Thread: Should I be worried about uneven spine wear?

Uneven spine wear and bevels are normal. No razors are perfectly ground, and the exact same width and thickness. Some are close, yours is. Do not attempt to “fix” the spine, you already have. The spine, bevel and edge are now in perfect alignment, in the same plane.

Adding tape will increase the angle and cut a new microscopically steeper bevel, depending on how many laps you do and the grit of the stone, it can cut a micro or whole new bevel. Modern synthetic stones are much more aggressive that folks think. Here is an old thread on chip removal and honing on a 12k super stone in about 200 laps, (12K Chip Removal/Bevel Setting) Re-setting a taped bevel is a fraction of removing a chip, as Glen demonstrated.

Try the Kapton tape on eBay, about $10 a roll, it is thin and tough, if you want the spine to remain where it is now.

“LE: another point I would like to clarify is that I don't have a problem with spine wear, but rather with uneven spine wear. This is why I have not used tape.”

I do not understand this comment, if you used tape you would have no, spine wear.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

“LE: another point I would like to clarify is that I don't have a problem with spine wear, but rather with uneven spine wear. This is why I have not used tape.”

I do not understand this comment, if you used tape you would have no, spine wear.

What I meant is that I do not care as much about the spine wear, but I care about the unevenness of the wear.

Anyway, you guys made it clear it is not an issue and I will continue to refresh on 8k/12k as usual.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Some are close, yours is.

Did you meant, yours isn't?

“Did you meant, yours isn't?”

No, yours is.

I hone a lot of new Dovo and TI razors and get to see what new “Factory” razors and edges are like these days. I also do a lot of vintage razors.

Trust me, your razor is very well ground and very straight. It is all cosmetic and a product of the value of time. All can be made to shave well, though.

Don’t obsess about the spine being alittle wonky, this wonky spine may eventually been seen in the bevel and it’s a direct reflection of the spine so if it bothers you then you could use some then tape like Kapton tape and it’s very thin and wears extremely well, also just some food for thought it’s not necessary to go to the 1K every time as a 1K can kill a razors life, once a bevel is set correctly it should last a very long time unless damaged by bumping the edge so try using one stone down from your finisher when the edge drops off, for me when the Strop fails I go to a JNAT with midgrit tomo then final tomo and if that fails then I go back to the 12 or 8k range and very seldomly 4

I have see to many blades come to me that have been ruined by a 1K

I have not went back to 1k since I have set the bevel some many years ago, although I have recently restarted to use the razor regularly. I refreshed it (maybe) 3 months ago on 12k, around 40 circles each side and 50 something laps. The first shave was outstanding, but subsequent ones were not as good as the time passed. I strop on a Dovo leather, 100 laps on felt and 100 on leather before each shave, but to be honest I don't think this strop is that good.

I will go back to SRD modular paddle at some point.

That razor looks fine. When you refresh you may want to reduce the number of laps you do. Try it with just 20 or 40 and see if that brings the edge back for you.

Dovo strops are nice. They are split side so they sometimes need refreshing with the yellow tube paste or Dovo leather balm. You can tell the strop needs this if after stropping it looks like there is dust on the razor, especially in the concave portion. You may also want to reduce the amount of stropping you do pre shave and maybe just use leather. It's a YMMV thing but 200 total seems like a lot.

Just my opinion, but 25 strops on fabric and 50 on leather works perfectly for me.
Seems like many assume stropping is no brainer. WRONG, at least for me. It took me almost a year to learn the flip and the draw. Agreed, I am a very slow learner. But 100xs on fabric and leather is beyond usefulness.

“I refreshed it (maybe) 3 months ago on 12k, around 40 circles each side and 50 something laps. The first shave was outstanding, but subsequent ones were not as good as the time passed. I strop on a Dovo leather, 100 laps on felt and 100 on leather before each shave, but to be honest I don't think this strop is that good.”

Compare pre-stropped bevels to post. If you are seeing deep random stria post stropping, your strop is contaminated and probably chipping the edge or weakening the edge and heavy stropping is causing chipping.

What makes you suspect an issue with the strop?

IME the Dovo strops are very good in all honesty, I would buy one and use it exclusively without any issues and be happy with my shaves