How to Assess an Edge!!!!

I know I have posted this before in various threads but lets give it a thread all it's own....

When you have an unknown edge in your hand, like an E-baybie razor, here is a fast way to check the edge to see where you stand...
I use this method quite a bit before I waste a ton of time on a restore to check the steel...

I use 1 layer of tape you can if you want...

Dull the edge, either use a glass, or the back of a stone, you don't need to kill it just dull it with a couple of strokes...

Put the razor on a 1k (or there about) stone, do 10 full laps straight down the hone if possible, go heel forward to adjust for width.. Using a narrow hone here is not a good thing.... You want to use a little pressure here, and I would actually advise two hands.... This IS NOT honing, you want to see what is wrong here, not hone around it....

Look at the shine to:
1.) Make sure the steel is solid, no pits in the edge
2.) See how even the blade actually is
3.) Read the lie of the bevel look for how even the shine is

This quick test saves you steel and time, you can find out a ton of info here and the more times you do this the better you get at reading the edge....

BTW in the NC Razorcon web-cast I actually use this technique so you can see it in action there.. It is rather simple though...

Glen,

Is this different than the marker test? If so how? It sounds very similar but I didn't read where you marked the blade. Did I miss that?

Sorry if I am sounding stupid. It's a busy day and I'm getting tired of looking at the screen. Time to take a break. BRB

Yes, the marker test if what I've always used to date when I put any razor to a hone for the first time. What are the advantages to your method over the marker test, Glen? Assessing an edge right away is critical in saving time and one's sanity.

Chris L

I always go to the 30x microscope or eye loupe first. Then I put the marker on and see how it is hitting the hone and what stroke will work to make all of the bevel come in contact. At one time I didn't like the idea of dulling the edge on glass but I've changed my mind about that and I think it is a good idea. I use the TNT and the TPT until the TNT is passed and then only the TPT and later also the hair popping.

The marker test works just fine, for the honing stages, this test is before all that...

With a marker test you are looking at how you are honing the edge at the early stages, this is fast and dirty to actually look at the edge and the entire "lay of the land" so to speak...

The marker test tells you that what you are doing is working to correct what you have found here earlier in the process...

Honestly the more familiar you get with this test the less you will use the marker test...

I've got a thick skull and I'm the first to admit it. I absolutely find that the marker test as a periodic test does just what you say it does, Glen. It tells me if what I'm doing in honing it working or not (hitting the entire bevel evenly across the length of the blade, etc). But the marker test for the very first few passes a razor ever sees on my hones tells me which part/s of the length of that blade if any, are going to require modification in honing other than traditional, even light pressure to hit the whole edge. The marker does tell me if any part of that edge is going to be a cantankerous sucka for the get go.

If I'm getting you, though, your test is revealing more than just whether or not the razor lies flat on both sides, etc. When I put the marker on for the first few passes, I am really only doing it to get an idea of where the bevels are NOT making contact with the hone. That's what I've wanted to know to start.

Chris L

I just realized that you guys might be using the marker test very early in your process....

No problem, you could do this using a marked blade too, I never have, but I bet it would work the same...

Edit: except maybe for spotting pits/chips in the bevel.. that could be a problem

Gotcha. I'm going to make a mental note to try your method. I might like it better than the marker test. We can both agree, I'm sure, that doing SOME test right away to "get the lay of the land" is extremely important.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit the first few times I tried to hone I did the entire progression not realizing that certain areas of the blade were not contacting the stones. What a waste of time and frustration.:rant:

Chris L

Going out on a limb here... but you are going to find trying this, that it is a self correcting test...

You are testing the edge but also you are cutting what should become a "rut" for a nice even bevel...

This of course needs to be adapted using a heel forward stroke for a smiling blade.....

Maybe I have never posted this before, but I was sure I did.....I have used this for almost 2 years now on every unknown razor that crosses my hands....