Thread: Setting a bevel

I am new to bevel setting but, I find most of my razors welcome a bevel set with a 1k stone (King and others). I study Dr. Matt's videos and enjoy them! Lynn Abrams videos are my most consistent source of learning to date.

Photos of the razor and close up of the heel would help to advise you.

220 is way too aggressive for razor use. Make sure your stones are thouroughly lapped and the edges beveled or rounded and that you have good lighted magnification.

Before you grind the spine, or do anything that cannot be reversed, determine if the issue is the razor, the stones or technique.

The first three threads in the honing forum are packed with lots of good information for new honers. There is also a good new thread on bevel setting in the honing forum here, with good photos of the bevels that may help you. “Second try at honing.”

Post some pics of the razor to eliminate it as the source of the problem.

I wouldn't rely too much on videos either.. They are great for tips but its not a straight forward as watch, copy and bingo..

Looking back now, I can say that videos threw me off course and caused me confusion and metal loss

You have to understand what you are trying to achieve with each stone.

Recognising what your looking at is a key.

Hi Ciarad,

FWIW, I think the bevel is most important. At just south of 500 blades honed, it still where I concentrate most of my efforts. Every time I think I've learned enough, I'm repeatedly humbled by how important this step is.

One thing not mentioned or asked about is the profile/shape of the cutting edge. If you're setting a bevel on a razor w/ a smile - longitudinal curve - its quite a bit more challenging when starting out. If you were to set the blade - oriented straight up & down w/ the cutting edge in contact w/ a (soft) surface - it'll show you if it has a smile - or hopefully not a frown. Both can be so slight you need a light source shined from the back side to see if the contact is all the way along the edge (no smile or frown), if only the middle makes contact (smile), or if just the toe & heel contact (frown - this is a major pain). Another frequent trap is the blade that was made to have a smile - and some owner tried to hone it as if it were a straight cutting edge. The way you see this is a curved spine with a straight edge. Generally, the edge should stay parallel to the wear surface of the spine.

Another consideration is that for most fleabay finds, etc, they need restorative grinding before even a bevel set can be attempted. This is where multiple layers of tape and your 220 stone come in handy. When starting, I wouldn't encourage the restorative grinding until you reliably get a smooth, comfortable shaving edge from a regular blade.

Its very hard to say what condition(s) you're dealing with - even with a photo. What is most helpful are photos that show close detail of both the spine and cutting edge.

There's no condition you can't master, but if you're like most of us - its a learning process that can challenge one's patience. A big thing is - know when to walk away from doing blade work. If it gets very frustrating - set it down - come back to it another time. You'll hear this mentioned on alot of honing instructions.

'Hope your day treats you well.

You have got a lot of good info so far and many options to consider. Another thing to think about though is your current stroke. Are you using an x stroke? If so you may simple not having the heel on the Stone long enough. You mentioned pressure if your putting to much pressure anywhere along the blade you will see scratching on the face of the razors. If this is the case you really need lighten pressure. Easy way to do that is to pretend your shaving the stone and its a very sensitive spot.

I don't really consider the 220 to be too aggressive, simply too useless. It's a sloppy mess that does very little cutting of the steel. For what you have, you would be better off skipping the 220 and starting right off on the 1k.

I suggested it in another thread and its already been mentioned here, but again, you will make the greatest progress if you get help in person.

Do make sure that the edge has no frowns. Even a smiling blade can have a frown within it; and any frown, whether on a smiling or straight edge, will prevent you from getting a full bevel set.

If the heel is lagging behind the rest of the edge, then focus on that heel. Put the blade at a 45 degree angle with the heel leading and don't bother with an x-stroke all the time. Instead, keep the heel on the hone and move the blade straight up and down the length of the hone. While doing this, keep the pressure focused on the heel. Keep going till the heel sharpness matches the rest of the blade.

Thank you all! The x stroke took care of the issue completely! I appreciate all of the help.

Glad you got it worked out

Originally Posted by jeffus

I'm a believer in this school of bevel setting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP4cP-aY-Wk

Have fun!

I started doing that a week ago, and now all my vintage straights shave like a dream. If you look at it straight-on (edge and spine) while "tapping", you can get a feel of where to focus pressure on the spine/edge to get it to sit flat. From there, stone progression is a dream.