Thread: Honing a non-symmetrical blade

Decided to sharpen & (attempt) to shave with my fathers old razor. This is an old carbon steel razor... maker is John (something illegible) from Sheffield (most of engraving worn off).

I have two issues
1 - I have never honed a razor before, but lots of info on the site here for newbies, so prepared to experiment
2 - The blade is not symmetrical - i.e. appears to be only hollowed on one side, with the other side pretty much flat

So..... what do I need to do differently from a standard honing method for this sort of blade ?


Thx - Jim

By the looks of things it is a microtome and not a razor.
A microtome is a vintage tool for cutting very thin slices of tissue etc. for examination under a microscope.
Apparently it is possible to hone them up and shave with them - I've never tried it though.
There is a thread on it, I believe.

Looks microtomeish to me too. Here's a thread that may help:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...ning-help.html