Thread: Different bevel width

Just honed a razor and noticed that towards the toe the bevel is a different width on each side when you look at it blade edge to spine. The Blade passes both the TNT and cuts arm hair both all along the length. I made sure that each side was honed the same number of circles and X strokes. If it's wrong can you correct it by doing more honing on the thin bevel side to bring it to a uniform width on both sides? I know a bevel can be a different width along the length of the blade but being different on each side somehow looks wrong to me.

Different bevel widths on each side is generally not a big issue in terms of shaving, so long as you can make both sides meet. And as you say it passes your pre-shave edge tests, it sounds like that's the case, though of course shaving will be the true measure.

Unequal bevel widths can be a reflection of a couple of things, but generally it is a razor geometry issue. Sometimes the grind is not perfectly symmetric. Sometimes there's more hone wear on one side than the other, or on one part of the blade than another. Whether that issue is a problem or not really just boils down to whether it is honeable or not.

If it really, really bothers you (and if it shaves well, I'd humbly suggest it shouldn't bother you) you can get both sides of the bevel "even" by wearing down the spine on the narrow bevel side on the hone. But that's a fairly drastic step that I'd only consider if the geometry was really bad.

As you say, a lot of razors have unequal bevel widths and it's generally not a problem apart from aesthetics.

James.

You are talking a western razor and not a kamisori right?

Just joking.

Like he said it's no big deal if it shaves well. Don't mess with it.