Thread: Should I try to tackle this (very difficult, IMHO) challenge?

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Yup, good progress, once you get the bevel fully set, it will not take much effort or time to re-set the angle.

Ink the bevels and spend some time on the toe and heel, adding a finger of pressure and get them to meet. It is not uncommon for the heel and toe to need more attention especially with that much wear and tape.

Also, as said, keep the tape tight and change the top layer as it wears. You will see bits of tape in the swarf and feel it on the stone. If you feel a bump or sticking on the stone, stop and check your tape, probably burned through the top layer.

Good photos and progress.

I've been putting pretty good pressure on the heel and toe. Still having a hard time consistently reaching it. I can feel more resistance on the stone, at the end of the rolling X stroke, at the toe. To get it to reach the toe, I've had to raise the heel a tiny bit at the end of the stroke - hope that is OK.

I've been replacing the top two layers (often they both come off). There have been times when I see the wear on the tape, so I need to do it more frequently. Good point to focus on. Maybe the sticking is what I'm feeling?

Thanks! I'll try not to be too anal on the angle (AA). That's the engineer in me.

So I understand, is this correct...

If too narrow an angle, the edge may not hold, and it will take longer to hone, whereas if to wide of an angle, the edge may not cut?

I'll work on it more tonight and see what happens. Pictures will follow (as usual).

Appreciate all the suggestions and advice!

Originally Posted by pcm

Thanks! I'll try not to be too anal on the angle (AA). That's the engineer in me.

So I understand, is this correct...

If too narrow an angle, the edge may not hold, and it will take longer to hone, whereas if to wide of an angle, the edge may not cut?

I'll work on it more tonight and see what happens. Pictures will follow (as usual).

Appreciate all the suggestions and advice!

Yes that is the basic premise,,, back when we actually did the experiments and measurement here on SRP we measured razors that were shaving for us and found angles from 12-25 the most by a huge margin fell within the 15-17 area
16° is the grinding target, and seems to be the average of what is out there, but the rules are pretty loose..

Your razor is outside the norm from wear, so the numbers are "off"

Just for context... here are the only pictures I have of the razor, when I received it in Jan 2015. It has since then been stropped, shelved, and then sent to Lynn for an attempt at sharpening:

Stay on the 1k stone, you are pretty close, this is where a 4 and 600 grit stone pays dividends.

The 325 Diamond plate it will speed up metal removal but also eat the tape so it a wash as a time saver at this point, because you will spend possibly more time replacing tape, removing deep stria and possibly some of the edge to get to good steel.

Getting the bevels to meet completely now, will save you tons of frustration down the road.

Yes, that is the gymnastic that Glenn talks about, whatever it takes to get the spine and edge on the stone, all the way to the edge. Just go slow, you don’t need a lot of pressure or lifting.

Ink is your friend here

OK, did a ~100 strokes with moderate pressure, and then ~100 with pressure on the toe and heel. Then, I jointed on my thumbnail 3x, and did about 40 strokes with light pressure. It is cutting hairs - I just have to make sure I don't have the spine on my skin - raised some it is cutting. Feels sharper to the TPT too. Here are a bunch of shots. First of the edge:

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Then low magnification:
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And then a few at high magnification (focusing on heel and toe):

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The scale is in the background on some of the shots. 0.5mm per mark.

BTW, inking, I get everywhere, except the very end of the toe and heel (you can see some of the red in the shots, left over).

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To ink just the edge, run the sharpie on the edge and let it bite into the sharpie just a bit. You will ink the edge and a 32nd or so, on both sides of the bevel.

TNT (Thumb Nail Test) is more like corking, than jointing. It will slightly straighten and edge and “wipe” raggedness from an edge. The thumbnail is more aggressive on the edge than a cork.

Stropping on Linen or Canvas strop does much the same thing.

Jointing will remove the same ragged edge and flatten the edge by removing a micro amount of the edge, so the edge is straight, as opposed to a ragged edge of a TNT or corked edge.

The difference is minor but if you are working an edge, honing, the goal of jointing is to straighten the edge, then hone the bevels to meet the straight edge.

Once the bevels are flat and at the proper angle, it only takes a few laps to get them to meet again. Of course the grit of the stone and amount of pressure use will determine results.

Here are the shots again. Edge:



Low magnification:



High magnification, focusing on heel/toe: