Thread: Missing the toe on return stroke.

Evening all. I'm not making contact at the toe of the razor on the return stroke. This is what the marker test is telling me. Any clues, tips or suggestions would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

Could you post some pics of the razor? It could be a number of things, but with pics it might be easier to give a good answer.

Off the top of my head, some possibilities include:

Uneven spine wear (is it a new or vintage blade?)

Wonky (i.e. not straight) spine

Uneven pressure having been applied either by you or previous owner/honer, hence new vs vintage question above.

Are you sure your hone if FLAT? Not just flat, but FLAT!

I'm sure others will chime in soon with other suggestions, but after a long, long day today, that's all I can think of at the moment.

He forgot warped edge. I think. You can put it against a straight edge and check for that. Draw lines on your hone in both directions half inch apart and lap to check for that. uneven spine wear hmmmmmmm.......

hold your razor flat on a piece of paper on a flat surface and shine a light from behind. check for light coming through at the toe

Most new honers keep their elbow at their side as they complete strokes. It is easier to maintain the blade evenly on the stone if the honer raises his elbow at least as high as the top of the stone surface. At first this seems uncomfortable, but it quickly becomes a valuable habit and it eliminates the issues with which you are concerned.

What these guys said above...including a rolling x

Here's my victim. Heavier spine and edge wear at the heel. Stone is flat, spine wasn't like this when I started. Pretty sure it's all me.

Is there a way to correct this?

Another question, I know I can use the rolling x stroke to get all of the edge. Once I use that on this razor, do I always have to use that stroke throughout the honing process?

Ideally, should you just be able to lay a razor flat on the stone and cover the entire edge?

Thanks for all your help.

I'm left handed by the way so this is the side that gets the return stroke.

It looks like you are using a little more pressure on the heel section of the razor when honing, and from your pic, it only seems to happen on the return stroke.
As Ace said it can be a great help to raise your left elbow a little higher than the surface of the hone.
Try to keep the same amount of pressure through the entire stroke on the hone, it does take some time to learn this.
This helps to keep the razor flat on the hone.
A rolling X stroke is a good stroke to learn when honing, not sure if you would have to use it throughout the honing process,
Perhaps concentrate on fixing your basic honing stroke for now, and once you are comfortable with that, learning new methods and strokes will be easier.
I would like to see what other more experienced members have too add here, they will have some great tips as well

Was this razor shave-ready before you started out? If not, the bevel might have issues and you'll have to take a step back.

One other thing to keep an eye on is the undercutting of water on your hone. Once you get the razor to undercut the water along the entire edge - not necessarily at the same time, but in the same stroke - you know it is at least making contact.

Maybe,,,,,if you add a finger to the spine in both directions this will help you. If nothing else you may be able to feel when you are raising the toe in your stroke. I would stick to one stroke and perfect it before getting on to adding more. I would also say that that is the reason I use tape on the spine. Now you have 2 things to fix. A magnifier would help you see what is happening before it gets this far. From my limited experience I would say you are now stuck with that bevel until you fix the spine. It may be time to send this out to a pro and find a cheaper victim to play with ? I applaud the fact that you went for it and would not say your wrong for trying to fix it yourself. It's your razor. But I would say your going to have to over compensate to bring it back straight and watch carefully as you go to make sure you are not making it worse. In other words you have to hone the rest of it to match the most worn spot.

Or if you can shave with it leave it as a lesson you will see every time you shave.