Thread: Curved Blade

I've got this old razor a friend's father gave me out of his collection a long time ago. I've never thought of trying to sharpen it til now and I was gonna give it a go, but I've just realized the blade is curved as is the spine of the razor. I'm just curious how to sharpen a blade like that. It seems like it defies the normal methods a bit...

The barber texts in the Help files talk about how this is done and when i apply it to even my flat edges it helps bring the hair popping edge right down to the spike.

You want to think about lightly rolling the main point of contact from heel to toe as you advance along the hone. My recommendations are to ALWAYS try to keep as much of the blade in contact with the hone at any moment, so never starting too far off the heel or extending too far off the toe. Also, start travelling that point of contact immediately. There is a tendency to get easy edges on the heel, but have a harder time toward the tip.

That's my 2¢, but it works for me.

X

Are you referring to using the X pattern?

Originally Posted by xman

The barber texts in the Help files talk about how this is done and when i apply it to even my flat edges it helps bring the hair popping edge right down to the spike.

You want to think about lightly rolling the main point of contact from heel to toe as you advance along the hone. My recommendations are to ALWAYS try to keep as much of the blade in contact with the hone at any moment, so never starting too far off the heel or extending too far off the toe. Also, start travelling that point of contact immediately. There is a tendency to get easy edges on the heel, but have a harder time toward the tip.

That's my 2¢, but it works for me.

X

Not exactly, although using the X pattern helps achieve what I AM talking about. As you start the stroke, the focus or main contact with the hone is at the heel. By the end of the stroke it has traveled up to the tip. Since the edge is curved, this is the only practical way to get the whole edge keen, I would think.

X

X it was your advice that helped me get my TI honed. For some reason when the blade is flat on the hone the 1/4 near the heel does not come into contact with the hone. This is not visible during honing other than not seeing the grind lines on the edge.

I used an almost imperceptible shift in pressure from heel to toe as I push the blade on the hone. That way every part of the edge gets in contact with the hone.

Yesterday, I was honing for a couple of hours with no effect on the heel part of the blade. Today with the slight rocking motion it took only a single pass through the pyramid to get the whole blade sharp (relatively sharp to what it was).

This sounds like the way one would sharpen a curved knife, just by rocking it slightly as you pass it over the stone. Is that mostly accurate?

Originally Posted by 440stainless

This sounds like the way one would sharpen a curved knife, just by rocking it slightly as you pass it over the stone. Is that mostly accurate?

Sounds exactly right.

And well done, Vlad. Glad I could help. Give yourself a pat on the back.

Yes, that is the correct motion for a curved blade or one with a minor warp.

Originally Posted by 440stainless

This sounds like the way one would sharpen a curved knife, just by rocking it slightly as you pass it over the stone. Is that mostly accurate?

For these types of blades, I still use the X pattern, but instead of having the blade at 90 degrees or perpendicular to the stone, I use an angled approach at about 45 degrees. This works well for curved, warped and big wedges that have been poorly ground in the past. Lynn

To remove any confusion. What Lynn has just posted and what I meant are the same.

Lesson to me.... take the time to make a complete answer instead of assuming to much.