Thread: Setting a bevel on a Norton 4K

Wedges are a bear to hone, one question??? did you tape the spine????
You can discuss this till the cows come home, but setting a bevel on a W&B wedge on a 4k is going to take TIME and a ton of metal off.... Personally I would rather be taking that metal off the edge where it will do some good rather than off the spine where it does absolutely nothing for you but clog up the stone.....

Now if you did tape the spine then you just have a few hours of solid honing to go
and yes you have the right idea stay on that 4k until you have an edge from heel to toe....

Hi Glen

Initially I was taping the spine yes using heavy duty masking tape. However the tape kept getting rubbed off. The stickiness of the tape would catch on the hone. It meant that I couldnt actually move the damn razor along the hone.

So for about half the time I was using tape and half of it I havent. This will change things I know, but what else can I do?

Plastic electrical tape is what you need....
It will not hurt to add tape, the 3M brand is the most consistent I have found but any will work....

Sorry I should have been clear. It is plastic electrical tape. Not the paper masking tape I am now thinking of.

Is the tape wearing out in just one spot on the spine????

Not wearing out. The edges of the tape fray up. They are sticky and when they get pulled back they catch on the hone. This would be easier to show you rather than describe. But its 1.30am atm and i'm off to sleep. Maybe I could show you somehow some other time. Maybe i'll try making a Youtube video.

Sandy - I use the plastic electrical tape as it tends to stay down and not fray like the stuff that looks like it has fibres in it.

Even on a Norton a wedge can take a while. I like to use analogy (and double entendre, but that is another story) wherever possible. A sculptor will whack away rock with a big hammer and chisel until she gets close to the general shape she is after. Then she will go more carefully and/or use finer tools.

On a wedge (or any razor for that matter, it is just more obvious on a wedge) I feel it does not matter how you remove the metal when heading toward the bevel being created. So I tend to hone in circles, use a bit of pressure, etc until the bevel gets close (thumb nail test is my favourite for that). Once I am close, then I start using a more "proper" technique. That metal has to go anyway - who cares how you got rid of it?

That is not to say you should not be careful. All I am saying is that you don't have to go down, flip, up, flip, down, flip, up, flip...... with the pressure of a feather on the wind for 5 hours on a bread-knifed wedge, or whatever, to get the bevel created.

James.