Thread: warped blade: correct or compensate?

Originally Posted by bluesman7

I watched the 'Dr Matt' video and thought that it was telling that he made no comments when checking the smiling blade, as an honest discussion of honing a smile makes the rest of the video irrelevant. A smile can never lie flat on a plane unless it is severely warped and in that case it can only lie flat on one side. Using a similar technique (as honing a smile) works equally well to hone a warped blade. And IMO the same technique is superior for honing non warped blades as well.

Don't know that I showed a smiling blade on the video. The warp that I did show was nothing like a heel toe roll present on a smiling razor. There's an obvious difference. Irrelevant? Really?


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Originally Posted by drmatt357

Don't know that I showed a smiling blade on the video. The warp that I did show was nothing like a heel toe roll present on a smiling razor. There's an obvious difference. Irrelevant? Really?


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Yes. Really.

First, the "tap and wobble" was demonstrated on a razor that had a ridiculous amount of hone wear. That was an example of bad honing.

Second, the video did in fact include a smiling blade (at time point 8:08), but that smiling blade during the "affectionately called tap and wobble," that supposedly was "pretty tight," did not appear to be making any edge contact with the granite that was substituting for the hone surface.

No region of the edge of the smiling blade seemed to make contact with what would have been the honing surface.

On the bright side, I finally understand where people got it when they try to tell me that the entire blade is the bevel. It isn't. Let's clarify a few things. Two points define a line. Two parallel lines can define a plane. Two intersecting planes never can meet at a point. Two razor bevels, being two planes, meet in a line, not a point, and that line is what we call the edge. In the case of a smiling blade, the geometry goes out of whack, because the bevels are formed along curves, not lines, and that is why a different type of honing is required. And that makes the "tap and wobble," at least in the case of smiling blades, irrelevant.

You are correct, I did show a smiling razor. That may have not been the best visual. The problem with that razor was the owner took one side to a belt sander in an attempt to even it up.


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Originally Posted by Utopian

Yes. Really.

First, the "tap and wobble" was demonstrated on a razor that had a ridiculous amount of hone wear. That was an example of bad honing.

Second, the video did in fact include a smiling blade (at time point 8:08), but that smiling blade during the "affectionately called tap and wobble," that supposedly was "pretty tight," did not appear to be making any edge contact with the granite that was substituting for the hone surface.

No region of the edge of the smiling blade seemed to make contact with what would have been the honing surface.

On the bright side, I finally understand where people got it when they try to tell me that the entire blade is the bevel. It isn't. Let's clarify a few things. Two points define a line. Two parallel lines can define a plane. Two intersecting planes never can meet at a point. Two razor bevels, being two planes, meet in a line, not a point, and that line is what we call the edge. In the case of a smiling blade, the geometry goes out of whack, because the bevels are formed along curves, not lines, and that is why a different type of honing is required. And that makes the "tap and wobble," at least in the case of smiling blades, irrelevant.

Holy cow, was just reading this, what an awesome couple of paragraphs...I learned about a "line" and a "plane", and that two intersecting planes can never meet at a point.

Think I'm going to get this as a tattoo somewhere, sheesh, I even feel smarter after reading this.

Originally Posted by Phrank

Holy cow, was just reading this, what an awesome couple of paragraphs...I learned about a "line" and a "plane", and that two intersecting planes can never meet at a point.

Think I'm going to get this as a tattoo somewhere, sheesh, I even feel smarter after reading this.

That would be a hell of a tattoo there Phrank and you would be ultimately smarter for having such words of wisdom permanently imprinted on your body for all eternity. [emoji38]


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Originally Posted by drmatt357

That would be a hell of a tattoo there Phrank and you would be ultimately smarter for having such words of wisdom permanently imprinted on your body for all eternity. [emoji38]


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Figured I just lived it...LOL.

I just honed an old Sheffield, was warped, was concave so would grip the hone on one side, only really connect towards the toe on the other and wobbled on that side, was some real honing gymnastics, but broken down into individual sections, eventually took a beautiful edge, just took took two or three hours broken down into two sessions, any time I feel an inkling of frustration, time to walk away and pick it up later. Everything rides on the bevel, after that, honing actually becomes enjoyable.....

Well, maybe not, it only become's enjoyable for me when it's done and the shave proves out great.....