Thread: blunt toes

anyone out there who can tell me what to do? i have 4 razors that resist my best efforts to get the last 1/2 " of the toe to pass the hht. 2 have a slight smile the other two are dead straight. ther rest of the blade is scary sharp and i lap my hones ( norton 4/8 and spyderco uf)before every session( and many times inbetween) the rest of my collection didnt have this problem,i also use a pasted strop 1m and 1/4m diamond paste. any ideas?

There are actually 4 steps to a shave ready blade

Set the bevel
Sharpen the bevel
Polish the bevel
Finish the bevel

The first one is the most important one and this is where your problem lies

You have to have the edge sharp from toe to heel before you move up in grit, you cannot half way do it there is no shortcut...

Drop back down in grit and get the bevel set first then move back up, a properly set bevel will cut arm hair easily.. It will feel sharper than the sharpest knife you have ever touched....

If the Norton 4k is the lowest grit stone you have I would recommend watching the webcast from the NC meet up playing right now and watch the circle honing technique that Lynn shows on there you will need it....

Check out this excerpt here from the barber manual on honing circa 1961. They describe a method of honing designed to overcome that issue. There is also the rolling x described here.

Until I started using the Rolling X I was unable to get a good edge on my blades, even the dead flat edges. Although there isn't an actual roll on the flat edges the subtle change in pressure along the edge seems to be the key.

X