Thread: Repairing a strange problem

Well I received my first razor, a modern custom Robert Williams from Ebay. The problem I noticed right off the bat was that the spine has a gentle curve but the edge is more or less straight, except for the dull tip of the edge. In other words it's hard to sharpen. The exact measurement starting from the heal are 25/32nds 21/32nds and the tip is 24/32nds. Is this from improper honing? Shouldn't the edge follow the curve of the spine? And should I hone it into cooperation? You can kind of see the problem from his website.
customstraightrazors.com - RAZORS/#055 6/8 humpback w/ smooth polished Oryxhorn scales

For me as long as the angle the edge makes with the stone is constant along the blade there is no problem, you just need to figure out which stroke will do the job. Try the magic marker trick and see how it goes.

Another option is to contact Robert Williams and ask advice on honing , better yet send it to him for pro honing, if he offers the service.

In all honesty last night I honed and honed until I started to notice the toe edge getting wider, at least on one side. I figured it was trying to right itself based on the curve of the spine. I've attached images that might show that the blade isn't quite straight based on the uneven wear of the edge. Here's hoping I didn't screw it up beyond repair.


That's not a chip in the blade in the middle, just a reflection.

That really looks like more a problem with honing pressure to me.

Have you held the blade between two straight objects? If it lays flat and the only areas where you see problems is where the metal was taken away from honing, that is what will need to be corrected. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of metal removed already.

Lynn

The edge is flat, but if I hold a straight edge from heal to toe between the spine and edge, one side shows a gap in the center and the other side rocks a tad. The side that is convex shows edge wear where I'd expect to see it, in the center. The other side is shows the opposite edge problem and is concave.

It may be worth sending it to Robert to take a look at.

Good luck,

Lynn

Dude, seriously, you're killing with the honing. Send it to Lynn for a good honing. After that, it's just two swipes on a 12k every three months.

I'm not sure what that razor looked like when you got it because it left my shop a long time ago, but those pictures make me cringe. That razor has been virtually destroyed. I got your e-mail, called you up and got your voicemail. Did that razor look like that when you got it? That was a razor for someone that liked a humpback look but wanted a straight edge instead of a smile, so it was a bit unusual but it had a beautiful bevel on it at one time and shaved great.

Give me a call. We'll figure something out.

I'm plugging in my dead phone now.

I would follow Lynn's advice. I'm no expert, but I think you need some serious remedial work (not you, your razor, of course ). I don't think that's going to get fixed by more honing.

Edit: Again, I'm slow posting. ;-(