Thread: stones for warped/wavy edge

Many helped with a couple threads on how I deal w/ an uneven edge/spine razor. Utopian's suggestion about marking the spine/edge to see which stroke gives the best result was great (thx U.)

Another recommendation was to use a more narrow stone.
1) Would the Spyderco 2k (2" wide) that R. Williams speaks of be a good narrow stone solution? Too Wide?

2) On abrasive sprays/pastes - what would be the most economical approach here. 'Just the .5 CrO? A sample pack of the sprays? Which grits?

The questions comes from Robert Williams discussion of the spyderco as the 'superhone' - being able to take abrasive sprays to mimic the grit of the spray, rather than it's advertised grit of 2000. http://wetshavingworld.com/forums/co...sive-superhone

The use of various pastes and sprays on hones is a pretty "advanced" endeavor - IMO, it will be very difficult to do if you do not have a very good idea of what you are looking for from your edges and what is going on at each stage. It's also something you're going to have to play around with a fair bit - how much stuff do you put on the hone, what kind of pressure, how do you keep the stuff distributed on the hone, how many strokes etc etc.

So keep that in mind.

As for for the main part of you question, can you elaborate on what you mean by uneven edge/spine? Do you mean warped, or just bevels/hone wear of uneven width?

Holli, Thank You!
Being new to the skill, I'm not that precise in describing the condition. What I noticed was that on one side of the blade, I lay the spine flat, and sometimes only the heel & middle of the edge lays flat on the stone. If I move or pivot on the spine, it rocks the toe into contact with the stone. I've not been able to bring it to a good edge.

That said, my reliable shaver (genco fluid steel) felt like it had a marginally sharp toe, and with more stropping, with only mid-edge to toe contact, it came back in dramatically. I was surprised by the effect & posted another thread asking about it.

Again, thank you for your kind help.

Originally Posted by pinklather

Holli, Thank You!
Being new to the skill, I'm not that precise in describing the condition. What I noticed was that on one side of the blade, I lay the spine flat, and sometimes only the heel & middle of the edge lays flat on the stone. If I move or pivot on the spine, it rocks the toe into contact with the stone. I've not been able to bring it to a good edge.

On this blade, what happens when you lay the other side down? If the other side is the same, then you have a blade with a smile. For both sides, you can use the rolling X stroke or a heal leading stroke (angle the blade about 45 degrees with respect to perpendicular; heal in front, toe trailing). For more information on these strokes, start here (Strokes for honing a razor - Straight Razor Place Wiki) and search the forum a bit too.

If the other side is not the same, then there may be something else going on with the blade. Could be warped or have some sort of uneven wear.

Given what you said about the toe not being too sharp on your Genco, I'm guessing that that one may also need a rolling X or heal leading stroke - it sounds like it may have the same issue. If, however, the Genco sits flat on the hone, it could just be that you never fully got the bevel set on the toe because the toe needed more work than the rest of the blade.

Holli, Again, Thank You!!

On the blade in question (dovo astrale), one side rocks, the other lays flat. This would seem to indicate an irregularity in the spine - or it wouldn't sit flat on the other side.

While I'm not yet skilled at the rolling X stroke, practice commenced, and the blade was noticeably sharper, but not impressive on the TPT. Given what happened w/ the Genco, I thought I'd try some time on the canvas strop, and it would shave arm hair with some authority. I've not been able to get any blade to reliably pass HHT - but that may say more about my hair than the blade .

I appreciate your help!

Sounds like you are getting there. The more you do it, the better it gets.

Also, don't worry about the HHT. Focus on arm hair tests and the shave test, and that should be more reliable for you.

Holli, just a follow up.

'Read more (constantly) on theory of bevel setting & hone strokes. I don't know if this is normal/typical, but I tried the 45 deg. X stroke on the strop, and the toe came in nicely. 'Makes me want to go back & reset a bevel.

Does the 45X correct a smile, or just accommodate it? Either way, the shave result is pleasing.

Again, Thx. for your kind help.

I think this is the first time I'm hearing of a 45 degree stroke on the strop, so kudos on trying something new and finding success.

On the hones, the 45 degree heal leading stroke will accomidate the smile.