting off at the end. Was only for a minute or two, but still a true story.

I probably shouldn't have made that public :/

Originally Posted by racer

Hi
Completely new straight razor shaver wannebe here.
I'm attempting to hone an old razor. For some reason, while
honing with X pattern on 3000 grit the other side of the razor
looks like normal but the other side has two...areas? near
the edge.
Attached a picture taken with 45X loupe. Needless
to say the edge at the moment is so dull i can slide my
thumb on it without any sensation of cutting.
Any help appreciated. The two areas stay even if
i hone for about 10 minutes.

I quit taping the spine over concerns about double bevel.

Let me hasten to add that the more experienced and skilled you get with a straight the less you feel the need to hone. I rotate 7 5/8 Henkels Friodurs and went a year without doing anything but stropping. Then, I tuned them up by stropping with diamond paste. 6 months have passed since then.