Quote Originally Posted by Southbound View Post
Hey folks,

You know the whole thing confuses me on tape or not tape?? Everyone says the spine acts as a guide to maintaining the correct angle through the life of the razor, i read somewhere thats about 17°. Well im all truth if i dont ever tape the spine when honing, then the spine thins little by little each honing. As the spine thins then the bevel angle thins also. The width of the edge angle gets wider ( but not at a cross-sectional view) at a cross-sectional view the edge will be thinner. So if that spine is a guide to keep a razor at roughly 17° though out all honings. Why does the geometry of the edge change when the spine wears?
In theory the spine and edge wear together, spine thins and blade narrows, maintaining the geometry of the blade. Like RezDog says if you put more pressure on the spine and little on the edge the spine wears faster, as is the case with beginners, and the geometry can get out of whack pretty quickly.

The 17 degree angle of bevel still allows for a few degrees + or - to be still within tolerance.

Bob