Thread: Meat Chopper Honing

So I received an heirloom razor for Christmas with a great deal of history behind it. Had gone Wade & Butcher hunting before but only come back with hollow grounds (one with two cracks I failed to notice before cleaning but its a damn good letter opener). This new one though is a gorgeous meat chopper!

Having only honed hollow grounds with slight variations on Harold's technique any tips for the beasty wedges? *goes off to hunt the wiki and forums* (There is a sliiiiight smileyness on the toe I debate about doing away with/keeping partially unsharp or attempt a rolling variant stroke as it doesn't look like it would sacrifice much steel and one naturally on the shape of the forged steel that remains unsharpened on the heel)

*sits here admiring the blade considering restore options*





Currently have a DMT 325, 600 and Shapton 1k, 4k, 8k, 16k for a honing setup.

Hi,

Start on the Shapton 1k to set the bevel. Use a "sliiiiight" rolling stroke if there is a "sliiiiight" smile
Being a wedge, this will take more time on the 1k to set a bevel than the full hollows you've honed, so be advised.
Have fun.

Originally Posted by FreyGrimrod

So I received an heirloom razor for Christmas with a great deal of history behind it. Had gone Wade & Butcher hunting before but only come back with hollow grounds (one with two cracks I failed to notice before cleaning but its a damn good letter opener). This new one though is a gorgeous meat chopper!

Having only honed hollow grounds with slight variations on Harold's technique any tips for the beasty wedges? *goes off to hunt the wiki and forums* (There is a sliiiiight smileyness on the toe I debate about doing away with/keeping partially unsharp or attempt a rolling variant stroke as it doesn't look like it would sacrifice much steel and one naturally on the shape of the forged steel that remains unsharpened on the heel)

*sits here admiring the blade considering restore options*

Ok so I don't have the best camera folks but...






(artifact vertical line on the blade in that last one)



Currently have a DMT 325, 600 and Shapton 1k, 4k, 8k, 16k for a honing setup.

I get the best results on wedges and smiley razors using a 45 degree angle stroke and the 45 degrees works well with circles too. Sometimes if the spine is really been ground and there a bunch of bevels, I will tape the spine in lieu of removing a ton of metal to get to a good bevel.

Have fun,

Lynn

Having just done this on a beast a 1+ incher W&B The Celebrated For Barbers Use, I can say I used all sort of crazy patterns, I know thats very vague but I used the rolling x starting with heel to toe, and then normal straight strokes, X patterns, even some or Lynn's famous circles ( although I think they did more harm then good, I'm not of Lynn's caliber to master these yet) and I tend to hone until I get a 'feel" that I have done all I can on that particular hone or grit of stone.

I cant say this enough that stropping properly is really where the magic happens imho, a good 50 strokes can really put a nice smooth finish to things after the .5 diamond film.

I went like this

1k Naniwa
5k Naniwa
8 Naniwa
1u diamond Film
.5 diamond film

25 on webbing
100 on Bridle Strop from SRD.

In the end smooth as butter

I will say mine was NOT A WEDGE, wedges imho require some extra taping to set a good bevel and remove the old stuff, that's totally imho.

Cheers
David

For smiling wedges, I do "rocking circles" to set the bevel, and then a normal rolling x stroke through the rest of the progression. Regardless of the grind, honing is the same, but heavier grinds tend to take longer to get their bevels set. This method helps me remove a lot of steel quickly, especially on smiling blades.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/511701-post11.html

Thank you all for the advice!

something that really helped me out when it came to smiling wedges was watching "kenrup resto" on youtube. Between the honing and stropping there is probably 20 videos. He does a complete restore on a old wade and butcher chopper, from start to finish and explaining each step. definitely a must watch for smiling blade honing. Enjoy!