Thread: Hone of the Day

Two oldies in today five in tomorrow, no honing Sunday the weather looks to be good for a nice 8 or 10 miler into the Brecon Beacons with the Mrs and my Bedlington Terriers.

A further 5 arrived this morning I'll start on them after lunch, they all look like a pretty decent bunch can't see there being any problems.

What do you need electrical tape for?

Originally Posted by Johntoad57

What do you need electrical tape for?

To protect a gold washed spine or to slightly alter the bevel angle.

Originally Posted by Benz

To protect a gold washed spine or to slightly alter the bevel angle.

Okay I see. You just cover up the writing with tape so I doesn't come off. Why would you want to change the angle of the bevel? I don't know about those things yet...

Okay, went to the library and read about this. I never knew. Glad I saw the pictures and asked questions. Getting a little smarter everyday!!!

Watch your defense

Some like to shield the spine from the hone, by adding a layer of tape. In general, electrical insulation tape works best for this. As explained above, the application of tape also alters the honing angle, so you need to keep record of it. Once a razor is honed with tape, it needs to be rehoned with tape, or it’s bevel needs to be reset. If a razor asks for heavy bevel work, and you plan on using some extra pressure to speed up the process, it’s best to add two layers of extra tape. Hence 3 layers if you planned on honing with 1 layer of tape and 2 layers if you planned to hone without tape. This will counteract the widening of the bevel sides, that occurs when you flex the blade a bit by pushing it down on the hones. As soon as you decide to back off on the pressure, the tape can be removed, at which point you’d have some extra work to set the correct angle. This is only recommended if you need to rebuild a large part of the bevel. Normally it is better to stick with the regular low, lower and lowest pressure.

The best way to explain it, is to watch gssixgun's honing videos on youtube. I recently honed two Double Ducks for my cousin that were mint and had no hone wear. His request was to tape the spines to preserve them and show no hone wear. I did as he asked. Anyway watch gssixgun's videos, they are VERY informative.

Originally Posted by Johntoad57

Okay, went to the library and read about this. I never knew. Glad I saw the pictures and asked questions. Getting a little smarter everyday!!!

Watch your defense

Some like to shield the spine from the hone, by adding a layer of tape. In general, electrical insulation tape works best for this. As explained above, the application of tape also alters the honing angle, so you need to keep record of it. Once a razor is honed with tape, it needs to be rehoned with tape, or it’s bevel needs to be reset. If a razor asks for heavy bevel work, and you plan on using some extra pressure to speed up the process, it’s best to add two layers of extra tape. Hence 3 layers if you planned on honing with 1 layer of tape and 2 layers if you planned to hone without tape. This will counteract the widening of the bevel sides, that occurs when you flex the blade a bit by pushing it down on the hones. As soon as you decide to back off on the pressure, the tape can be removed, at which point you’d have some extra work to set the correct angle. This is only recommended if you need to rebuild a large part of the bevel. Normally it is better to stick with the regular low, lower and lowest pressure.

If all else fails read the instructions.....

Great video by gssixgun on honing with tape or without tape. 1K with tape and 5K w/o tape. Just so I'm clear - If you hone your razors with tape and it's time to refresh, you must continue to use tape or you will have to reset the bevel if you don't use tape? I think that's what I heard him say. My confidence level on honing is still developing...

Originally Posted by Johntoad57

Great video by gssixgun on honing with tape or without tape. 1K with tape and 5K w/o tape. Just so I'm clear - If you hone your razors with tape and it's time to refresh, you must continue to use tape or you will have to reset the bevel if you don't use tape? I think that's what I heard him say. My confidence level on honing is still developing...

Yep, if my cousin wants to refresh those Ducks on the hones he will have to use the same tape I did or else he will have to start all over from scratch with a bevel set.