Thread: honing old wedge blade without making a large edge

This topic is timely for me as I just watched a Charlie Lewis video on honing a smiling edge and a gssixgun video on the same. Weirdly, CL lifts the spine at the end of a rolling X and gssixgun does not lift the spine. CL effectively freehands the blade while he is coming off the hone.
The confusion here seems to be a geometry challenged razor vs a smiling edge???

As a novice but enthusiastic honist, a smile on a razor with a straight spine seems to be a different animal from a smile on a razor with a curved spine. It makes sense that the former will not sit flat on the hone and the latter, where the bevel mimics the curve of the spine, will sit flat on the hone (both razors without geometry problems). Not sure if this will help the OP. I'm trying to work this out for my own honing adventures really.

Originally Posted by WW243

It makes sense that the former will not sit flat on the hone and the latter, where the bevel mimics the curve of the spine, will sit flat on the hone (both razors without geometry problems).

No.... A smiling edge can never lie flat on a flat hone regardless of spine shape. Two intersecting planes result in a straight line. Euclid ca 300 BC.

Originally Posted by bluesman7

No.... A smiling edge can never lie flat on a flat hone regardless of spine shape. Two intersecting planes result in a straight line. Euclid ca 300 BC.

Gotcha, but the spine and the edge will always be in contact because the spine at some point is only partially on the hone. So a smiling edge lays flat on the hone, just not all at once. Right?

Originally Posted by WW243

So a smiling edge lays flat on the hone, just not all at once. Right?

Not sure that I follow you, but IMO a smiling edge is actually superior to a straight edge as every part of the edge is honed in its own time as the razor passes down the hone.

Originally Posted by bluesman7

Not sure that I follow you, but IMO a smiling edge is actually superior to a straight edge as every part of the edge is honed in its own time as the razor passes down the hone.

That's funny we were just talking about this yesterday haha

Originally Posted by WW243

Gotcha, but the spine and the edge will always be in contact because the spine at some point is only partially on the hone. So a smiling edge lays flat on the hone, just not all at once. Right?

I think that's exactly right WW. I have a Saito Japanese razor- the one that has an extreme curve - so it would be very easy to hone a 'flat' into the bevel if you did not use a rolling stroke. However, in order to keep the bevel even, the spine and edge have to both be touching the hone during the rolling action.

Originally Posted by WW243

CL lifts the spine at the end of a rolling X and gssixgun does not lift the spine. CL effectively freehands the blade while he is coming off the hone.
The confusion here seems to be a geometry challenged razor vs a smiling edge???

i saw the same video and i thought he lift up the spine :/