Thread: Honing angle

I just wrote a long post and it logged me out when I went to submit ....

Okay so, Ive just honed for the first time, spent about an hour experimenting, Ive watched videos but I dont understand what the correct angle to hone is...

So far Ive seen most people hone with the spine flat.

When I lay the razor flat against the hone, nothing feels like its happening... doesnt feel to be getting sharper.... and it grinds the spine.

when I raise it slightly ie spine off, I get a nice tearing sound and it feels correct... but this seems to leave more room for error, one could have the blade too high and dig into the stone...

Does the angle differ per razor? Im not exactly using a dovo but Im not really using something cheap, and I know how cheap feels from my first purchase, which broke...

Ive been practicing on a sanguine that takes half a disposable blade.
So im aware how sharp it needs to be, and it came sharp, but Im just trying to learn the correct way to sharpen... cos after an hour I still dont feel ive sharpened correctly and dont feel confident in what im doing, which i feels important...

I know the obvious answer should be whichever angle sharpens it...

Just looking for guidance...

your blade has been honed early with tape on its back.that is why angle has been changed.you will need to tape the back of the blade until you will get right angle.what is a right angle.if you put your blade in flat surface and light behind blade --light shouldn;t be seen under the blade.hope this helps.

i should say please check videos couple more times and visit WIKI will help

Ahh okay Ill try that.... thank you...

Before you do that, contact the seller and ask him how he honed it and how many layers if he used tape.

Well, Ive had a read of the wiki, I understand now that its double bevelled.... I`ll try contact the seller, but I doubt they`ll know cos i think they were only the retailer....

My first razor, was a terrible pakistani one I think, cos that needed to be held at a higher angle to sharpen... even then it didnt...

the angle on this is just slight, literally just a fingernail off the hone... If I cant find the info on how much tape is used, ill just start off with one layer and build it up till it feels like its being sharpened..

So do you have to do that with expensive dovo razors? seems odd to spend a lot of money on something then have to tape it up...

From what I've read, taping is a mixed bag. Some people really like to tape practically every razor they hone to keep the spine from wearing down, but others will point out that the spine is supposed to wear down when you hone. Also, honing a true wedge without taping it can take countless hours, and you would literally be honing the entire width of the blade, so wedge users frequently tape their wedges to cut down on honing time.



The idea is that by wearing the spine at the same rate as the bevel, you can maintain the exact same bevel angle even if you have to hone the razor so many times over it's life that there's not enough metal left to shave with.

Also, and this is basic geometry, if you put a piece of tape on the spine, hone, use it until it needs honing again, and then put a fresh piece of tape on the spine, you are actually setting a steeper and steeper bevel every time you hone. The reason, for anybody who doesn't see it, is that each time you hone, the blade is getting ever so slightly narrower, but the spine isn't getting any thinner, changing the overall geometry.


So, if you've got a razor that has been honed with a taped spine, you've got 2 options.

1. forget the tape, put it on a 1k (or courser) stone and gently work it until you have a new bevel that matches the spine. This will probably take a HUGE amount of time, but get you out of ever having to tape the blade again.

2. Tape the razor every time you hone it for the rest of it's life, and be aware that every hone is a new bevel (granted, a very slightly new bevel that probably doesn't require much, if any, extra effort)

lol, I just realized that I went off on my tangent and never 'quite' got back to answering your question.

The direct answer to your question about what expensive razors need, is the absolutely no razor ever needs to be taped. Some people choose to tape a razor because wedge and wedge like razors hone faster when taped, or because they think that a tiny amount of very smooth wear along the edge of the spine is somehow undesirable.

Ha... I knew this would end up with me having to buy a full set on stones.... I understand now, thank you for taking the time to answer... I thought that might be the case.... Atleast now I know its not something I`m doing wrong.
I think I`ll use tape for now.
Then either, re hone it from scratch... or just pay someone else to do it >.<

I think if I invest in a decent 7 day set, then have them re-honed and custom handles made, it`ll be worth it to not have to do as much and get something I want...

Thanks again

Originally Posted by mrjynx

Ha... I knew this would end up with me having to buy a full set on stones....

Any excuse to buy new toys........

If you're uncertain about the honing angle color the edge with a sharpie and make a light pass. It will help you identify where the blade is making contact with the hone. If the edge is still black you will need to add another layer of tape... Either way, you can easily walk the hone angle into the edge as soon as you know where the contact area is.