Thread: fix uneven edge

Hi Folks,
i am practicing honing with a norton 4k/8k and a gold dollar 208 razor with a factory edge. i removed the shoulders (very poorly - i kinda botched it) using a dremel tool and set the bevel with some circular strokes on a norton 1k, did some more circle method on the 4k then proceeded with an x stroke pyramid on the 4k/8k. the spine of the razor is not perfectly flat - with on side touching the hone at the heal and the toe and the other side touching the hone in the middle (a smile or fawn depending on how your view the razor). anyways, i managed to set what i think is a decent bevel. after the 8k stone, i used a canvas pasted with issard paste (supposed to be ~10 or 12k). Overall, i am satisfied with the razor 80% of the razor's edge. the edge is very sharp from the toe to 3/4 of the way down to the heel. it passes the HHT and shave really well managed to get a very clean shave on both my beard and my head. the heel though is not as sharp as the rest of the blade. it shaves ok (i try to avoid it) and does not pass the HHT with ease.
any recommendations on how to make the edge more consistent.

thanks!

Rolling X strokes my friend.

And tape before you grind the spine to a wedge.

That heel can be made to look better with some 400 grit W&D, to blend it to the spine and a Diamond file or plate to round it back out, so it will shave.

i did attempt rolling x strokes but found that it dulled rather than improved the edge… but it could be my technique. are there any other strokes that can target the heel that are a little easier to perform ?
thanks

Try a heel leading stroke and try to use a bit more pressure on the heel which will feel like the toe is touching the stone lightly or not at all.
Some stones. like the Naniwa 12K, seem to swell making the center slightly high after being wet for quite awhile.
Good luck with your efforts.

It looks like you are still hitting the stabilizer in the 1st photo, look at the wear mark where the shoulder leaves the tang.

Ink the stabilizer and the bevel and put it on your highest grit stone to see where it is making contact, then remove just enough of the stabilizer where it is removing ink only, to get all of the heel bevel on the stone. Use a fine sanding drum at slow speed, not a burr or small stone, they are too hard to control for this procedure.

You are also, using way too much pressure while honing, which is why the spine is ground uneven at the toe and heel and as a result the bevel is uneven. Pressure will cause chipping when finishing.

The pyramid is not for bevel setting. The bevel is not set because the bevel is not completely on the stone, and because of excessive spine wear. Tape will correct the spine wear, but first you have to get the bevel on the stone by correcting the high stabilizer.

If it is not working, (reaching the edge of the bevel), more pressure is never the answer. Find out why you are not reaching the edge and correct that. All you are doing is grinding the spine and causing more problems. Doing more of the same thing and expecting a different result is…Not working!

Tape the bevel with 2 layers of tape, to correct the excessive spine grinding, which is keeping the edge of bevel off the stone.

Use an X stroke to set the bevel with your lowest grit stone.

thanks... will try 2 layers of tape, x strokes (and perhaps heel leading x strokes)... should i try this on my norton 220 or norton 1k ?

thanks all!

Make sure the stabilizer is not hitting or the heel will not be on the stone.