Thread: "Sharpness" - is it a bevel issue?

Originally Posted by Srdjan

I should say one thing, cos he doesn't really mention it and it's extremely important. This "warp test" holds true only for truly straight razors. Razors with a smile cannot be evaluated this way. If you try that with a smiley, it would not end very well

Sure, Bob, you are absolutely correct. I also feel it is easy to adjust my strokes on the hone to save some wear on the spine. There are pros and cons to both approaches, just depends what's important to each individual.

I find it's important for a new honer to understand the geometry properly and probably learn on a correct blade, before trying funky things on problematic blades. There's no harm in trying of course, I also learned "backwards". I did make sure I didn't use anything valuable in my trial and error days.

You can have smiling blades with a warp/twist to them too, got a few myself. They too can be honed with the proper stroke once you recognize the condition and that the blade is a smiler.

Yes, it would be best to learn on a true/straight blade before tackling one with problems, that is a given.

Bob