Thread: Dear Mr Honemeisters

Originally Posted by Mephisto

I should add that is is an older extra hollow razor that has already seen a fair amount of use over the years. The spine is fairly worn and flat. Not extremely worn out but it was well loved by the original owner.

This is also a Joseph Allen IXL, so I guess fairly soft steel

This is probably the problem, if the spine is worn thin the angle will be off and the edge/bevel will be to thin to support the structure of the steel. You may be able to get past this by honing the blade for a while at a lower grit, be sure to use tape so you dont lose any more spine. This will help to correct the geometry if possible.

BTW running an edge across a thumbnail will only dull what edge you have.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

BTW running an edge across a thumbnail will only dull what edge you have.

Absolutely.
I only suggested he do that to ascertain what he was dealing with as there were no pics to diagnose.
I figured he had some more honing ahead of him anyway.

Throwing your hone at the wall doesn't help. Hone it out using no weight, an x pattern, and patience. Don't let the razor "land" on the hone during the flip. It must touch down gently.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

Throwing your hone at the wall doesn't help.

IDK, it sometimes seems like it would help for some reason.