Thread: W&B edge crumbling at macro level.

Originally Posted by Villalobos

Well, it is a cheap Home Depot stone which doesn't state the grit, but it is well below 2000. That being the case the blade still constantly crumbles only in certain areas. Which makes me think it's the steel and not the hone.

I will try to see if I can hone through it. You guys did answer one of my big questions by omission. It doesn't seem that old Wade & Butcher blades are ever just poor quality and brittle.

Sorry nothing wrong with your blade it is your hone and pressure you use it to hone the blade.
hope this helps.

I had a big, beautiful W&B with this same problem. It ended up looking like a traingle before I was done trying to get rid of the bad steel. In my case, I may have overheated it with polishing compounds, though I thought I was careful with them.

Originally Posted by Villalobos

Just to make sure it wasn't my cheep low grit hone I used it to put a bevel on a Electric Cutlery blade that I'm working on and there wasn't any macro crumbling involved. In fact, the blade was sharp enough to shave some whiskers. So now I'm convinced there is something wrong with the W&B blade.

I ended up honing the W&B in front of the T.V. for an other two hours last night (my girlfriend must think I've gone a little soft in the head ), still the same problem. I think I'll end up using it as a practice blade for when I get my greaseless compounds next week.

Thanks, Chris

The stone you are using is far too coarse, the HD stone is a coarse/fine alu oxide stone that's about 150 on the coarse side and 320 on the fine side. You need a much finer stone but after 2 hours of grinding with the stone you have you might need a new razor.

OK. For the people who still think it's the hone and not the blade. I used the HD hone on this crown and sword that had a frown on it. It looks very different than the W&B edge. I appreciate the advice. Sorry the picture came out so huge.

Please pay attention they are different razor and has different steel . they will not act to your stone same.hope this helps

I have a little 1/4 grind Haywood blade that is suffering from the same problem. The edge just crumbles away. Sometimes I can break little pieces off with a little pressure on my thumbnail. I've been using a DMT 1200 but just switched to the 8000 so progress is slow.

Originally Posted by DogHair

I have a little 1/4 grind Haywood blade that is suffering from the same problem. The edge just crumbles away. Sometimes I can break little pieces off with a little pressure on my thumbnail. I've been using a DMT 1200 but just switched to the 8000 so progress is slow.

If you've got a norton then the 4k side is quite good at this sort of thing.

The too course hone would be my first try because of the expertice of the people that presented it. But also keep in mind metal can defoilate when in oxidises that is the different molecules seperate. Due to rust or exposure to chemicals ie. soaps etc. I've worked with metal all my life and have seen this quite often. In a lot of older steels the chemical compounds where a lot simpler than modern steels which lends itself to this problem.