Help with my Joseph Rodgers wedge.

Hi,
I'm new to honing (and the forum) and have been trying to do my razor with a few kinks along the way. Firstly it was sent away to be honed professionally so it shouldn't be too bad off. I have been shaving with it for close to 8 months or so and using diamond paste. I'm thinking that I may have rounded off the edge a bit.
The trouble is that I have not been able to get the hone to contact spots on the toe and heel of the razor. I put 2 layers of tape in trying and have been using 45degree x strokes, as well as rolling x. All of which are used with the spine in contact with the stones. After putting marker on the edge, it's evident that the bevel that was set is not working for me. I am worried about getting a thicker bevel then needed as well as loosing metal on the heel.
You may notice that the heel has a bit of honewear from me lifting the spine a bit. I did this in trying to figure the bevel out but realized that it's not what's needed.
I have done a bunch of reading and watched some videos, however I'm a bit uneasy as to how to proceed next.
I hope I'm just over reacting here and just need to put more time in getting the bevel set.
Thanks!
Seumas

check gssixgun's videos on honing a smiling blade. I have no idea what you are honing on but the hones are covered in glen's videos too. I would suggest picking one persons videos and sticking with that until you get a few under your belt and some idea of what is going on. Too many opinions is just too confusing for me. The other thought is it may be cheaper just to send it out. I know a guy in Edmonton that can fix you up. PM me if you are interested in that.

RezDog's comments are spot on.

One thing you don't want to do is hone your smiling blade into a "straight" - as in loose that smile...

3 layers of tape. Swoop long and hard. Swoop!;) It will shave great! Hopefully!

I can feel your greif but it is all in technique you will find
I have found Glens vids (I think it was his) with the heel leading Rolling X stroke works for me for the smilings blades & it took me a lot longer to learn to get these even close compared to straight edges as I have a few smiling blades to contend with.
I started with 2 layers of tape also trying to figure it oput but now have dropped back to my standard 1 layer with all blades

practice & patience is all you need, I know & had walk away a few times when learning the Rolling X stroke

Hey guys,
Thanks for the advice.
Rezdog. I have watched a few of his video's including the one you mention as I'm pretty committed to learning, I am just a little bit nervous about taking more material off then needed. The hones I have are the norton 4-8k and atoma 1200 for lapping and serious metal removal. As well as a finishing stone (which I have not gotten to yet). I have been watching your posts on the rockhounding thread, really cool stuff!

And thanks to you other guys for your replies as well. I will try the extra tape and continue with the "shoop!"

It takes a really long time to cut a bevel on a 4K and I am not a big fan of using diamond plates for bevel setting. All in good time.

Not the razor I would suggest using as your first hone experience, just sayin.

when i hone with tape i say to people its a good idea to note how many layers were used (i try to use no more than 1 layer personally) so if the person you had hone it keeps a record or if they mentioned to you how many they used that's a good start. if they used 3 layers to keep the bevel smallish then you will hone quite a bit on that wedge with 2 layers before you set the bevel again. if the edge is rolled then you would have to be resigned to either ending up with a wider bevel (not the end of the world), using more tape than expected (not the end of the world but a pain to have to layer it up each time rehoning comes around, not to mention having to remember how many layers each time!) or having the blade lightly reground by a professional ( not the end of the world unless the blade has an etch that you just have to save)
just a few thoughts

also- i just noticed that you ran the tape up onto the tang, try stopping the tape shy of the tang, sometimes that transition raises the heel off the hone, especially with multiple layers applied. then isolate pressure at the heel without lifting the spine and you should be able to bring the bevel all way down in short order.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by silverloaf

also- i just noticed that you ran the tape up onto the tang, try stopping the tape shy of the tang, sometimes that transition raises the heel off the hone, especially with multiple layers applied. then isolate pressure at the heel without lifting the spine and you should be able to bring the bevel all way down in short order.

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TRUE! I wish Morgan had pointed that out to me a few years ago! :rofl2:
If I am going with 3 layer on old blades, I like to wear in the second good. Then change only the 3rd layer from there on in.

I trimmed the tape on the tang part of the razor and added the extra layer of tape and it seemed to help. The toe is fully sharpened although there is a small section heel that is not there yet on one side the bevel. I was thinking of taking some calipers to the spine to see if there was something wonky going on. however I am not to grind too much more for the being.

This time around I was able to shave comfortably! Last time around I thought i could get by enough to get one shave in but had to stop because the intense pain. My first shave from my own honing. I feel like a new man.

Thanks to those of you that helped me with this. I will try to get some pictures tomorrow.

Great! ;) Morgan's tip on the tape may have been late enough in your honing for delayed action at the heel for a lot of the honing process, If it is great with exception of the heel, it may be beneficial to tape-up and rehone with some emphasis on the heel if it seems to matter.

We tend to place emphasis on same strokes, both sides. As you get to beasts like this, do what it takes. If no bevel here or there on one side, press down and make it happen. Gotta even things out somewhat! :D

Hi guys,
I have a few pictures here. My rodgers in all it's glory! You can see the spot on the heel that still needs some TLC but I'm going to slowly work on it.
I know it would be easier to learn on something a bit more hollow but I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable with it. I just love the weight of it and the shape. I started to get stressed when the strop wasn't keeping it sharp. I just turned 30 and took all my birthday money and put it into hones! I'm really looking forward to working with the finishing stone I got from alex.
I know I haven't been posting much here but I have been doing a LOT of lurking and watching videos etc.
Anyhow, thanks for helping me through this one I really appreciate it.
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lurking can be a very good form of learning. Some call it quietly studying.