Thread: Uneven Bevel

Thanks all for the replies and advice. It really needs a refreshing and so I was just looking for some input on the uneven bevel. I think I will just do a refresh and possibly a little more aggressive on the "short" side. I'd just as soon have the bevel even but if there is no real effect from that than I'm not going to worry too much. As this razor does not hold the edge as long as my others, I thought perhaps the short bevel may have contributed to that.

Thanks all.

I'm with Ron here, if it shaves fine there probably is no problem with the edge geometry as such. Touch it up like you would normally (very light pressure) and check your stropping. Stropping is most likely the problem if your edge doesn't last as long as it should. The steel is probably the same steel as your Aust, so it's probably not that.

Don't think it's the stropping as I can keep the edge very good on my Aust and TI for a long time, this one, not so much.

Just did my normal refresh on the Naniwa Super Stine 12000. No attention to the uneven bevel. Just a limited amount of no pressure laps until it felt good gliding on the stone. Then 50 laps on linen and 120 on leather. Will shave with it and then take it from there.

If it seems good, I'll leave it alone. If not, I'll drop down to the 8000 and try again.

I do not use tape and don't think SRD does either when they did the initial honing.

Quite frankly, I am surprised to hear this came from the SRD with an uneven bevel. Have you tried to contact them and ask why they left it this way? Perhaps they didnt see any issues with it, but according to this, there ARE issues.. just think if you seek their advice, you might get a better response, maybe even with instructions on what to do.

What I'd do if this bothered me is, I would probably drop to mid range and try to even it out. Maybe even to 1K.... this is the advice you pretty much got already, so just confirming Good luck!

Just finished my shave, 4-passes (my normal) and BBS. Felt just a little harsher and a couple spots XTG did not seem to run as easy as normal. Did another 40 laps on linen (premium fabric, actually) and 100 on the leather.

Will use it again tomorrow after another 80 or 100 on leather and then I'll re-evaluate.

Thanks all.

How the bevel looks is not an “issue”, if it takes and holds an edge. Most of the new Dovo’s and TI’s, I have honed, do not have perfectly even bevels, it’s just the way they are made now. It is not the job of a honer to perfect bad grinding or heat treatment warp, just hone it. When you take your car in for a tune up, you do not expect them to blueprint the motor…

For most, it will never be an issue, and only, us obsessives that see it as a problem that may or may not be corrected without altering (grinding) the spine. So first, do no harm, and progress slowly. A new razor with a factory bevel is or should be flat and even and only need a slight adjustment, on a high grit stone to correct the bevel angle, as they are not honed with the spine on the hone.

If it was honed properly, which this one has been, it really should need very little, the bevels should be flat and at the proper angle. Ink on the bevel should quickly tell you that. What you are doing is not a simple honing, as you are attempting to correct an issue and put an edge on it. It is not a regular honing and should not be approached as such. Use all the tools available to you, to make the repair or at least find the source of the problem.

Pressure is always an issue for new honers, and not using enough is as much a problem as too much, especially if you are doing correction work.

Before you drop down to the 8K look at the edge, with at least 60x lighted magnification. Make sure you are honing all the way to the edge and the full height of the bevel,(use Ink).

If it does not shave well, you have to determine if the problem is the razor, the stones or the honing process. High magnification will tell you.

When you are new to honing always tape a spine, especially a decorated or gold wash spine, because being new, (and obsessive) you will do more laps and generally use too much pressure and needlessly grind the spine. A single layer of tape will preserve the spine, once you have mastered honing… then decide if you want to continue to tape, when you can achieve the same edge with fewer strokes.