Thread: Are wedges that difficult ?

Hi Guys

I am looking at purchasing a vintage wedge, not a huge razor like some I have seen, but a decent wedge made years ago.

Just how difficult are they to get them shave ready, and to keep them that way. Are they much more difficult than a 1/4 grind or a full hollow.

Regards
London

If the razor is a full wedge, they are very difficult to hone.

By a full wedge I mean that the side of the razor has no hollow or grind at all. So if you lay it on a hone, all of the side of the blade will be in contact with the hone. The razor is in effect no different to a knife.

I have found it to be very difficult and not had the greatest success. Some argue that on such a blade you should use tape, to create the hollow grind effect. Some argue that you should hone the edge in the same way as you would hone a knife.

If the razor is nearly fully hollow and there is a grind gap, then the problem is not so severe but they are still best left to an expert as even then they are not the easiest to get silky smooth.

A full hollow with a heavy spine is a much easier way to go if you are new to honing.

But if you want a challenge................ Personally, I would go for something a lot easier to start and save the wedges for later.

I own a W&B wedge that's not a true wedge--that is, it is ground a little bit, so it only makes contact with the hone at two points, but is much stouter than a full hollow. It was not bad; about 50% more work to get it into shaving condition. And I like the way the heft of it plows through stubble. I would not hesitate to say "Go for it."

An older & more primitive style of wedge is the "true wedge." That is, a triangular slab with no grinding at all, where the entire face makes contact with the hone. I have never sharpened one of these & do not own one. I've heard they're a bugger, though.

Actually, there are few true wedges out there. Most that we call wedges have some minor hollow grind to them. yes there are some real meatchoppers out there and they can be a real bear to hone because you have to remove so much material. Most of these are real oldies are from well back into the 18th century and before.

i have tried 3 different wedges .as english said they are difficult to deal with +takesmore time.My last one has smile both sides and makes harder i have put bevel now working to get it shave ready condition.after i am done i will post picture.

As thebigspendur said there are very few "true" wedges. Those old fellas had to hone them too and they generally allowed a bit of concavity in the blade to clear the hone. That said there is more material to remove so it takes more time. I am glad that I learned on full hollows and sort of had an idea of what I was doing before I tackled old Sheffield wedges. The steel in those old bad boys can be mighty hard too and the rolling x is generally what you have to do.

Wedge in my definition = any old as the hills heavy bladed hone eating 1/4 hollow or less monster

Some thoughts on wedges, First thought split, bevel set, and honing apart, as two separate things...
Once the bevel is set on a wedge it isn't hardly any different from the hollows...

Separate problem of the smile, most of the old heavy blades (full wedge or not) are smilers and that creates a separate problem on the hones...

Warps, I don't care how many times somebody says "Oh my blankity blank wedge isn't warped" I still contend that better than 90%of them have a warp somewhere on the edge usually down by the heel... This creates another separate problem on the hones...

Honing a "wedge" is not fun it is work, and if the thing was not set right in the first place it is more work....

IMHO if you are not experienced on hones get a 1/2 hollow and be happy, or send it out and be happy...

How about, shaving with an ax?

Originally Posted by cotdt

How about, shaving with an ax?

I did.

A friend of mine let his FIL borrow his log splitting axe, and it came back with a mauled edge. FIL had split logs on cobblestones. And it was a good axe too.
The shape of the axeshead was basically a giant quarter hollow.
So I honed it with my DMT325 to get rid of the nicks. That too ages.
Then I honed it with 1K, 4K and 8K. Flattening those stones afterwards took a long time too.

Anyway, I shaved with it, just because I could.

It went pretty well, too.
The result was not BBS, but on the plus side, I didn't cut myself.
Shaving with an axe is not that simple. You cannot hold it properly, so you have to contort your arm. The weight (7-10 lbs) makes your muscles tremble so it is dificult to control well.
And because of the weight, it is easy to cut yourself lethally because the axehead has significant momentum. If you cut in your neck, there is a risk of itting the jugular vein.
It was fun though.