Thread: Heel and toe of razor gets sharp, but not the middle.

Ok guys, I've got an issue and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'm currently honing an old German made straight razor. I can get the heel and the toe nice and sharp, but the middle inch or so of the blade never seems to get quite sharp enough to shave with. I've read all the posts, and watched hours of youtube videos and this problem never seems to get mentioned. I'm using a norton 4k/8k and a Chinese 12k to finish. I operate a knife sharpening business and I use micron film belts for that, but didn't think it would be wise for a razor due to heat and rounding the edge. I was wondering if anyone out there could give me a tip or pointer.

Does the razor have a slight frown?

Bob

Welcome aboard,,,
Since you didn't post a pic,,,, look at this thread & see if your razor has any of these obvious problems,,,, if your razor has a slight "frown" then the edge may not be making contact with the stone as it should.

Purchasing straight razors - Straight Razor Place Library

Category:Honing - Straight Razor Place Library

I should note that it is a hollow blade. I have actually used the micron film belts for several wedges and gotten them to pass the HHT. I just keep the belts wet to reduce heat and use almost no pressure. I don't use the belts for hollow blades though. I just can't seem to get a nice even edge on my stones for several of my razors so I know it is my technique since it is always the same problem. Heel and toe are ready to shave and the center inch is dull.

Thanks. The blade doesn't have a frown. When I bought it, it had a 1/64" chip in it so I bread knifed it out on a sheet of 1k sandpaper on a sheet of glass. If I put the blade on a pane of glass and shine a light behind it I can't see any light coming under the blade so I'm fairly sure that it is flat.

Post a photo of the razor, close up of the spine and edge. It is either the razor or your technique.

A photo may help us eliminate the razor.

Usually with knife honers it is a pressure issue. It is not that we do not use pressure, as most folks think, it is when and how to use it.

With a hollow ground you can easily flex the blade.

Help us, help you,,,post some good pics of the razor & maybe we will see something that you don't see,,,,

here are a few pics. ( I made the scales, they are kinda chunky) I can probably take a pic through my jeweler's loupe if you need a closer image

just by those pics,,, look at the edge in photo # 2 & I see the bevel higher in the area that you are concerned with,,,this could mean a problem at your spine.

That kind of threw me for a loop too. I'm just not sure how to over come the issue. I am ensuring that the blade is making level contact with the stones on each pass by watching the water displacement. I've also tried applying slight extra pressure to that spot which is dull by using the index finger on my left hand to slightly push down on that area while honing. I'm wondering if since I am doing X-strokes if the middle of the blade is somehow scraping the corner of the stone and making it dull. I sort of rounded the edge of my 4k with another whetstone to see if that helped to relieve the issue.