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

It will be difficult to keep electrical tape at the same tautness, especially compounded over 5 layers several occasions. This falls in the territory of tolerancing and stack up can get bad fast. It might be best to only remove the top layer until all honing is finished.

Originally Posted by dinnermint

It will be difficult to keep electrical tape at the same tautness, especially compounded over 5 layers several occasions. This falls in the territory of tolerancing and stack up can get bad fast. It might be best to only remove the top layer until all honing is finished.

I've been trying to remove only the top layer, but occasionally 2 layers come off. Unfortunately, since it is sometimes 2-3 days at a time, I've had times when I wasn't sure, so I pulled all 5 layers. recently, what I was doing was placing layers back on, when finishing, so that when I restarted, I had 5 layers for sure (versus 4 or 3 and having to add one, before starting). This latest hone, I pulled everything off to ensure I had 5 layers (I did), but I thnk I may have missed a layer before (maybe at the last 1k hone, or first 2k hone session).

Here are shots of the overall razor. You can see the original bevel a tiny bit, then the previous bevel, which is larger at the toe than heel, and the latest hone, which is larger at the heel than toe (but probably more consistent along the length):



I'm not sure if I should continue with 2K or drop back to 1K and try to get a single consistent bevel, or to just continue with the 2K. Took a step back on it I think...

Here is the (triple) bevel I have right now. The original, which was very uneven and large and only have it showing in some places - nothing I'm concerned with.

The bevel from this honing progression coming from the 1K with more evenness (larger at the toe). May have been some 2K on that bevel or not.

With the latest honing on 2K, a third bevel (which I know is with 5 layers of tape):



Like I mentioned, I'm not sure if it was my last session on the 1K or first on the 2K, where I may have accidentally had only 4 layers.

The big question is what to do now...

The hash marks are 0.5mm each.

Here is a look at the edge and the bevel on each side, without the ruler overlaid...

If I understand correctly you are concerned about the bevel not being even. On a blade like that it is unlikely that the bevel will ever be even, an even bevel is the luxury of sound geometry and grind.

It does appear in a couple of pictures that you have a double bevel. Some guys make those on purpose. I think as long as the bevel you are currently working on goes all the way to the apex you are going to be just fine.
Yes counting layers when changing the tape is a pain. I remember I think Glen saying not to leave tape on your razor for long periods of time. So when I am working on long term honing projects I leave mine tapeless at the end of the session.
Your challenging project is getting very close, as the heavy grinding is almost done.

Yea, don’t worry about it. This baby is not going to be a looker, and with all that tape you will never have an even bevel.

If you stay on the 2k, the bevel will get a bit wider, but it will be stronger and probably closer to what the bevel angle should be, if it had the original spine thickness.

The 2k is pretty aggressive, just does not leave the deep stria of a 1k, so just keep working the 2k. I have been playing with a Naniwa 2k green brick, with good results. The 1k is good for hogging off steel, but a 2k is more of a finesse stone that can sneak up on an edge and still remove material but save not leave deep stria, with a straighter edge. And it’s not that much slower, just a few laps more.

Actually, I am impressed your bevels are as consistent as they are, with all that tape on it. Tape gets wobbly, especially if you are leaving it on for days. BTW WD40 gets the glue off easily with a paper towel.

I never leave tape on a razor, if water get under the first layer, it will rust.

Thanks for the suggestions and comments. I was really surprised that the bevel was different than the earlier bevel.

Tomorrow, I'll work on it some more and see how the stria looks. I still need to do lighter, and lighter strokes with the 2k, and need to work the heel and toe more.

Euclid440, good point about moisture, especially since I work on the blade every few days.

More time on the 2K with 5 layers. I got the tape applied well today. Did probably 200 strokes overall, from moderate pressure to blade only pressure - still trying this exaggerated rolling X stroke. The bevel seems close. I don't see any shiny spots, like with other blades, but there is a bit of a dark line. Not sure if the bevel isn't quite there, it is the lighting, or the angle of the bevel being different than other blades.

The stria on the heel seems OK, but on the toe, especially the right side, has deeper stria, is several directions. It's tough (for me) to try to freehand hone that curved toe. Overall the stria seems pretty good to me. Inking the edge shows that indeed the very end of the toe and heel are not always hit (they are if I do 3-5 passes).

Here are the shots from today...



I was thinking of trying to focus on the toe tomorrow some more. Any other suggestions? I was also thinking of trying a test shave in the morning, just to get a feel for how the edge is.

Missed one of the edge at the heel...