Thread: Bread knifing

I understand what your saying. If i was to do this id need to buy a few more hones and dmt's. I just like to do my homework way in advance. Learn as much as i can before i start on something. Christmas and SRAD has wiped out my savings so i wont be buying any hones for a while so this will have to wait for sure.

I thank all who posted up. I enjoy this forum a lot. And its odd. To spend so much time thinking about something you only do for 15 min's a day. Well, 30 min's for me still but im trying to cut the time down a bit.

BTW, im now a Senior Member. I dont know about that, but thanks for the title change.

Originally Posted by Gasman

I understand what your saying. If i was to do this id need to buy a few more hones and dmt's. I just like to do my homework way in advance. Learn as much as i can before i start on something. Christmas and SRAD has wiped out my savings so i wont be buying any hones for a while so this will have to wait for sure.

I thank all who posted up. I enjoy this forum a lot. And its odd. To spend so much time thinking about something you only do for 15 min's a day. Well, 30 min's for me still but im trying to cut the time down a bit.

BTW, im now a Senior Member. I dont know about that, but thanks for the title change.

Over the course of a year 30 minutes a day adds up to over 7.5 days straight.

Could be wrong, but I think the senior member title kicks in at 100 posts.

Originally Posted by Gasman

I understand what your saying. If i was to do this id need to buy a few more hones and dmt's. I just like to do my homework way in advance. Learn as much as i can before i start on something. Christmas and SRAD has wiped out my savings so i wont be buying any hones for a while so this will have to wait for sure.

I thank all who posted up. I enjoy this forum a lot. And its odd. To spend so much time thinking about something you only do for 15 min's a day. Well, 30 min's for me still but im trying to cut the time down a bit.

BTW, im now a Senior Member. I dont know about that, but thanks for the title change.

I just completed my first "breadknife job" on a razor with a frown. I watched Glen's videos several times and I managed to get a gentile smile back on the razor. I had problems with the heel and establishing the bevel but its my first attempt.

Good to know you dont have to be a pro to get it done. I just dont have much luck wo in a month or two i guess we will see if i can do it or not.

Nice work, love the scales.

Just a bit of advice, when you remove a lot of material, keep an eye on the heel if it has a stabilizer. You can see where the stabilizer has been riding on the stone during honing, though the heel appears to be well honed.

Removing a lot of width can move the corner of the edge behind the stabilizer and will cause you problems honing and if allowed to continue will make a sharp corner and eventually a hook, both will cut you. Compare the old photo to the new one.

You can/should re profile the heel, I use a coin or washer to get the radius I like, mark it with a sharpie so the edge is about a 1/16 or an inch in front of the stabilizer, about where it was on this razor prior to edge correction.

Put the heel on a diamond plate or low grit stone and cut a facet about 45 degrees to the edge, to the line of the sharpie, then another in front of the tip of the facet and another behind it, now just smooth out the radius.

The metal is thin and will not take many strokes to re-profile, so keep an eye on the line. Do this before you hone, then make sure to add a bit of pressure on the heel to bring the bevel to meeting there.

Also, when re-profiling an edge, either bread knifing or high angle honing, take the time to make a template of the blade and re-profile the cardboard template. Trace the template onto the blade and mark the edge with a black sharpie. A compass or pair of dividers will allow you to match the curve of the spine, if there is one.

This will show you what the blade will look like, if you are not happy make a new template until you are. WD40 will remove the ink.

Now cut just short of the line, Bread Knifing or Hight Angle honing, bevel setting will bring you to the line and remove the least amount of metal.

Here is a post on making and using a template. “Make me Smile.”

Keep in mind that bread knifing doesn't have to be anything drastic (depends on your blade). You can have a small micro pit on the edge of the blade so you decide to go down in grit to save time and a few light passes may take care of the problem.

I move up a grade (grit-wise) and then do a few high angle passes lightly and then do any remaining work in the course of honing on the 1k.

This is when bread knifing was called for but the work to be done was minimal.

If you go crazy bread knifing on the low grit hone, especially on a wedge, you may find that it takes forever to get a bevel when you get to the 1k (so don't go crazy)

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Nice work, love the scales.

Just a bit of advice, when you remove a lot of material, keep an eye on the heel if it has a stabilizer. You can see where the stabilizer has been riding on the stone during honing, though the heel appears to be well honed.

Removing a lot of width can move the corner of the edge behind the stabilizer and will cause you problems honing and if allowed to continue will make a sharp corner and eventually a hook, both will cut you. Compare the old photo to the new one.

You can/should re profile the heel, I use a coin or washer to get the radius I like, mark it with a sharpie so the edge is about a 1/16 or an inch in front of the stabilizer, about where it was on this razor prior to edge correction.

Put the heel on a diamond plate or low grit stone and cut a facet about 45 degrees to the edge, to the line of the sharpie, then another in front of the tip of the facet and another behind it, now just smooth out the radius.

The metal is thin and will not take many strokes to re-profile, so keep an eye on the line. Do this before you hone, then make sure to add a bit of pressure on the heel to bring the bevel to meeting there.

Also, when re-profiling an edge, either bread knifing or high angle honing, take the time to make a template of the blade and re-profile the cardboard template. Trace the template onto the blade and mark the edge with a black sharpie. A compass or pair of dividers will allow you to match the curve of the spine, if there is one.

This will show you what the blade will look like, if you are not happy make a new template until you are. WD40 will remove the ink.

Now cut just short of the line, Bread Knifing or Hight Angle honing, bevel setting will bring you to the line and remove the least amount of metal.

Here is a post on making and using a template. “Make me Smile.”

Trying to understand what your talking about on the heal. I got the making the edge match the spine. Thats smart and easy. Templet and caliper. Great! But on the heal, are you saying to round the heal up between the balade and stablizer? So the end of the stablizer will be not connected to the edge? I can see how this would help with honing for sure. And it might give it a different look.
Is this correct? Or you grinding the stablizer out of the way by rounding it up on the end?

By the way, @misterclean those are pretty scales. Nice mix of colors.

Forgive my 2nd grade art skills

Yes, like Ken’s drawing except more of a radius, like the heel in the original photo.

If you look at the corner where the edge ends in the Original photo, it ends before touching the stabilizer.

In the Finished photo, the corner is now past/behind the start of the stabilizer.

For that razor, I would use a nickel or quarter to make the radius ending forward of the stabilizer 1/16 -1/8 inch.

You will be grinding the back side of the stabilizer, but more for aesthetics to make a smooth radius.

You can now hone the razor on the stone without the stablizer touching the stone and not create a sharp corner.

Just to be clear, you don’t have to have the spine match the edge, but I often do.

The point is to give you more design options and give you a very good idea of what it will look like before you remove any steel.

If you are not happy just wipe off the ink and try again. If you just jump in and start grinding, the metal is thinner than most folks think and it is easy to remove too much or get the edge out of whack, then you end up removing more to even it up.

Have a clear plan, then work your plan. Same thing for the heel. Depending on the razor, some look better with a large radius, some with a smaller radius, like a dime or penny size radius. Experiment and do not cut steel until you are happy, then cut just to the line.