What is going on with this razor?

I've put up a lengthy post in the beginner section about how I came by this Wade and Butcher razor and had it restored and honed. It is my first and at the moment only razor. I anticipate the edge will need a touch up before long. I've been using it a couple of months now. I'll likely send it out again but it brought up the idea of honing my own razors. I've reviewed many of the videos and how-to's including many referenced on SRP. I've educated myself enough to know that this razor has a slight smile. I understand that material is removed from the spine during the honing process also. As you can see in the pictures, this spine has some odd things (to me) going on. It appears to be two curves that meet in the middle. The peak in the middle has a divot. Part of what makes me wonder is that these features seem to be perfectly mirrored on both sides. I'm assuming these are from hone wear. How would a person go about correcting for these oddities in order to hone this razor? Tape? Just tape the low spots?

Attachment 247632Attachment 247633Attachment 247634

Decorative spine. Was made like that. Nice razor by the way.

Blade looks warped in heat treatment. Look up Dr.Matts"Tap Test". I will be it flunks big time. I would get a different razor razor to learn to shave, strop & hone on. I always buy my razors in person so I can see what I am buying. That said there are many people selling razors in our classified section. Learn to shave & strop before worrying about honing. Just take it slow & get a feel for stropping first.

Slawmeister:rock:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slawman

Blade looks warped in heat treatment. Look up Dr.Matts"Tap Test". I will be it flunks big time. I would get a different razor razor to learn to shave, strop & hone on. I always buy my razors in person so I can see what I am buying. That said there are many people selling razors in our classified section. Learn to shave & strop before worrying about honing. Just take it slow & get a feel for stropping first.

Slawmeister:rock:

---

Appreciate the input but I've actually been shaving with this razor for several months now with great success. It's been in my family for a minimum of five generations now so I'm kind of fond of it. I'll definitely be picking up some additional razors though and I'll be frequenting the classifieds to do so.

Glad it is working for you but will be very hard for a beginner to hone. I think at some time in it's life someone was not a great honer. If it is a family piece You might want to put it on display. I didn't get any of the straights on either side of my family. Heard stories about the razors & the "STROP"! LOL. But both grandpas had stopped using straight's in the 40's.

Dave Huffman

it would be great to have a family razor like that and as already said, it's not the one to learn to hone on. smiley wedges are difficult even without spine issues. congrats on the nice heirloom!

I would not get too worried about a possible warp or twist in a razor as many do have these. All that is needed to hone these is the use of a few different honing strokes to compensate for that making the job of honing a little more of a challenge.

Personally, I'd just tape the scalloped spine and hone it. The advice to get some practice razors before attempting to hone a family heirloom is good advice. Especially so since your heirloom razor may need more specialized honing strokes than the usual ones. Best to make mistakes in learning to hone on other less valuable razors.

I would also advise getting a meet up with a member in your area for a face to face learning to hone session or two. It really helps move the learning process along more quickly.

Bob

I would agree,that it appears to be a perfectly normal smiling W&B with a scalloped spine. Just allow a more experienced hand to do the honing until you have a bit more time on the hones.

The shape of the spine on that blade is intentional. At some point it's been sanded, so the lines are not as crisp as they once were. I also don't see any indications of major warping that would be an issue. It does have a bit of a smile so you would want to look into the "rolling X stroke". Now I would not recommend learning to reset bevels on an heirloom, but I think you can safely maintain the edge in a finishing stone. It only takes a couple minutes to bring back a slightly dulling edge and very little metal is removed. Seriously, all you're doing is polishing the edge. You could also look into using a pasted strop, but I would go with a stone.

While I agree that this is not a good blade for you to learn on, I disagree with the why. You should not learn on an heirloom piece. Should your learning not go smoothly you will likely cause undue wear on something that is not really replaceable. Get another, sound and beautiful razor. Use tape on the spine until you can hone without unnecessary pressure and wear, at which point you can choose tape or no tape for future honing. Th very best way to learn is handed on with people that already know what they are doing. Meets and mentors are very good for this. I would look for those things in your area.

The difference in thickness of the spine vs the tang has me worried.

Thanks for the great advice. I agree that I'm not going to learn on this razor. It just got me reading up on the subject for the future and what I was reading and seeing on mine weren't agreeing. I'll likely pick up another that's already honed and use it while I send this one out. This razor will likely become a showpiece with occasional use for sentimental reasons.

So, you have a hundred-year old razor, most probably, as said, the spine was ground that way, and has been heavily buffed in restoration.

But, it will not matter much in honing, notice the bevel is uniform, though a tad wider at the toe than the heel, which is common.
The shape of the bevel does not follow the spine. The spine will just ride, on the high spots.

More important, tape the spine, to prevent further spine wear and hone with a rolling x stroke. Look at the edge with magnification, straight down, and you will see where your issues are. It should not take much to bring back the edge.

Though more challenging than a straight stroke, the rolling X, on a smiling razor is not as difficult as it looks. A good high grit stone and some sharpie ink will show you your progress. Just watch the ink and adjust your pressure, so you are honing in the middle of the stone and honing to the edge, removing ink all the way to the edge.

Some hands on time with a mentor will greatly cut your learning curve.

Here is a good video, by Charlie Lewis, using the rolling X.