Thread: Final Grind question for makers

I've made a few razors and had quite a few "customs" cross my hands as well as have a few in my collection. I also see quite a few here on the forum & wanted to ask you guys who make straights if you do something that I end up doing quite pretty much on every blade I have made.

How many of you take a razor back to the wheels to get a uniform bevel or a thinner bevel after you have taken a finished blade to the stones? For me, a final grind may look right by eye, but everything is magnified drastically once the razor hits the stones.

I ask this question as I am looking at two razors that need to go back to the wheels for a thinner bevel...

I've only made two razors so far, but yeah I do it. The bevel shows you exactly where you are at and acts as a gage for the final material removal.

These days, I usually get it right the first time around. Grind evenly until the blade is thumbnail sharp. If you stop earlier than that, the bevels will be wide / uneven and you have to grind / hone /grind / ... which is a tedious waste of time.

the trick really is to not rush to the hone 'to see where you are' because if that becomes your process, your process is very inefficient. Mind you, that doesn't mean it never happens. It happens to me too. It just shouldn't be the standard process.

Us the thumbnail test, and feel the thickness of the razor between thumb and index finger. I found that the most time is lost when trying to go to the hone too soon.

EDIT: If you do this, you will also have very thin bevels, which is a good thing. It will make your razor look good, and make it easy to hone. It's a sign that the person doing the grinding knows what he is doing. The reverse is also true. And that's all I have to say about that :

I usually set the bevel then finish grinding. Sometimes I will use a micrometer and grind down to less than .005" ala Tim Zowada's post.

It is a six of one or half dozen of the other thing for me. They both work.

Charlie

edit: If I remember right Tim said he ground down to .003"

Originally Posted by spazola

I usually set the bevel then finish grinding. Sometimes I will use a micrometer and grind down to less than .005" ala Tim Zowada's post.

It is a six of one or half dozen of the other thing for me. They both work.

Charlie

edit: If I remember right Tim said he ground down to .003"

Anyone have a link to this post?

Originally Posted by bluesman7

Anyone have a link to this post?

Search is your friend,

Post #20 this thread,

http://straightrazorpalace.com/forge...ml#post1071075

Charlie

Charlie, you have seen my grinding. In my eyes I need more work in the final details. It's like Robert Williams said to me in a pm just yesterday: The devil is in the details. I have thrown away close to twice as many razor's as i have made. It was a great relief to learn that I wasn't the only one.

With an inclusive bevel angle of 16 degrees and a bevel width of .02" the thickness of the blade at the back of the bevel is .0055"

I usually hit the diamond hone just to double check the bevel consistency around 400g belt. A couple circles and a couple strokes is enough to see how even it is. I don't actually sharpen it, this is just to check the consistency of the thickness.

These days, I usually grind to 0.0005" - 0.001" before setting the bevel. If I'm feeling lazy, or things aren't going well, it may be as thick as 0.002".

On topic - I always go back to the belt grinder, after setting the bevel. I usually use an 800 grit belt to "tweak" things just a little.

I hope this helps...

Originally Posted by spazola

I usually set the bevel then finish grinding. Sometimes I will use a micrometer and grind down to less than .005" ala Tim Zowada's post.

It is a six of one or half dozen of the other thing for me. They both work.

Charlie

edit: If I remember right Tim said he ground down to .003"