Thread: Cant Hone!

A potential problem with leaving two (or I've seen three suggested) layers of electrical tape on for thw whole honing process is that you will wind up with a sharp razor, but one with a changed bevel angle or a double bevel. Thereafter if you (or someone else unsuspecting) want to hone it you either have to tape it or establish the correct bevel angle. A variation is to use the tape to get a bevel and an edge going and then remove the tape and refine the bevel to the correct 15 degrees before finishing.

Something to think about when giving advice.

Don J.

Originally Posted by maxfarce

A potential problem with leaving two (or I've seen three suggested) layers of electrical tape on for thw whole honing process is that you will wind up with a sharp razor, but one with a changed bevel angle or a double bevel. Thereafter if you (or someone else unsuspecting) want to hone it you either have to tape it or establish the correct bevel angle. A variation is to use the tape to get a bevel and an edge going and then remove the tape and refine the bevel to the correct 15 degrees before finishing.

Something to think about when giving advice.

Don J.

And which "correct" 15 degree angle is this????

Somewhere back in the deep dark archives of SRP you will find where one of the resident math geniuses here, actually measured razor angles and figured this stuff out not I....You would also find a thread where another enterprising member took one razor and honed it back by 1/16 inch increments trying to find the bevel failure angle...
Guess what, razors go from 8-22 degrees of angle and still work just fine and I bet if you really look you can find even more variance in the angles....
1 layer of tape changes the angle approximately 1/2 a degree (depending on blade and spine relationship) Not that I am saying more than one is recommended here, but even a ridicules amount of tape 5 layers would be 2 1/2 degrees so you are still most likely inside the extremes...

Originally Posted by maxfarce

A variation is to use the tape to get a bevel and an edge going and then remove the tape and refine the bevel to the correct 15 degrees before finishing.

I'm sorry, but that sound like a great way to get in trouble. Once you remove tape, the blade pivots on the rim of the bevel, causing the very edge to not longer make contact with the hone. Depending on the width of the bevel, it takes some serious bevel correction to establish a correct bevel for the new honing angle.
The only reason to start out with extra tape is during the first stages of rebuilding an entire new bevel after a regrinding job, or heavy restoration that led to the complete removal of the original bevel. This is done to compensate for flex in the blade, when pressure is applied to speed up the rebuilding process. In any case, the extra tape needs to be removed before the new bevel is completely rebuild with regular low pressure honing.

I wouldn't recommend anyone who still needs to complete his first successful honing job (and reports he has not shaved once with a straight razor) do do fancy tricks with multiple layers of tape.
You can add one layer of tape to protect the spine form wearing, or you can choose not to. It makes not a shred of difference in the final keenness of the edge, at least not that I can discern. The only important thing is to complete the entire honing with the chosen option. Yes, there are variations and exceptions. I believe they belong in the "advanced honing section".

Bart.

Originally Posted by maxfarce

A potential problem with leaving two (or I've seen three suggested) layers of electrical tape on for thw whole honing process is that you will wind up with a sharp razor, but one with a changed bevel angle or a double bevel. Thereafter if you (or someone else unsuspecting) want to hone it you either have to tape it or establish the correct bevel angle. A variation is to use the tape to get a bevel and an edge going and then remove the tape and refine the bevel to the correct 15 degrees before finishing.

Something to think about when giving advice.

Don J.

Hi Don. I am not swayed from my advice even after hearing of these potential problems. 1. the angle will be different. 2. No one will know.

There are many members who use tape. There are quite a few who use both hands. These suggestions are hardly fancy tricks Bart

Originally Posted by kevint

There are many members who use tape. There are quite a few who use both hands. These suggestions are hardly fancy tricks Bart

Never said they were, Kevin. I don't mind about tape. But removing tape after the bevel 's set is a recipe for frustration. If you're going to play with adding and removing tape during the same honing job, you better know damn' well what you're doing. I think that you qualify for that, but I don't think someone who hasn't been able to succesfully sharpen his first razor is not.
I never adressed honing single handed or both handed. But now that you mentionned it: I recommend turning on the strop between thumb and index finger and I also recommend honing razors singlehandedly. I started out doing both those things differently, and I had to unlearn them at some point to move on with my technique.

Bart.

good thing im always here to address this quickly.

I suggested leaving the tape on: hone, patch shave, strop, patch shave, take note of the effect, continue... like that.

Overnight one should remove the tape and oil the blade.

I am not recommending a lifestyle, just a casual afternoon to inform oneself: "hell yeah I can hone" would be the likely statement. 12-20 minutes; done. the rest is the path to perfection