Thread: Taping

Hi all,

Before i begin, I have read and watched videos that discuss tape vs no tape.

I have always taped the spine while honing.

I have noticed while watching YouTube and reading online (Dulicote method on coticle.be) that when using a Coticule hardly anyone I saw is using tape, in fact the dulicot method doesn't even mention adding tape.

Will a Coti cause spine wear, do I actually need tape with it?

That brings me to my second question, is tape necessary with Arks? They cut so slowly that I can't help but wonder if necessary there either.

I would welcome your opinions.

Its a peace of mind thing, Steve.

I tape, because I don't want to possibly leave any marks on the spine, or add any more wear, to a already worn spine.

If you can hone without wearing through the tape, your fine for trying to hone without it whenever you want to.

I just honed a bunch of razors for someone. They requested no tape. So on the lower grit stones th set bevel I placed a piece of paper under spine. On higher grit I used nothing. Result was minimal hone wear.
This worked fine as all spines were straight with no low or high spots.

Originally Posted by STF

Hi all,

Before i begin, I have read and watched videos that discuss tape vs no tape.

I have always taped the spine while honing.

I have noticed while watching YouTube and reading online (Dulicote method on coticle.be) that when using a Coticule hardly anyone I saw is using tape, in fact the dulicot method doesn't even mention adding tape.

Will a Coti cause spine wear, do I actually need tape with it?

That brings me to my second question, is tape necessary with Arks? They cut so slowly that I can't help but wonder if necessary there either.

I would welcome your opinions.

Every stone will cause spine wear.
Do you need tape? No
Can you use tape? Yes
Will a Coti cause spine wear? Yes

What the Dilucut does it pretty interesting though.
You hone without tape, set the bevel, so the original bevel angle that the razor was made with remains the same. Add a layer of tape to create the secondary micro bevel. Once that doesn't cut it anymore, you remove tape, re-create the primary bevel which remains the same angle as original; then you can re-add tape for the secondary bevel and skip a big part in the refining of the edge.

Some people seem allergic to wanting to change the original bevel angle of the edge that was put on the razor in the factory and don't like adding tape. There are upper and lower limits that do matter to make the razor shave well. It can be calculated.
Some won't hone without it.

I don't really care much, you do you, as long as the angles are within proper shaving angles, all is well. Tape or no tape.

I tape all razor that are not mine, because there is no good reason not to. And I tape all my own razors because I have spent so much time restoring them or are in near new condition, why needlessly wear the spine.

If a stone removes steel from the edge, it will remove steel from the spine.

Back in the day, when many of those Coticule honing videos were made, the Tape/No tape was a huge issue and many a heated “Debate” was had, to the point of folks leaving the forum.

In those days, the Coticule was king, the Norton 8k was the new upstart. 8k and Chrome Oxide was the ultimate edge. No one but me and a few used Arks and a handful used Jnats. It was a very different shaving world.

A couple weeks ago I picked up a near NOS Filarmonica in a pristine white box for a few dollars. It had never been honed. Should I tape the spine?

Maybe Kapton Tape can be useful when one doesn't want to alter the spine... and using it shouldn't alter the blade's geometry.
Razors are projected with a precise spine/blade height ratio. Honing using always (normal) tape alter somewhat that ratio, as the edge will be worn out over time and not the spine.
So it's one's choice... do we prefer to mantain the right geometry, or an untouched spine?

I tape all. But I will measure them up first and determine the angle first. I add as much as two layers with Kapton as a third layer if.needed to correct the angle. Or just a layer of Kapton. It makes me feel better about honing.
Do you need it? It depends on your ability and how you feel about it.

The reality is, if you are maintaining a hand-full of razors, once you learn to hone and can craft a shaving edge without removing a lot of steel, you do not need to do a full bevel set on low grit aggressive stone, to touch up a razor.

Then the tape/wear issue is not a big deal, and it becomes a matter of aesthetics.

I learned to hone on an Ark and maintained a single razor for 10 years on a translucent and a strop, without tape. It was bevel set twice, by my barber when new and once when I produced a double bevel learning to hone, too much pressure.

The only razors that I have found that will not hold an edge are excessively spine worn, and a layer or two of tape will hone them nicely. Never excessively edge worn razors.

There is no good reason, not to tape.

Boy you kicked a hornet's nest Steve. For some reason this particular issue boils the blood of some. I think it weaves back and forth over the border of overthinking. I would venture to say that you and I along with most other people will never see a time where it becomes that critical for geometric reasons. I see no reason not to tape except in very rare instances. A razor that is this close to exceeding the geometric limits by adding tape is usually either worn out or not ground well in the first place.

EDIT: of course now I'm kicking the hornet's nest along with you.