Thread: Shoulder question.

I am trying to restore and hone this razor and have run into an issue. The Shoulder and squared edge of the tang are getting in the way of progress. What do I use to trim this shoulder? Where do I actually trim it to? Hope this pic helps. Thanks

I hate shoulders.

You can avoid it by honing only the blade part, but you have to be careful or the shoulder can ride up on the hone and change the angle of the bevel, and it will eventually stick down below the edge (which I find unsightly).

Or grind it down, but that will come with significant spine wear and wider bevel, and you may need additional low grit stones.

If you tape your spine start the tape very slightly ahead of the shoulder and try honing heel forward at an angle. Without tape try heel forward honing.

You will likely wind up with a hook at the heel so the heel will need reshaping. Here is a good post on the subject of reshaping the heel http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...ing-heels.html .

Bob

Looks like 2 problems, 1. The razor is held too far on the stone so the tang is in contact higher than the spine and 2. The shoulder over the heel has been ground excessively creating a very shallow angle.

Tape the bevel to create a steeper angle, I would begin with one layer of tap, ink the bevel, stabilizer and tang and do one lap, see if you reach the bevel on the heel and where you are making contact.

If not reaching the bevel, tape just the worn part of the heel with a small piece of tape, then another layer on the full spine, ink and re test. Keep adding tape until you reach the bevel at the heel.

If the shoulder is making contact, keeping the heel off the stone, lightly grind the shoulder near the blade, (the large circle in photo 1) with a Dremel and fine sanding drum or hand held Diamond file, I prefer the EZ lap diamond file. You do not need to remove much and may not need to at all if you can raise the spine enough with tape.

Another example of how tape can prevent problems with novice honers.

Gave it a try, still need to clean up.

Hone it heel leading with the shoulder off the hone. You may still have to grind the heel slightly to eliminate the hook if it shows.

Congratulations! You are now qualified to take on the Gold Dollar...

The tang should not be any kind of problem while honing. If it is your honing upside down :<0) The shoulder needs to be raised by grinding it thinner from the edge up. Just enough to get that thickness out of the way of the hone. If not your going to have a bevel that goes 3 times higher on that shoulder which will require some special honing technique. Easier to raise (by thinning) the shoulder. Small very fine wheel on a Dremmel is what I use.

Looks good, you don’t have to go, that deep on the stabilizer grind. The trick is to make it look like it came that way from the factory.

I paint the stabilizer red with a sharpie, red it is easy to see. Then tape the spine and put the razor on a high grit stone, do a couple of laps to see exactly where it is hitting.

With a fine grit sanding drum or a Diamond file remove just the marks where it hit. Re-ink and do it again until you have clearance and are cutting a bevel, then remove a bit more and blend in the grind, usually the part closest to the edge is all that needs relief.

With some 400, 600 and 1K W&D smooth, blend and polish the cut.

With a Diamond file or Diamond Plate, round out the heel to a graceful radius. The heel is thin and will shape quickly.

When you re-set the bevel, tape the spine and make sure the heel comes together.

A piece of Duct Tape will protect the blade if the tool slips, as they have a tendency to do.

Take your time, you do not have to remove too much steel and you can never put it back on.