Thread: Improper bevel development

You're doing all the right things but coming up with unexpected results. The only thing I would recommend you do at this point is to hone with the coticule and then use a natural, untreated leather strop. Stropping is different from honing and when I have used strops with treatments, they act more like hones. It's quite possible you're degrading the edge at the strop stage.

I'm glad you're looking at the edge with a microscope but have two questions. Are you looking at both sides of the blade and are you looking out to the toe of the blade. I find more problems out at the toe end than I have with the heel. The toe is where I shave that hollow between my throat and neck and that has to be sharp indeed! Many new razors I've sharpened have been dull there.

I agree with Heavy that the length of bevel is not as important as the way the razor shaves but an uneven sine wave bevel is indicative of something! It indicates uneven pressure on the edge of the blade which could be a result of where you're placing you're fingers on the razor when you hone.

Lastly, blades vary by steel and heat treatment. Try some other razors and see if your results are repeatable. If not, you know the problem.

Howard

Ok just an update for everyone. I was called away on an emergency business trip so had to put my honing skills on hold for a little bit.

Last night I spent about 20 minutes on the yellow coticule then did about 15 laps on the chromium oxide bench strop. I made sure to use super light pressure this time.

I don't know if the light pressure was the change factor(since I haven't honed in a bit) or if it just finally clicked. The razor felt a lot sharper and passed the HHT barely on the toe. I decided to strop and shave with it this morning comparing it to my Bob Keyes razor.

This was the first shave I have had with my own honing that did NOT feel like I was shaving with velcro. It wasn't a great shave, but it was definitely passable.

Tomorrow I am going to start with another Wapienica from scratch and see how I end up. This one worked out pretty well...but it took a lot of tries to get it there.

My edge looks perfect under the microscope now. There is very little variation and it is smooth with no chips.

Thanks for your help heavyduty and Howard.

Thanks!
Chad

Congratulations on your first shave with a razor that you honed yourself! I was worried that you had become frusterated and given up. I am also glad that you found that light pressure is one of the keys to achieving a sharp edge, because this allows the very tip of the edge to contact the hone as opposed to bending over with pressure. I try to only use the minimum amount of pressure to keep the razor perfectly flat on the hone throughout the stroke which I would estimate is less than a pound. The weight of the razor is enough in many cases.

In my experience it only gets better from here on out. For some reason the first razor puts up a big fight, then it is much easier after that; maybe because of your increased confidence and/or better technique. If you are starting a new Wipienica I would recommend doing a 10-10 pyramid on the Norton, followed by 10-20 passes on the wet coticule, followed by 10-20 passes on the chromium oxide with your light touch. After you strop the razor you should be pretty close. Let us know how it goes.