Thread: Do you tape the spine?

Originally Posted by Yannis

Just calculated:
All my razors have an angle from 14 degrees minimum( bengall, Dorko for barber use) to 16 degrees maximum (dorko stainless, Henkels friodur- new, henckels made-) with the majority of others between 15 and 16

Lets go with an example:

A razor with 6mm spine width and 21 mm blade ( Dorko Stainless) has 16 deg angle.

If you hone it without tape 3mm then you have 19 deg angle

To remain 16 deg you need a spine of 5,6 mm , a spine wear of 0,2 mm in width on each side.

If you hone with tape another 1mm you have 20 deg angle.

The spine of the razors is so designed to obtain in aproximation the wear needed to maintain the angle.
Spine wear must be proportional with the width of the bevel
On new razors the spine wear surface is minimal because the bevel width is minimal.
So if after time the bevel width (the surface who touch the hone) is larger and you need more honing and the spine wear surface becomes larger to compensate this.
This is easier to observe on wedges

Yannis,
If you hone it without tape you will still have a 16 degree angle because the spine will were with the edge thus preserving the angle.
What you probably intended to say is “if you hone with tape…”

Please allow me to convert your razor’s metric measurements to the standard of days gone by:
1/4"=.25"=6.3mm
7/8"=.87"=22.2
OK so your Dorko is 6mm x 21… that only means your razor has “been around the block” a few times.

So based on your measured Dorko, I can tell you with certainty that you have a 7/8th razor with a ¼” spine… that’s about 16 degrees (i wont bore you with the math)... please have a second looks at the so called "standard", do you still think its “absolutely inaccurate”?.
Now…if you tape the spine on your Dorko and hone down to 6/8th (19mm) the angle would be 18 degrees… still within the standard but probably not the best shave in the world (depending on the steel of course) and you would be hard pressed to find a 6/8 straight with a 1/4 inch spine that was made that way by the manufacture.
Hone to a 5/8th and it would be 21 degrees… now your razor looks “odd” and without even checking for spine wear I would not buy it (someone else may buy it for the scales though).

If you measure enough razors you will find variances between even the same brand/model manufactured at the same time. This doesn’t always mean that the razor was improperly honed or taped or whatever by the previous owner(s)… it means vintage straight razors were ground by hand… in fact new ones are still ground by hand today.

When my baber went to barbering school in the sixties he spent the first two weeks doing nothing but honing! They used eletrical tape. Wether to save the spine or to save the bevel, I dont know, I'll have to ask next haircut. Either way, I dont see how this would promote "dishonest" razors in the 2nd hand market. Most of the people sell ing these 2nd hand razors wouldnt know what to do or why, secondly these razors already show their hone wear and taping the spine will not roll back the odometer and eliminate the hone wear. In conclusion all I can say is "to each his own", sometimes there is niether right or wrong simply difference in technique, style or opinion.

Yes, I occasionally tape my razors - depending on the blade