Thread: Wedges and coticules

Hello guys,

I just won on ebay a Joseph Elliot wedge razor. I have never honed a wedge before, all my honing experience hs been with hollow razors and I have gotten pretty good results so far. I use my coticule for setting bevels, sharpening and polishing and never had a problem but given the heavy grind of this razor I was wondering if it is possible to hone it only on the coti or should I get a Naniwa 1000;

Popular myth says wedges are harder to hone...

It is honestly about the wear and Geometry on that wedge, if the wedge is NOS with no prior wear then it will hone just as quickly and easily as a NOS hollow..

But if you have a "Wedge: and the normal 100+ years of different owners with different levels of honing skills that that added their own mistakes to the spine, then a 1k stone is a godsend

Thank you for the info Glen! I saw your video btw, very helpfull!

I gues I will have to wait for it to arrive and then decide about the hone.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Popular myth says wedges are harder to hone...

It is honestly about the wear and Geometry on that wedge, if the wedge is NOS with no prior wear then it will hone just as quickly and easily as a NOS hollow..

But if you have a "Wedge: and the normal 100+ years of different owners with different levels of honing skills that that added their own mistakes to the spine, then a 1k stone is a godsend

+1... ASSUMING NO MAJOR edge issues, the hone wear will determine the honing approach. My first wedge was a real problem, BUT...by paying attention to what the experienced honers said they became as easy to hone as any other blade.

As a wise 'Sifu' once told me, "In the high mountain country of the northwest we always say..."No amount of money spent on a Stone can ever replace the value of the time it takes learning to use it properly"..." In other words knowledge, patience and practice determines your success more than anything else.

My go to approach is 1-2 layers of tape on a 1000 grit to set the bevel, once again assuming no major edge problems or excessive hone wear. Then continue up the ladder with your finishing stones.


JMHO... WP34

My humble opinion too is to use a layer or two of tape, and if you prefer it without tape, whenever you set a bevel, remove a layer and keep going.
Try to hone it, and if you can't, post photos.

Originally Posted by Iasonas

Thank you for the info Glen! I saw your video btw, very helpfull!

I gues I will have to wait for it to arrive and then decide about the hone.

Honestly the Magic Marker test is an invaluable tool for honing old wedges..

Color the edge with the marker, do one complete lap without trying any fancy moves and see what is left there.. Then try it again using your best honing moves and see if you can hit the edge with a comfortable stroke.. Any marker at the edge = steel that needs to be removed before you can even up the edge..

You can do all that with the Coti, and see where you are at first 'Kalà tÃhi'

Hey when did you learn greek? Ευχαριστω!

When using using the magic marker trick can I also use tape;

The tape goes on the spine, the marker on the edge, no problems about using them both.
And, καλή τύχη κι από μένα

Pops side of the family is Italian, Mom's side is Greek every now and then two brain cells fire at the same time and I remember certain things

If using tape on a wedge or ¼ hollow:
Assure the tape is the same distance from the edge on both sides. Otherwise the honing angle changes with different tape applications as you progress up the hones.
Ok...On a wedge, the spine is close to the thickness of the blade. So, the tape bottom is the prominent bevel setter. I had trouble with wedges before I found that out. Utopian opened my eyes. You can use two pieces of tape, one on each side which makes the alignment a lot easier.
Have fun!
~Richard