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Possibly a really dumb question, but have you checked them for frowns? 50% of the razors I find in the wild have them and make honing nearly impossible until they are removed.
Pressure is hard to judge until you hone for awhile, you can use a fair amount during the bevel setting part of honing unless it's an extra-hollow grind. By the time you get to the finisher it should be weight of the blade only or possibly less on an extra-hollow due to flexing.
Yes - I checked by putting the blade essentially vertically (ie like a breadknifing position) on the hone and checking to see if light shines through from the other side.Quote:
Originally Posted by rodb
I have a W&B with a smile. It sits perfectly flat on the hone. And it has a small uniform bevel. The spine is hollow and possibly that makes a difference?Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesman7
I'd love to see a picture of that blade - I'm not doubting, I'd just love to see how it looks like.Quote:
Originally Posted by WW243
Same here, I've honed probably 50 razors with big smiles and none of them sat flat on the hone. The tip and heel were off and I used a rolling x-stroke to get the whole blade
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Originally Posted by WhoAmI
It's not really a bag of worms. It is simple geometry. If the spine is of uniform thickness/width, a razor with a smile will not sit flat on a flat hone. The geometry does not allow it. That's not a problem, though, as all curved blades need a rolling-x hone technique for best results and it is a very effective and efficient technique.Quote:
Originally Posted by WhoAmI
Sure, but the way I see it: I can't consistently hone a plain ol' hollow razor consistently. If I throw on a completely different class of problems (rolling Xs, wedges, thinking about giant smiles, etc), I'll completely overwhelm myself.Quote:
Originally Posted by PapaBull
I consider the rolling x pattern to be standard honing. It wasn't until I got to see a honing seminar with a bunch of folks gingerly trying to pass a razor across a razor setting on a bench that I realized why some people would find it challenging. It is, in my opinion, a two- hand job because it's way easiest with hone in one hand and razor in the other. For people that are honing-challenged, a straight blade fitting perfectly flat on a hone is a good idea for ease of maintenance. For those a bit handier with hones, it isn't a problem either way.Quote:
Originally Posted by WhoAmI
Actually the smile will not lie flat on both sides regardless of the spine shape. Two planes intersect as a straight line, as was known prior to Euclid ca 300BC. I say both sides because a warped smile may lie flat on the show side for example, but then it would be even farther from flat when flipped over.Quote:
Originally Posted by PapaBull
The only way a curved edge can lie flat would be to have a spine thickness of zero in which case the two planes are parallel and do not intersect.
Good point. I was only envisioning one side when I posted that. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by bluesman7