Thread: Dang, I thought I had a new question

... but the FAQ soon cut me down to size.

Great site. Nice to meet you folk.

Originally Posted by mitnageek

... but the FAQ soon cut me down to size.

Great site. Nice to meet you folk.

Welcome aboard!

Now I have to ask. What was the question?

Well. the idea is that honing with spine on the stone wears spine and edge at the same rate hence maintaining angle. then people tape the spine so it won't wear and ...

There's a lovely maths based thread on it. Ah well.

But to refine that argument further ... The spine and the edge will not only wear at different rates (due to force being spread over a larger area at the spine: assuming a hollow ground razor, very small area at the edge. Pressure is force divided by area. speed of metal erosion is proportional to pressure not force) but also wear in different planes. The wear at the edge is into the face (the width of the blade) at a rate proportional to, but not equal to, the wear on the thickness of the blade, whereas the wear on the spine is only to the thickness of the blade ... so original geometry can never be maintained, tape or no tape.

(The maths in the thread, however, has convinced me that this is like arguing about the difference between a duck. So please don't see this as an invite to re-re-re-[etc]open the debate)
(unless you want to. it is temporarily and locally a free world, so do as you will )

I Was Gonna Add To This Realization But I Reckon I Might Just Wait Till Mornin Maybe A Scientist Will Chime In !!! But Ya We Americans Love Are Tape Always Lookin For New Ways Too Use It!!!!!!!!!!!!!Ty

Another consideration is the spine may be softer than the edge, but it doesn't matter anyway. The amount of wear over a limetime is still negligible

Best not to over think things. Use it or don't das macht nichts.

Bob

And, razors unlike knives do not need to be honed as much, that a lot of material will be removed, from the spine or the edge.

Ideally, a razor need only be bevel set honed once in its lifetime, then maintained on a strop and occasionally a fine finish stone. The vast majority of my rotation, will never be bevel set again, as long as I own them.

There are many 100 year plus old razors with little if any spine wear, that shaved regularly.

The practice of bevel setting, hone razors, is a relatively new compulsion, of probably 15-20 years.

Thanks to all for that input. To give context, I have never yet touched a straight. So this is curiosity rather than a 'use it or don't' question. As a professional sharpener I will be asked to hone ... And I want to be sure I know what and why I do (or don't do) anything.

At this point it looks like there's a LOT of practice and learning between now and the first time I feel competent to touch anyone else's razor. And it seems like it's going to be an interesting trip with fine company ...

Yes, it will be a interesting trip for sure, at least it was for me. You might want to give this thread a read http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...-theories.html .
Alternately, enter "tape spine" in the search box top right of the home page. The amount of time and effort spent on this one subject alone is nothing short of incredible.

Bob

thanks for the link. I'm already convinced it's something I don't need to prioritize in my learning cycle
I need to start more at the "which end should I point at my face?" level and work my way up.

edit - having read the link (great link, hit the nail directly on the head), it just reinforces my op ... not an original question. One day I'll have one. A man can dream ...