Thread: Should there be a smile in this blade?

Originally Posted by ejmolitor37

Thanks for sharing the photos gents. I found a thread about how to remove the frown in the advanced honing section, so now I guess my question is this, to keep the smile or return the smile remove frown first then revise the smile? The 3 blades I have messed with honing have been my own and all straight thus far so this will be a fun learning experience

If it was mine, from what I can see in the photo, I think I would throw a piece of tape on the spine and just hone it with a rolling stroke like I was going along with the smile. When I got down just to a bit nearly past the frown I'd start to go through a progression, sharpening to finishing. Here is the 1961 barber manual PDF from the SRP library which talks about smiling razors and their benefits.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...t_-_Honing.pdf

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

If it was mine, from what I can see in the photo, I think I would throw a piece of tape on the spine and just hone it with a rolling stroke like I was going along with the smile. When I got down just to a bit nearly past the frown I'd start to go through a progression, sharpening to finishing. Here is the 1961 barber manual PDF from the SRP library which talks about smiling razors and their benefits.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...t_-_Honing.pdf

^ this.

You're only just over a hundredth off, just keep the toe and heel on the hone longer during a rolling x-stroke to compensate for the extra material.

I would hone out the frown from the center of the smile and then hone the smile. Especially because this will be a little more challenging both by its nature and because you are relatively new to this, I strongly agree that this should be done with a taped spine.

You can do it either way, by honing or set the smile, grind the shape of the smile, then hone it.

It probably had a smile originally and was honed, with a straight stroke which honed a frown in the middle of the blade.

You don’t remove a frown, you remove metal from the toe and heel to the bottom of the frown. It is much easier and the smile will be more consistent if you measure and match the curve of the spine. The goal is to remove as little metal and blade width as possible.

You don’t have to remove much, just in the right places.

The easiest and most efficient way to do it is to measure and make a template. A black sharpie will give you a very good Idea of what it will look like before you remove, any material.

Here is a recent post, on how to re-set a smile, (Make Me Smile).

If you look at the photo that you posted, you can see the two points that flank the frown. Those are the points that need to be removed first during the edge re-profiling. You can assess the original condition, and your progress during re-profiling, by holding the blade up to a light with the edge lightly placed against a flat hone. In the same manner that your line in the photo helps to visualize the problem area, the light shining through the gap between the edge and the hone will show you the areas that need to be removed.

Agreed. It looks as a smiling razor which has been 'straight-honed' instead of swooped upon the stones, as was necessary and proper. Some reshaping is in order.
Looks not so bad, though.

Holy smokes thanks for all the advice and replies. I will give it a go take my time and see what happens. Appreciate all your help very much

And remember that Mainaman is only a half hour away if you need help.

Originally Posted by Utopian

And remember that Mainaman is only a half hour away if you need help.

Oh yes I contacted him and thankfully he is going to take me under his wing as soon as we can get a day where our schedules line up. So far going slow and taking my time combining a couple different suggestions is working well. Slow and easy. Thanks for your help Utopian

Excellent! In that case, you might want to consider holding off on that razor until you can do it in person, since it is a bit more challenging. Alternatively, you can just go for it and Mainaman can be your safety net.

Stefan is a very nice guy who is very knowledgeable with all things razor related.