Thread: honing question

I recently picked up a dd special number 1,that is rather large compared to my other,7/8 and has a thicker spine and tang than my others. Any how my question is,when i received it had a pretty big frown,so i breadknifed until flat. The spine wear seems to be pretty even,but i am having troubles getting the belly of the blade to get sharp.I am using two layers of tape until the bevel has no shiny spots when looking down at the edge.Toe and heel are there,but the middle still has a flat on the edge. I am using 45 heel foward,circles and back and forth honing.Any tips on how to get the middle.Thanks

The simple answer is keep honing. It may look like the frown is out but there is a good chance its still the albeit small.

thank you,but i am sure the frown is gone,it actually has a smile now,that is what i dont understand. I have checked it on a flat surface to make sure that the frown was gone.

There may also be differences in the thickness of the edge since breadknifing. If that's the case you will have to wear the heal and toe down until you are making good contact all along the edge.

thank you,so you are saying just to keep honing?

Originally Posted by dock13

thank you,so you are saying just to keep honing?

Did you try bread knifing at angles (like 45 & 30 degrees) to assist with setting the bevel easier?

Is the spine flat? Usually what you describe I find is a warped spine. X strokes and small circles on all aspects of the edge iscwhat helps.

The question you have to answer as you are honing the blade, "What caused the original frown" you have to decide if it was the ineptitude of the honer or is there a geometry issue with the razor...

How is the wear on the back edge compared to the front?

What grit stone are you bevel setting on?

Hard to tell from the photo, but looks like there are some scratch marks on the stabilizer, perhaps the stabilizer is keeping the edge off the hone.

Also the bevel and spine look like they taper. Bevel wider at toe, spine wider at heel… perhaps a geometry issue as said.

Check spine and edge for straightness.

Nice looking razor.