Thread: what would an "over honed" edge look like under a microscope?

I am a little confused by over-honing. I thought that it simply means you spent too much time honing, and removed metal unneccesarily. But reading the wiki seems to suggest otehrwise. Is it the same thing as the razor being too-sharp?

Excessive honing on some hones can result in the creation of a wire edge, which, if I understand correctly, is like a burr on the edge of the razor. The burr can be removed by back-honing (a motion like stropping), circular honing, or dragging the edge of the blade over something (I've heard matches work well).

A razor with a wire edge isn't too sharp, in fact it won't shave well if at all.

The edge of a well honed razor forms a "V" while the burr or wire edge would form a "J" at edge.

Mastro Livi's test for a wire edge is to saw (or breadknife) the edge of the razor on a terry cloth towel. A sharp edge will not cut terry cloth but a wire edge will rip it to shreds.

thanks guys, it all makes sense now!

I can tell on the microscope if I have over honed the razor for sure. To me it looks like an edge folded over. Maybe one of the guys with a camera microscope and take a pic. Some other signs with the nekkid eye are when you see a little line running through the middle of the edge or a line like this ------. Another sure fire way for me is the shave test. An overhoned razor will usually pass easily over the whiskers without removing any of them.

Lynn

In my experience, an overhoned razor will feel sharp on one side and dull on the other if you're doing the arm hair test. A few light one sided passes on a finishing stone with the sharp side down sometimes fixes it. I can't see much difference at 500x under the microscope, but I care more about performance than looks.

Originally Posted by MuzzleVelocity

I am a little confused by over-honing. I thought that it simply means you spent too much time honing, and removed metal unneccesarily. But reading the wiki seems to suggest otehrwise. Is it the same thing as the razor being too-sharp?

Ooah don't ever use that terrible term "too sharp". That's like saying I have too much money or too many razors or too much good luck.

When a razor is overhoned the edge is damaged and won't shave. So you need to correct the damage which may very well be a wire edge or an edge folded over. Most just do a couple back honing strokes which removes the offending damage.

Did you find the article on wiki confusing?