Thread: Honing a wedge

Most of the straight razors I've seen on this site and in the forums are hollow ground (1/4, 1/2, or full) for the most part. I've seen very little discussion about wedge blades. I got my first W&B wedge yesterday and I'm still trying to get an idea on just how to hone it. I'm guessing it would work the same way on the Norton 4/8K but I'm not sure so I guess this is the part where I ask, "How the heck am I supposed to do this??"

Hey Dawill,
Humm.. no one willing to put their neck on the line for a wedge?
Well I don’t own a wedge, but I'll repeat some of the tips I've heard in the past. Also if you go to the Yahoo group and do a search you'll find this question has been asked before (with almost as much response).

One thing that seems to help is to place a little tape along the spine of the blade to lift it ever so slightly. Apparently the angle of approach on many wedge's is a little too acute for a good shaving edge, so you want to open that up a little. Now I don’t know if they were using scotch tape, electrical tape, or duck tape.... but I'm pretty sure it wasn’t cork tape I'd start with scotch and work my way up if that didn’t seem to help.

Also, I heard Lynn mention that when he places the razor on the hone he uses more like a 45 degree angle with the heel leading... if I'm mistaken he'll hopefully come correct me. So make the heel lead a little more than you would normally with a full hollow

If your still having problems, keep posting untill you annoy one of the honemiesters with enough expierence to answer your questions

Let me tell you. I love shaving with a wedge but I have the dammest time trying to hone one. I had a W&B wedge I sent to Lynn because I couldn't get it even remotely sharp. still can't seem to get one sharp

I just want to add that once I got it back from Lynn it is one of my favorite razors a really great shaver

I think its pretty well accepted that honing a wedge is a pretty big job. I don't think the technique is really any different its usually because they are so big and the edge is thicker so it takes more time. I have one wedge a DD Satin wedge but its more like a hollow ground its very thin so it hones up pretty quickly but they do require a bit more patience

The term "wedge" is very broad. Do you have a pic?
That would help us go further on this one. If your wedge has a belly to the blade than that is a different animal.

Let us know,

I usually hone a wedge at a 45 degree angle on the Norton when doing the X pattern vs. keeping the razor at 90 degrees or perpendicular across the stone. One problem with these is that many have been poorly ground and you have an uneven spine and edge which may need correction or re-grinding first. Lynn

It's a true wedge, sides are flat no hollowing on the blade at all. Wostenholm - Sheffield manufactured. There's no belly on the blade either, it's straight. The pic on eBay isn't all that great so you can't see the wedge there. I'll try to get some pics tomorrow to post in my gallery.

Lead with the heel, makes perfect sense now!

This weekend I was working on a nice 4/8 W&B wedge. No matter what I did I continued to struggle to get it ready to shave. One minute it was getting closer the next minute dull again. So I decided to try some electric tape on the back. I used three layers that ran from the point to the shank. All of a sudden it was sharp. Maybe the wedge was just not angled enough to get it to that point. Shaved with it this morning and it was fine.

jmsbcknr

When I first started reading about wedges, I thought you just hone it flat on either side until it's sharp. Now I'm wondering if the wedge is treated more like a knife when sharpening with a primary angle and finishing bevel. Is this right? I know that Rich was happy with Lynn's work on his wedge. Lynn, do you use a secondary angle for finishing the edge? I was looking over some other literature and it was talking about letting the strop hang through or a bit loose to allow for a slight rounding or secondary angle with a wedge blade, but not having had the chance to try a wedge yet myself, I'd like to know from you that do have or hone them.

I'm guessing the heel leading is to ensure the whole edge is on the stone without cutting into the tang.

Thanks