Thread: One edge is sharper than the other

Hi,

I recently purchased and old Bengall razor from eBay. Have polished it etc so it looks like new. I have now sat down and started honing. I have been honing knives for a while so know small amount about honing but am finding honing a razor a bit different.

I have got one side of the razor super sharp and knocks the hairs off my forearm with ease. The other side is a lot blunter. I am wondering how do i even this up so both sides have equal sharpness.

This is becoming urgent as i am running out of forearm hairs and I am starting to look a bit wierd with one smooth almost hariless arm and the other is extremely hirsute.

Sounds like you have a wire edge on it. The edge is bent upward in one direction making it feel dull on one side and sharp on the other. Have you used a pasted strop? A few strokes will probably take that wire off for you.

edit: I think I misread your post. If you are saying that the heel is sharp but the toe is not, make sure that it's laying flat on your hone...i've got one that does that.

No you read it right the first time. Hmmm strop paste eh. I have a strop which is a piece of leather pasted onto a block of wood (made by dorko solingen, about 18 years old). Is there anything i can use apart from stop paste becuase i will have to order it on line and that could take a few days to arrive.

First forget everything you ever learned about honing knives...

What stones are you using????

I have a soft Arkansas stone and a Kasumi #3K/#8K ceramic block. I have been doing most of the honing on the Kasumi

It is also possible that your bevel only extends to the razor's edge on one side.

Is a test for a wire edge to use a pin to see if catches on the razor edge. I just tried that and there doesnt seem to be a catch

Originally Posted by hendersr

I have a soft Arkansas stone and a Kasumi #3K/#8K ceramic block. I have been doing most of the honing on the Kasumi

I am not familiar with the stones you are using. My guess is that they are not ideal for setting a bevel and getting a razor up to speed. I know a soft Arkansas is slow and while good on pocket knives is not great for razors. I don't know the other stones.

If you have a magic marker paint the very edge, do a few strokes and see how your edge is making contact by what is removed. Also for the wire edge a few back honing strokes might help on that.

I would put my focus on the 3k doing circles to set a bevel and having some magnification would be a big +. Do the TNT to get an idea of where you are on your bevel set. Once 'there' don't use the TNT anymore and do x strokes in a pyramid with the 3/8. That is what I would do having those....