Thread: No contact with toe, one side only.

I have a new to me tanifuji I have dulled and am setting a new bevel. I have noticed that the toe, one side only, is not making contact with the stone. Placing the blade on the stone (lapped) I can make it tilt by pressing on the edge at the toe but only on one side. The other side sits flat. The blade has an even edge and spine wear so I am not sure what is happening here. I don't have a lot of experience with honing.

Just wanting to confirm the best way to fix this. I would say I need to stay on the 1k until the toe does make contact. Is that correct? Just honing on that one side would be a bad idea I take it so matching strokes on both sides until all the edge touches full length? I also figure tape is going to make things worse because steel needs to come off the spine to flatten it out right?

Thanks for your advice.

The spine is warped many razors are, adjust the stroke to roll and follow the warp so that the edge contacts correctly

This is often called a rolling or rocking X although I think Honing Gymnastics is a more correct term

For a new honer to be grinding on the spine while chasing the edge probably is going to result in way more wasted steel then needed so using tape at least until you figure out the honing movement needed is a good idea

Thanks for the reply.
What I don't understand though is if the spine is warped, why is the problem on one side only? Wouldn't it manifest at the other side too? Not at the toe obviously, but further back down the edge. I get a nice contact full length on the other side and I have confirmed this under the microscope. On side looks perfect the whole length.

Possibly an uneven spine on one side or your honing stroke is not consistent in a particular direction. It was harder for me at first coming back at me than going away from me.

Originally Posted by Sxot

Thanks for the reply.
What I don't understand though is if the spine is warped, why is the problem on one side only? Wouldn't it manifest at the other side too? Not at the toe obviously, but further back down the edge. I get a nice contact full length on the other side and I have confirmed this under the microscope. On side looks perfect the whole length.

Yes

It probably is on both sides, and if the razor was in my hands it would take me about 2 seconds on the hones to figure it out..
Being as that isn't possible I have to give you the fix that I know will work from afar. ie: adjust your stroke so that the edge moves evenly and equally along the hone and you will get to a set bevel..
Adjusting the angle vs the edge of the hone to a more heel forward angle also works quite well here

Thank you. I will give it a go.

Read the first 3 post in the honing forum, use tape on the spine to minimize the damage to the razor. Use tape until you master honing, then decide if you want to continue to use tape.

Photos of the razor will always help in getting good advice.