Thread: A Blast From The Past #1

I thought it might be interesting to bring back some old topics when we first started this forum. So periodically I'll introduce a topic with the essentials of the initial post on the thread and we can discuss it and then I'll tell you where to find the complete thread and we can see if attitudes have changed with all the new membership. If you see your thread don't give it away.

So the first topic is....drumroll....

As a matter of curiosity, how much hone wear is acceptable/usual on a brand new razor? The reason I ask is that I was in a store the other day looking at a new Dovo and noticed quite a bit of hone wear on the spine. In fact, the wear was also uneven. I asked the assistant if it was new or used - they assured me it was new.

I think I read somewhere that Dovo finish their blades off by hand, so I suppose some hone marks are inevitable. But this was way more than just marks, and I was suprised by it.

I've never actually measured hone wear on any razors, so I can't say size wise, but I'd say that less is more. I know that there can be some uneven-ness at the heal depending on where the grind ends, but I do expect even wear from one side to the other - warps and uneven grinding do not sit well with me. And unless I know and respect whoever is doing the honing, I prefer un-honed to pre-sharpened.

Makes me wonder if the store clerk wasn't lying to the OP about the razor being new ? Also was the hone wear noted on the bevel or at the spine ? Where I notice hone wear more often is at the spine unless the profile of the bevel is badly misshapen from a heavy hand as well as the spine. With a brand new razor I wouldn't expect much obvious wear at the spine and a tiny bevel .

The odd one inevitably gets past QC that shouldn't.
I'd reject that razor & ask to see another. At new price I'd want something that looked new & not poorly ground or honed.

On a brand new blade? I'd expect very little hone wear.

On a vintage blade it doesn't bother me too much, as long as the blade will still take and hold a shaving edge.

Consider that over the last few years we have had accounts of a decrease in overall quality in both the Dovos and the TIs in the workmanship department and if this includes the final honing I could well imagine more or less signs of honing depending on the skill of who ever finished it off. I haven't seen a brand new one in a while and the ones I have have been honed already by me so I can't say how much wear they had when new but I would imagine if it was considerable or uneven I would have noticed it like the crooked TI pins which are quite obvious.

These days the acceptable/usual hone wear seems to be on the order of 1/32" to 1/16", from what I've seen.
Many of my vintage razors have hone flattening on the spine between 1/128" and 1/64". And they shaved.
The worst hone wear on current production razors I think is on the Friodurs. And they don't even have good bevel.

Bought a new Dovo Ebony from SRD a couple of weeks ago. Didn't really know what hone wear was until I got it. It definitely has more wear on one side than the other, and that wear is uneven (more near the toe-side of the spine). I assumed this was from Lynn evening out the razor. Maybe it came to them from the factory that way.

--David

Originally Posted by raneyday

Bought a new Dovo Ebony from SRD a couple of weeks ago. Didn't really know what hone wear was until I got it. It definitely has more wear on one side than the other, and that wear is uneven (more near the toe-side of the spine). I assumed this was from Lynn evening out the razor. Maybe it came to them from the factory that way.

--David

When I was an ironworker erecting structural steel the saying was,"We ain't building a watch." Razors are sort of like that. They come out of the heat treating and they are not. as a rule, perfectly symmetrical. Therefore when honed you may or may not get symmetrical wear on the spine and/or the bevel. You'll find the same phenomenon with custom or vintage razors from any era.

On a brand new razor, all I'd want to see is a nearly invisible line of spine wear. If there was more than about 1/2mm I'd pass the razor by.

But then I really hate hone wear, I just think it looks really ugly so I avoid any razor that has lots of it.

I also tape all my razors when I hone them, mainly to avoid hone wear and keep the bevels small.