Thread: Dissapearing Edge

Originally Posted by Alembic

That is great information. How about the spine? Any special care there?

David

Special care... no nothing special.

If the razor needs a lot of honing to get
down to bright clean metal then tape
on the spine is a good thing. Lifting
the back of the razor with a couple
three layers of tape will let you make
quicker progress on the edge and minimum
abrasion on the spine. Once the
edge is true again remove the tape and get
a final bevel going again. This step
is one place where sliding the edge over a
glass tumbler after removing three layers of
tape can help notice when the final bevel
reaches out to the edge.

As a recent thread on using a scale while honing
it is hard to know if more or less pressure is
being applied to the spine. Since we do not
want to hone the spine a single layer of
tape makes sense for a lot of beginners.
A single layer does not change the angle by much
and it does minimize wear by a possibly heavy
handed beginner.

So if pitting is being honed out more tape.
If just sharpening, less to no tape.

Have you ever tried shaving after your #3 step? I would suggest experimentally eliminating your Step 4 completely, and go right to linen and leather, then two test shaves to see if the edge stays good for the second shave. This would eliminate all variables relating to pastes, which in my experience can over thin the edge and start to degrade it. I don't do more than 4 strokes on a chromium oxide pasted strop anymore, due to experiences similar to yours. Just a thought.