Thread: New Bevel Needed?

I picked up this little Torrey recently and was playing with my new USB microscope looking at the bevel. Most of the edge seems to have a good basic bevel, but this section drew my attention and I wanted to see if any of you more expert honists and honemeisters see here a reason to recut the bevel? It almost looks concave to me. The rest of the edge shows a clean bevel, with some roughness at the edge. I know I need to work on the bevel, but this section made me wonder if I needed just to reset it completely.

at what magnification is that image displayed?

for what it's worth, if a new (to me) razor doesn't shave well I will rework the bevel whether it needs it or not

Originally Posted by LawsonStone

I picked up this little Torrey recently and was playing with my new USB microscope looking at the bevel. Most of the edge seems to have a good basic bevel, but this section drew my attention and I wanted to see if any of you more expert honists and honemeisters see here a reason to recut the bevel? It almost looks concave to me. The rest of the edge shows a clean bevel, with some roughness at the edge. I know I need to work on the bevel, but this section made me wonder if I needed just to reset it completely.

Lawson,
I see what you mean by the concave face. If the rest of the bevel looks different, I would reset the bevel. But, I am no honemeister and would defer to those in the know on that.

If I'm using this microscope correctly, it's about 150X.

The blade needs a good general clean up and polish, so I likely will go ahead and put a fresh bevel on it as well after all that other work.

IMO, what's more important will be seeing whether or not a few laps on a hone actually results in metal removal along that bevel. There are lots of times I'll get a razor that looks like it has the remains of an old bevel, but when I start honing, MY bevel does not run all the way to the edge - meaning I have to create a whole new bevel.

Here is a shot of a more typical section of the bevel. Obviously the edge itself is worn but as a beginner, I was looking at the clean shoulder of the bevel, what seems to be a pretty even, flat surface, and as far as I can see, it goes all the way to the admittedly worn edge. So I was thinking maybe it would do with just cleaning up the bevel, not a full set. But that other section got me wondering.

While we're at it, am I looking at the right stuff for assessing the bevel? What should I be looking at, realizing as I do that many other tests and checks are needed. I"m just trying to develop a reasonable starting point.

You should be able to easily shave arm hair at skin after the bevel is set.

You can also use magic marker to see where the whole bevel contacts the stone and where it does not. This will tell you if you need to use some more specialized stroke while honing.

I have a very easy to follow rule Lawson...

If I did not set the bevel myself, then it needs a new bevel for sure...
If the razor is a customer's and I set the bevel myself I look closely before re-setting the bevel

If there is a question, re-set the bevel.

To me that one looks like it could use a re-set.

Have fun,

Lynn

Be careful with the microscope... The way light interacts with the blade can play tricks on your eyes. What looks like a concave might just be darker metal.

When I do use a microscope, I rotate the edge toward and away from the lens while watching how the light plays off the edge. I also rotate the blade to different orientations relative to the light source. But... Doing that is what got me away from using the microscope. Under certain light conditions a bevel might look mirror shiny. The same bevel rotated slightly different in the light might have scratches that look like canyons. If you're comparing scratch patterns from one stone to the next, make sure that the blade is oriented exactly the same every time you look at it. IMO it's best to find the orientation that shows the scratches the deepest; while that might not be the prettiest view to look at, it is the most reliable to determine if your scratch pattern is changing.

As those far more expert than me have suggested, if there is any doubt, reset the bevel.