Thread: Honing out oversized toe?

I bought a razor on the bay for not other reason than I thought it had attractive lines. It is unusual to me that at the very toe it has more metal (read wider) that the rest of the razor. The bevel is also on a slight radius, like it might have been touched up on a buffing wheel, but it is sharp. Would it be safe to just grind the toe down with a stone until it was straight with the rest of the edge and then start a new bevel, or is there some other advanced, fancier way to attack this problem?

Always hone towards a slight smile. If there is no other reason to remove the metal I would not bother changing the shape. I cannot see from your picture that there is too much weird going on other than some hone wear. Are you trying to say the blade has a slight frown. If so that is a case where you do want to reshape the edge, and again towards a smile. It is all about the stroke used for the most part. It can usually be done without too much hassle on the 1K. On a heavy razor you could drop to 600 but I suspect you will be better off with the 1K.

The first 1/4" has less wear than the second 1/4" leaving a dip, or a frown, at about 3/8" to 1/2" from the toe. I you look closely at the toe it is visible. My concern is that that toe is going to bite in more than the rest of the blade.

That is a frown and will have to be taken out. It could be hard on your face and the strop. It will also be hard to hone until that is gone. It shouldn't be to hard to remove, raise the spine off the stone at about 45 degrees and do sets of 1/2-xstrokes until it's gone then hone as normal. You will spend lots of time on a 1k or less hone

Originally Posted by Brent375HH

The first 1/4" has less wear than the second 1/4" leaving a dip, or a frown, at about 3/8" to 1/2" from the toe. I you look closely at the toe it is visible. My concern is that that toe is going to bite in more than the rest of the blade.

Get some food and water. You're in for a long haul.. and back and forth and back and forth.

Moral of the post. It takes a long time to correct a frown.

Before you do anything, what stones do you have to work with?

Is the razor wider at the toe, than the heel? Measure both.

Take a good clear photo of the razor on a flat surface, with the razor edge 90 degree to the flat surface and some light behind it.

Some closer photos of both sides, as close to the bevel and as sharp as possible, will help to advise you.

Looks like it has some serious hone wear, so not surprising there are edge issues.

Randydance is in St Paul. Your best bet is to contact him to arrange a time to go to his place so that the two of you can look at the razor together. He will give you a honing lesson and you will leave with a sharp razor and the knowledge of how to keep it sharp.

Originally Posted by Brent375HH

I bought a razor on the bay for not other reason than I thought it had attractive lines. It is unusual to me that at the very toe it has more metal (read wider) that the rest of the razor. The bevel is also on a slight radius, like it might have been touched up on a buffing wheel, but it is sharp. Would it be safe to just grind the toe down with a stone until it was straight with the rest of the edge and then start a new bevel, or is there some other advanced, fancier way to attack this problem?

Forgive me for butting in but, that is a French tipped razor. I have one or two made by Boker they are made that way for a reason. You might consider selling it on ebay and getting some dovo or any number of razors with a nose like you are wanting. Grinding that tip off will more than likely destroy that razor. Your friend AlienEdge

What are the scales made from?

I realize that it was a French tip, but the problem was the bulb at the end of it. I had time, and maybe was impatient. I read honed just the tip at a 30 degree angle to get rid of the bulb or protrusion. The I started to hone it and realized the real problem. It had a bend or warp at the very tip. It was flexing at the tip on one side and making zero contact on the other. I tried to bend it back but I was afraid it might just snap off a big chunk prior to it being straight. So I fixed the problem by making it a round tip. Sorry to those who think I ruined it.

Once that process was complete it then honed out fine. With a swoopy motion of my 3K I got a slight smile out of it, then on to the 8 & 10. It is now usable to me. Prior to this it had a .050 bulb down at the end that was only honed on one side due to the bend in the toe. It still measures a tad more that the 5/8 that it started with. I am happy with the results, let the flaming begin. Some day I surely will go visit Randy and lean the fine points of this. Sorry I started without waiting to hear more input, I just had the time and desire last night.

BTW the scales are made out of plastic.