Thread: How...?

So I think I have this honing thing down for the most part. Like many here I took good advice and started taping the spines with electrician's tape. The one thing I have yet to figure out is how on God's green Earth do you remove the sticky residue? I have tried acetone which does nothing, hot water which just smears the mess, and Windex (also nothing). Any one have a trick or shortcut to recommend?

Alittle bit of petroleum based oil should do the trick, 3N1 or something similar.

I got some stuff at the grocery store that I think was called Goof-off that worked well.

Can I ask why you needed to tape the spine in the first place?

Originally Posted by ProfessorChaos!

The one thing I have yet to figure out is how on God's green Earth do you remove the sticky residue?

You can take a fresh piece of tape and press it down on the residue and pull it off and the residue will tick to the tape. But even if I don't bother it will come off when I oil the blade. 3-in-1, tuf-glide and dovo sterol will all dissolve the residue on contact.

Paint thinner or what we call here cleaning petrol (=gasoline for domestic purposes).

First, thanks for all the good suggestions! I should have looked for goop remover in the hardware store.

Originally Posted by English

Can I ask why you needed to tape the spine in the first place?

You don't need to tape the spine but it can make things easier. I started taping the spines of wedges - for which I have a marked preference - to cut down honing time and eliminate some of the wear on the spine. For a while it was easy enough to remember which razor I had honed with tape and which I had not. As time passes and my collection grows, it becomes harder to remember which I taped and which I did not. So now I just tape them all.

I've taped a wedge for the same reasons and it did make life easier at the time.

But now I find that just by finishing a normal honing development session with a leather hone coated with Chromium oxide seems to do the trick. Also, when I strop the wedge, I have to hold the leather taught or the stropping detracts rather than smooths the edge. In fact I find it is easiest to lay the strop on a table edge to get the best results. Not always practical in the morning however.

There is some stuff called Goo Gone that is supposed to be good for removing that sticky stuff from surfaces. I am taping all spines now too. Same deal. That way I don't have to remember which were taped and which weren't. Not a moral issue IMO.

WD-40 will also work