Thread: A query for the experienced..

I was a Tool & Die Maker in my former life, so things being flat, level, straight and true to size of equal dimension was always important to me.
I've been practicing my honing skills, and checking as I go with 4x and 10x loupes, and being somewhat encouraged by what I see. But, it occurred to me that a spine of varing dimension will cause a corresponding imperfection in the edge, or so I would think.... So, out comes the old Etalon 1" micrometer to ckeck the thickness of a few spines, and found most to be within .0005 to .001". Not bad IMO for razors that had been previously honed by unknown individuals.

So, the questions..

How much "real world" difference would a slight difference in spine thickness make to the edge?
Could a difference in spine thickness encourage the formation of a smile or frown?
Do any of the experts check spine thickness with a mic, for a problem razor or just generally?
Will a honemeister even attempt to even out spine thickness before setting a bevel on a problem razor?

And last, but not least...

Am I overthinking this whole thing and becoming a bit too anal about it?

First, I am assuming you are talking about differences in the spine thickness from the tang to the toe as you check it for thickness...
Second, I am rather surprised you didn't find more variation then that...

And finally there are two aspects to honing razors, there is the science, which we all love to talk about, and speculate on, that deals with the grits of the stones to the micron thickness of the edge...
Then you have the art or the practical, which is the doing, the actual honing of the razor, where the steel meets the stone and the rubber meets the road...
Honing itself is rather simple the razor needs to be pushed across the hone in such a way that the two faces of the edge meet in a freakishly sharp edge...
All the science falls aside, and the razor gets sharp, and we shave...
So yes the differences along the spine are fun to speculate on, but when it comes to shaving with the razor they really don't have much bearing at all...

I hope that helps somewhat...

The following is pure speculation:

My guess is that imperfections in the spine thickness would be removed as the razor is honed. There may be a difference from heel to toe, but as long as the stone is wide enough, the high areas would be ground off, and the low areas would be untouched. This is essentially the same concept as lapping a stone...

Beyond that, I think that by the time you carry half a thousandth of an inch over the width of the blade, it wouldn't be enough to make a practical difference...

Hi Glen,

Yes, I've only concerned myself with the area of the spine that contacts the hone... up to the shank, or tang.
Another straight, the Gabel varies a total of .0025, and the Pumacker varies a total of .006.
I would also think that even honing would tend to even these readings out, but considering that there is much more metal on the spine, and that even a coarse hone is extremely fine against hardened steel, it would take more honing than I've got time left..

So, I assume I am going over the top a bit...but, it makes a good discussion.

BTW, I hope you'll see at least two of these soon, and you can see for yourself, as i need a good professional edge to use as a benchmark for my efforts!