A Good Example Of A Frown

[JimmyHAD]

Another thread on a frowning blade and running into an ebay item with photos that show an extreme example stimulated my posting this thread. I captured a couple of photos of ebay item # 260523295392 because they are classic in showing a frown for anyone who is not familiar with that condition. The seller demonstrates the average person's ignorance of straight razors by unabashedly referring to the razor as 'nice'.

I have breadknifed a frowning blade on a couple of occasions and found that restoring a bevel was a prodigious amount of work. I have flat honed with one layer of tape on the spine and found I like that method better. IIRC Glen recommended three layers when dealing with a frown to speed the process. IME that is a good idea. One way or the other it is labor intensive IME. Where having a coarse DMT is appreciated.

It really depends on the individual razor and how serious the frown. IIRC Lynn posted in a thread on dealing with a frown that honing on a coarse hone with the spine slightly lifted was a good way to get to a proper edge profile. Then follow up with bevel correction and setting in the normal manner. I haven't had a chance to try that but it makes a lot of sense and I will if I ever run into a razor with that problem in the future.

In this example note the spine wear corresponding to the frown at the edge. I once bought a razor with a frown because it still had enough blade left to make a good shaver and it was by a maker that filled a hole in my collection. Ordinarily I would pass on anything with a serious frown.