Thread: Big bevel

So, this razor offers up a challenge. It is an old W&B quarter hollow and I can't seem to get the belly and toe sharp. What concerns me most is the size of that bevel. Seems awful wide to me and wondering if that slight long angle is causing the edge to be frail? I don't want to get into a tape vs no tape post but what do you think about putting 3 maybe 4 stripes of tape to try and shorten that bevel?

Looks like someone was very particular in where they wanted to be heavy handed. Try using sharpie to mark the bevel and the hone wear on the spine. This will show you where your are abrading the steel and give you a better idea of what is going on.

2 layers would be my recommendation, but that's just my personal preference. You may want to check that the edge of the tape in the middle of the blade isn't lifting the spine off of the stone too much.

Well that razor looks to have a few issues with it. It has some seriously uneven wear. I rarely ever go beyond two layers of tape. There are a few way that you can go about compensating for the wear. The biggest issues are often stroke related. If I was going to hone that razor, I would start with two layers of tape and a jiffy marker. Check your stroke and make sure you are making complete coverage from heel to toe. Also there is a series of videos by gssixgun that cover the stroke quite well.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wEtb9k3APYM

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DStkiyHB9PU

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x2dqBluDteQ

Thanks fellas...I think that spine wear shows up a little worse that what it really is. I did the sharpie test and had to, like you said, make sure the pressure was even throughout the stroke. It seems it is not sharp because the edge is so fragile. Geometry speaking, is there a recommendation to keep the bevel below a certain width?

It is not really about the width. The width of the bevel in this case is because of wear, but it can also be caused by how the blade was ground. If it was not ground with much hollow and athicker blade it would still be wide even at the ideal angle which if memory serves correct is 17.5 degrees. There was a table running around once upon a time that used the spine thickness and width to give you the degrees and then you add tape to get you to the needed spine thickness. After having played with that for several wedges, and it always came to two pieces of tape, I just defaulted to two pieces of tape.

Originally Posted by RezDog

It is not really about the width. The width of the bevel in this case is because of wear, but it can also be caused by how the blade was ground. If it was not ground with much hollow and athicker blade it would still be wide even at the ideal angle which if memory serves correct is 17.5 degrees. There was a table running around once upon a time that used the spine thickness and width to give you the degrees and then you add tape to get you to the needed spine thickness. After having played with that for several wedges, and it always came to two pieces of tape, I just defaulted to two pieces of tape.

Ok... 2 pieces it is. I actually have a Boker Silver Steel that is a great shaver with 2 pieces of tape so, I will give that a go. Just for hell if it, I just stropped that razor on some Cro, then linen and leather and that heel has a wicked edge on it that gradually peters out the closer along to the toe.

The videos I linked show the swoop of honing a smiling blade very well, which is part of getting it well honed from toe to heel. Also the key to a sharp and comfortable shave is in the bevel set. The 1 and 4K hones do most of the work. It is the refinement of the perfect bevel that makes for the perfect shave. Do you have a loupe?

Originally Posted by RezDog

The videos I linked show the swoop of honing a smiling blade very well, which is part of getting it well honed from toe to heel. Also the key to a sharp and comfortable shave is in the bevel set. The 1 and 4K hones do most of the work. It is the refinement of the perfect bevel that makes for the perfect shave. Do you have a loupe?

Well...a little update. I decided to come back to this razor and believe I got a nice keen edge all the way to the toe. Thanks for all the input and I just kept at it until it finally sharpened up. Finished it on a coticule and I will give it a go tomorrow morning. Thanks again.

I have an old MAGBEL 8/8 razor that had excessive hone wear and a very wide bevel. I done my first round of honing with no tape and finished on a jnat that I knew was a great finisher. It was extremely sharp for the first half of the shave but fell away the second half. The edge was too fragile and just give up half way through shaving. I tried honing again but going straight from the 1k to a coticule and doing a dilucot until finishing. Again it was sharp as hell at first but just gave up halfway through.

I have since taped the spine with 3 layers of tape and started again 1k 5k 10k and finishing on my Welsh black slate (which I place in between my coticule and jnat in terms of sharpness and comfortability). The shave was great and it easily finished the whole shave strong. It now even has a cool looking double bevel on there.


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