Thread: What do you think of this picture?

Looks like they didn't hone it all the way to the black magic marker.

Looks like a somewhat corroded edge....looks like the steel has been degraded??

...and I don't mean by being called naughty, hurtful names....don't want the law coming down on me!!!

Looks like an over Photoshop'd image of an edge. Excess contrast and brightness.

I agree about the bevel not being completely set, but I've also seen edges like that when there is a burr on one side. It is hard to tell unless you have the razor in hand. Lighting can add effects that aren't really there or hide things that are.

the edge line is not even, it does not seem to be stropped to me but could be wrong. In any case the bevels do not seem to meet at the edge.

Here are my thoughts

Pretty much if you know me you know what is coming


Magnification is an excellent "TOOL" and it excels at showing problems with and edge, Chips, Dings, Folds, Uneven Stria, Missing Bevels etc: etc: etc:

BUT

Especially on FB and more so everyday in the Fora we see pics of "Allegedly" Bad or Good "Finished" edges with the keyboard warriors proclaiming honing revelations..

Sorry but I call BS, just like I call BS on Natural Stones with outlandish grit ratings that newbs foolishly believe

Most of these pics are taken BEFORE stropping, because the Linen and the Leather tend to put unsightly scratches in the pretty bevel pics


Magnification has a place in honing, but it's place is NOT in determining a Good or Bad shaving edge


IMHO

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Magnification has a place in honing, but it's place is NOT in determining a Good or Bad shaving edge

Yes, magnification has a place, but resolution also would be helpful and it certainly is lacking here.

I asked the owner of the photo about his edges a few weeks ago. I did this because many of his edges show the same thing. It was not just this razor. For that reason, I asked if he deliberately was honing or stropping to produce a microbevel, but he said he was not. He considered the photo was of a perfectly good edge.

I find this to be very frustrating.

Oh, and if another moderator reads this, could you please add the "of" that I forgot in the title?

Originally Posted by Utopian

He considered the photo was of a perfectly good edge.

I would look at that photo and say the bevels do not meet and therefore it is NOT a perfectly good edge and should not be shaved with. Then I would proceed to shave with it anyways because I agree with Glen. The shave will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Magnification has a place in honing, but it's place is NOT in determining a Good or Bad shaving edge.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Most of these pics are taken BEFORE stropping, because the Linen and the Leather tend to put unsightly scratches in the pretty bevel pics

Yeah, I think that it is hilarious when people go to extremes with pastes on fancy cloth to show pristinely scratch-free bevels that look beautiful, knowing full well that a few days of real world stropping is going to make that bevel look "real" again.

Another example of that was a knife sharpener guy on facebook bragging up the polished 20k bevel he put on an EDC knife! I cut open boxes, cut rope, and whatever else I need to cut with the knife in my pocket. For that reason, I've never seen any point going higher than 1k on my knife.

Knives and razors first and foremost are tools, and the way that they are sharpened should reflect the purpose for which they are to be used.

How on Earth do you find these on facebook?

Well, most everyone came to the same conclusion that I did. Doesn't look like the bevel is meeting. And honestly doesn't even look like it's polished to 4K, much less enough to shave.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Yeah, I think that it is hilarious when people go to extremes with pastes on fancy cloth to show pristinely scratch-free bevels that look beautiful, knowing full well that a few days of real world stropping is going to make that bevel look "real" again.

Another example of that was a knife sharpener guy on facebook bragging up the polished 20k bevel he put on an EDC knife! I cut open boxes, cut rope, and whatever else I need to cut with the knife in my pocket. For that reason, I've never seen any point going higher than 1k on my knife.

Knives and razors first and foremost are tools, and the way that they are sharpened should reflect the purpose for which they are to be used.

Agreed to an extent. My pocket knives are generally cared for on Arkansas stones, so the edge gets pretty wicked IF I have time to go all the way to a translucent. Most days I'll stop on the Hard stone and be happy though. I'll agree that 20K is definitely pointless. The first time you cut anything with that you've more or less ruined half the work you put in to get there. My target is 4-6K, but I like my pocket knives a tad sharper than most.