Thread: Should there be a smile in this blade?

I was just getting ready to start working on honing the damage from the toe of this blade and noticed the slight smile in the spine, then I noticed next to a straight line the blade seems to follow said smile but has a slight frown in the center. So should this blade actually have a smile and if so do you do a heel leading stroke to get the smile back? Or do you first remove slight frown then work on getting smile back? Thanks for assistance fellas.

i have a brand new razor (TI) with a smiling spine and a straight edge. not sure why they do this. As i hone it I hone toward a smile but don't go as far as re honing it so it is a smile (if this makes sense). I also have straight spined blades with a slight smile. i would get rid of the frown for sure but not worry about making the smile perfect with the spine. JMHO

The curve of the edge seems to match the curve of the spine pretty closely.

I have another W&B special its at home right now so I can't compare but I don't remember it having the smile spine. I just don't know which is right to do. I want to remove the frown for sure tintin. I agree sqzbxr, the smile to me seems to match the spine so it seems like it is supposed to smile...

I have a couple that have smile spines and straighter edges. At the end of the day, it depends on what you want to do. To get the smile or straighten the edge, you'll have to remove metal from the heel and toe. It just varies on quantity. Try measuring with a caliper if you can, along the blade. Looks and pictures can be deceiving.

I would say that it is most definitely supposed to have a smile. The frown may also be a flat from a previous owner trying to hone the smile out of it - or just poor technique. Either way, it should be easy enough to correct while bevel setting and routine after that. I have a Joseph Rodgers smiling half hollow that is a superb shaver.

Originally Posted by dinnermint

I have a couple that have smile spines and straighter edges. At the end of the day, it depends on what you want to do. To get the smile or straighten the edge, you'll have to remove metal from the heel and toe. It just varies on quantity. Try measuring with a caliper if you can, along the blade. Looks and pictures can be deceiving.

toe= .651 center=.640 heel=.662 it is definitely bigger toe and heel dinnermint. I was looking in the library and seem to see info on honing a razor with a smile but did not really see much on relieving a frown. I have moderate honing experience just my own razors what stroke removes the frown?

That is a great looking Joseph and sons

I would say it should have a smile as well. Here is are a couple of production smilers, and a custom Livi I took a pic of to show a smile sometime back ;

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