Thread: Wade and Butcher under the microscope

The bevel is not flat, or all the other stones 3k, 8k, 12k and Jnat would have polished the whole bevel and not just the center.

That the stria appears even in the first photo, does not necessarily indicate they are flat, but that the stroke was able to go from the edge to the back or the bevel. The bevel could be ever so slightly convexed and the stroke could easily lay an even pattern from edge to the back of the bevel with a rocking stroke.

Actually, if you enlarge the 2nd photo you will see that none of the stria goes all the way from the back of the bevel to the edge. Some come close, but not all the way.

Using that stroke would convex the bevel more, common when using pressure to set the bevel.

The second picture, at least to me, shows that the bevel is not established yet. The edge is not crisp as it should be at the 1k stage. My guess would be either the tape being worn out , as Ron suggested, or the honing was done with slurry and that masked the edge area to look with even scratch pattern. In any case going back to the 1k should fix things.

Originally Posted by UKRob

Whilst not wanting to contradict these two esteemed gentlemen Utopian and Euclid - I'm still at a loss to understand what's going on here. I agree that they appear to be 1k scratches - but looking at both photo 1 and 2, the scratch pattern indicates a flat bevel in that you can follow individual scratch marks from top to bottom. Photo 3 - if it does indicate a polished inner area but with residual 1k scratches - well how could that be if the bevel was flat after the 1 k hone?

A few possibilities.
1k stone not flat & causing convexity. Then a flat 3k stone misses the edge.
Excessive pressure flexing the edge away from stone. It doesn't take much.
Warped razor or any combination of the above.