Thread: Creating a smile

I'd like to give some of my blades a nice smiling profile, as my one smiling blade is also my best shaver.

What's the easiest way to do this quickly? The barber textbook "do a few extra strokes on the toe and heel" approach would take years, I imagine.

Thanks,
Josh

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

The barber textbook "do a few extra strokes on the toe and heel" approach would take years, I imagine.

not on sandpaper. Wrap a bit of electrical tape around the center of the blade and along the spine to protect them, and hone away for a few minutes. I did the opposite once on a blade that had too much of a smile and it only took a few minutes on the sandpaper to reduce the degree of smile.

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

I'd like to give some of my blades a nice smiling profile, as my one smiling blade is also my best shaver.

What's the easiest way to do this quickly? The barber textbook "do a few extra strokes on the toe and heel" approach would take years, I imagine.

Thanks,
Josh

A flat edge should shave just fine. A convex ("smile") edge is certainly prefered to a concave ("frown") edge, and the barber manual is instructing students on how to avoid that "frown." I think the idea was that it should take years before a visibly noticeable convex edge developed. Maybe sooner for a busy barber.

I wouldn't rush things to remove excess material from a razor just to achieve that "smile" now, especially on a decent razor. With patience it will develop on it's own.


Scott

I've reshaped blades by taping the spine and dragging the blade over the edge of the hon in decreasingly long strokes. So from heel to almost the middle, then from heel to half way up to the middle, and also a very short stroke from heel to just past the heel. That's three strokes in unison. Do that about 20-50 times on a very coarse hone and then smooth out the differences by making some circles on the flat top. Do the same to the tip. I'd say less is more. You can always go for another round in six months if you really feel you need more, but a gentle smile is really all that's best for a razor with a flat spine anyhow.

X

These are the three best answers that could have been written. I would follow honedright's answer as a rule. There is a 3rd method of creating the "smile" but you would need a specially shaped hone for that.

Scott,

I followed your advice and took the razor to my bench grinder...

Thanks, guys. I think I want to try putting a smile on one or two of my blades just to see how it affects things. I'll go easy.

Josh