Thread: i have a straight razor where the edge isn't level....

if i place it directly on a piece of cardboard i see light in the middle....

i am assuming that i will need to use my 1000 norton to establish an edge?

Well that depends on the problem. Is it that the blade is warped or is the blade just very uneven or maybe a large nick? As long as the blade isn't warped it should be repairable. Without seeing it its hard to give specific advice here. When you look down the edge of the blade does it look straight? If you lay it down and look at it does the blade kind of smile at you?

The barbers manual teaches you how to hone a belly into the edge. You would fix this the same way. Use more pressure at the toe and heel than the middle. Eventually the edge will straighten out. Then go to the 4k and set it up normally. You probably want to tape the spine when you do the 1K.

it is uneven. it is the opposite of a smile......the toe and the heel will be at about the same level but it curves upward in the middle....if you put the edge down onto a piece of cardboard and look straight at it you can see light through the middle section of the blade. there are no nicks or chips. the edge just isn't straight in the middle.

Originally Posted by obsessis

it is uneven. it is the opposite of a smile......the toe and the heel will be at about the same level but it curves upward in the middle....if you put the edge down onto a piece of cardboard and look straight at it you can see light through the middle section of the blade. there are no nicks or chips. the edge just isn't straight in the middle.

That's why you need to use more pressure at the toe and heel ends and less in the middle. That will even out the curve.

yeah makes sense. i inherited this razor from ebay so i guess it's an example of how not to hone.

I'd recommnend getting a diamond hone. For this type of problem, I think it's best to reshape the edge with a diamond hone before starting to actually hone it. I hold the blade at 90 degrees against the hone and work it back and forth until the edge is ground completely straight. Then contunue a little with heel and toe to give it a slight "smilie" before honing.

You can try using circular motion on the toe and heel only. Avoid honing the middle, and you should be fine... If 4000 is not working, get 1000 grit hone, or, if you don't feeling like buying one just for this project, use 1000 grit sandpaper on glass or marble plate. When the curve is corrected, do 10-20 X pattern strokes on the 1000, and then procede with regular 4000/8000/higher grit honing. Let us know how it went...

Nenad

Originally Posted by PapaBull

I hold the blade at 90 degrees against the hone and work it back and forth until the edge is ground completely straight. Then contunue a little with heel and toe to give it a slight "smilie" before honing.

I saw you mention this once before and tried it, with good success. By working on the edge only you're doing kind of what I do with the tape. But then when it comes time to restore the bevel, if you take alll that material off the spine you're likely to no longer have the spine and edge parallel.

What I would do is to apply tape to the spine after the edge is all flattened, then restore the bevel with the tape on. The angle will be off, but you're not taking off unnecessary spine material, and the taped edge will guide you so that the bevel will be parallel to the spine. When the bevel is done, you remove the tape and hone to restore the closest bevel angle to the original. At this point you will not be removeing a lot of material but just working until you have a single bevel, so the spine acts as a good guide and you won't lose its alignment with the edge.

Originally Posted by superfly

You can try using circular motion on the toe and heel only. Avoid honing the middle, and you should be fine...
Nenad

How exactly can you use the circular motion on the toe and heel only?

I have a 220/1000 grit stone to use.


Would it work to hone the edges 90* on a 220 stone or anything else?