Thread: Narrow hones

Sometimes, if I'm not careful, I find a section of the edge that has a different bevel on it. It's usually less than half an inch wide and sometimes it has a chip in it. I think this comes from the fact that most of my hones are narrower that my razor is long and I include part of the shoulder of the razor in the pass. Does anybody else do this, too? What do you do about it, prevention wise? Do you grind/hone the shoulder down some?

It happened to the razor I was honing today, but it has happened before. I'm pretty sure my hones are flat as I was able to fix the edge after I caught my mistake. I lap them before every use, too. Pencil grids and all. Out of the 6 or 7 I have in my progression, I only have one natural stone, and it's the biggest one I have. Most of them are 2 or 2 1/2 in wide. I'm pretty sure it's my technique. I think I have it narrowed down to what the problem is-I think I'm placing the razor too far over the hone to where the shoulder is touching the hone and the edge of the razor is touching the opposite edge of the hone, creating 2 points of contact, instead of having the blade lie flat on the surface of the stone. When I start the 'x pattern', the edge of the hone cuts a grove in the blade that's usually 1/2 an inch long at most. And depending on how smooth the edge is, it takes out a chip sometimes. I can see the light reflecting off part of the edge at one angle. When I rotate the blade a little I can see where the bevel is at a different angle at a different spot along the edge (the 1/2 in portion). I probably shouldn't watch TV when I'm doing this, but that's just the way it goes.

So, there's the problem. Any ideas on how to avoid this altogether? Other than pay more attention? Does anybody else have this problem/heard of this problem? I only have a handful of razors I'm working with, so a custom adjustment on 3 or 4 razors wouldn't be a problem for me. Does anybody grind or hone down the shoulder a bit to avoid this situation?

I think beveling the edges would only avoid the chipping, but not the portion at a different bevel. But that would only remedy the symptom of a symptom of the problem that is I put the shoulder of the razor on the hone while I'm not paying attention and still move it down the hone on those 2 points of contact-the one on the shoulder and the other on the other side of the hone. I plan on keeping the few razors I have indefinitely. So, I really don't mind grinding the shoulder down some to avoid this if I have to because it will probably happen again, whether I like it or not.

Is this unheard of? Does everybody else just fix the edge and move on? Or is there something else I could do to prevent this?

Without pics, it's only a guess, but I think I know what you are talking about.

Keep a close eye on the angle as you make passes.
Example: if your heel is leading by 25-30d on rough passes, and you make finish passes at 5-10d you might end up with the problem you describe.

I have had the "grinding the shoulder down, double bevel on part of the blade problem", and maintaining a consistent heel leading angle got rid of it.

And yes, narrow hones can be harder to use, so it may be that you are lifting the heel during your stroke also.

If I could get all of the honing done before I got distracted, I wouldn't have this problem. It's just that shows like prototype this have giant boxing robots that catch my eye. I'll try and get a picture next time it happens.

Originally Posted by crazycliff200843

If I could get all of the honing done before I got distracted, I wouldn't have this problem. It's just that shows like prototype this have giant boxing robots that catch my eye. I'll try and get a picture next time it happens.

Yeah, post some pics of those giant boxing robots, I wanna see that!

I meant pics of the razor, but I see that you catch my drift about getting distracted. Anyway, you can see the episode on the internet on the discovery channels site if you want to.

Originally Posted by OLD_SCHOOL

... You cannot be lazy when honing, nor distracted, because one small slip up can potentially smurf your razor completely...

And does that ever SUCK when you do something dumb during finish passes... sigh, back to the bevel setting stage!

After you do that a few times, you learn to pay attention a bit more.

Maybe I'm just thinking out loud then. Those shoulderless blades are looking better and better...

Originally Posted by crazycliff200843

Maybe I'm just thinking out loud then. Those shoulderless blades are looking better and better...

I don't know about that. Just maintain a consistent angle and you will be fine.