Thread: Wedge honing question

I was wondering if I could get some opinions on this situation. I just received a full Sheffield Wedge off ebay. It was pretty much shave ready EXCEPT a small portion of the blade need the back end of the blade. I would say that from the front of the blade about 95% of the way to the back end of the blade was shave ready. I stropped the blade and proceeded to shave. I have very stubborn stubble and I really liked the shave this wedge gave me. Much smoother (and much less razor burn) than many of my hollow-ground blades. Anyway my question is this:

I have ready many posts that recommend using 3 or 4 layers of tape on the spine when honing a wedge. In my case here, where MOST of the blade is shave ready, IF i wanted to bring that last end (5%) of the blade up to shave ready, would I use tape on the spine. This also leads me to ask what I should do when the time comes to touch the blade up on a hone, when it needs honing, should I use multiple layers of tape at that time? I guess there would be an easy answer to this if the whole blade needed honing but since it is already shave ready what do I do for future honing? Could adding multiple layers of tape ruin the good edge I have on the blade already if it was honed using NO tape on the spine?

Thanks!

I too prefer the shave of a heavier wedge, they do seam to go through my coarse beard easier than a hollow ground.
I am not a honemiester, but I do use tape while honing. Honing being more of an art than a science each razor is different and will dictate what it needs. I normally I inspect the razor determining how much hone wear is on the spine and will start with 2-3 layers of tape to set the bevel and normally go down to 1 layer to finish honing all this depends on how stuborne the razor is being, and yes depending on how many layers of tape you have on the spine when you finish honing your razor to shave readyness when it comes time to hone again you should use the same amout of tape. Hope That helped
Tony

Originally Posted by Brando

I normally I inspect the razor determining how much hone wear is on the spine and will start with 2-3 layers of tape to set the bevel and normally go down to 1 layer to finish honing all this depends on how stuborne the razor is being, and yes depending on how many layers of tape you have on the spine when you finish honing your razor to shave readyness when it comes time to hone again you should use the same amout of tape.

We have an Excel sheet that will calculate the layers of tape required for a certain blade angle.

Decreasing the number of layers is useless. If anything, you will increase the the number to set a double bevel, thus avoiding excessive hone wear (provided we are talking wedges proper).

Regards,
Robin

If I was to get a razor that was shave ready as you describe I would have to ask the last person that honed it whether they used tape or not. If I couldn't find that information I would either use tape or not use it according to my personal preference.

Sorry if I am sounding picky here but....I guess my main concern is worrying that IF I do end up using tape on the spine, and the spine was NOT taped when it was originally honed, would that ruin/destroy the decent edge it already has. Would it be like starting all over again and having to set a new bevel. With it in shave ready condition now, and if all it needs is a touch up honing, I would not want to ruin the bevel. I have read too many horror stories here on SRP place about how difficult it is to set the bevel and get a good hone job on wedges.

Thanks to everyone who replied!

Originally Posted by JNT

Sorry if I am sounding picky here but....I guess my main concern is worrying that IF I do end up using tape on the spine, and the spine was NOT taped when it was originally honed, would that ruin/destroy the decent edge it already has. Would it be like starting all over again and having to set a new bevel. With it in shave ready condition now, and if all it needs is a touch up honing, I would not want to ruin the bevel. I have read too many horror stories here on SRP place about how difficult it is to set the bevel and get a good hone job on wedges.

Thanks to everyone who replied!

Jimmy did give to you very good advise. you need to ask the person who honed your blade in your case who sold you the blade.
then you can find out what to do. everything else yes you can kill the rest edge.
gl

Originally Posted by JNT

Sorry if I am sounding picky here but....I guess my main concern is worrying that IF I do end up using tape on the spine, and the spine was NOT taped when it was originally honed, would that ruin/destroy the decent edge it already has. Would it be like starting all over again and having to set a new bevel. With it in shave ready condition now, and if all it needs is a touch up honing, I would not want to ruin the bevel. I have read too many horror stories here on SRP place about how difficult it is to set the bevel and get a good hone job on wedges.

Thanks to everyone who replied!

If the person who made it shave ready before you received it didn't use tape and then you followed with tape you would begin to put a double bevel on it when you honed it. If they used tape and you did not then you would have to remove enough metal to get to the very cutting edge since the angle would be shallower without the tape.

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

We have an Excel sheet that will calculate the layers of tape required for a certain blade angle.

Decreasing the number of layers is useless. If anything, you will increase the the number to set a double bevel, thus avoiding excessive hone wear (provided we are talking wedges proper).

Regards,
Robin

Thank you very much for the valuable information, I did not know that. Where can I find this Excel sheet.
Thank you much Sir, Tony

A good practice to use is to put marker on the bevel to the edge. Make a few strokes w/o tape to see if the marker is being removed on the edge. If only the bevel closest to the blade body shows the marker removed add a layer of tape and repeat until you start honing the extreme edge. If this is a smiling blade you should also use the marker to get the stroke that will hone the entire edge with each pass. In touching up the heal of the blade you should still hone the entire length of the blade with a bit more pressure on the heel until it is sharp. Only them start reducing the scratch pattern to a polished edge. A smiling blade will be more challenging.

Good luck.

Great advice. All of it! Thanks to all who posted replies!!!