Thread: Changing Tape...how often?

I was honing a razor last night and was having a very hard time setting the bevel. I was on my Naniwa 2k for about 40 minutes and was barely shaving arm hairs at that point.

I was thinking that perhaps leaving one piece of tape on throughout this entire process was part of the reason I was having a hard time. I did change the tape on each successive step, but I realized that I had the same tape on throughout the entire 2k step.

Just wondering if this one piece of tape could be the culprit and how often one should change tape on the lower grit stones?

do you notice the tape wearing?
i find this somewhat difficult to decide myself.. on low grits where it wears quickly i tend to change tape often to keep the bevel angle from changing too much constantly.. i judge by how much it wears.

Originally Posted by ezpz

do you notice the tape wearing?
i find this somewhat difficult to decide myself.. on low grits where it wears quickly i tend to change tape often to keep the bevel angle from changing too much constantly.. i judge by how much it wears.

I do the same thing.

Quick question - were you trying to establish a bevel using the 2K or was the bevel established on a lower grit hone and you were starting to polish/sharpen it on the 2K?

If the bevel was not established prior to the 2K I could see it taking a fair amount of time to get it to shave arm hair.

If the razor was just starting to tug whiskers during shave, my guess is 2K should be fine for bevel reset, even 4k using circles. Otherwise you may want to consider dropping down to 1K.
Love the feedback from the naniwas!

If you are using tape,,,

Two things I have found to be true

3M is really better, honest it just is

Change tape often, either when you notice wear or at each stage of sharpening...

Bevel set (sometimes more than once)
Sharpening
Polishing
Finishing (if you do)

Remember that as the tape wears the spine is lowering and the edge is lifting off of the hone.
When in doubt, change the tape. This is especially true with the lower grits. After setting the bevel on 1k, I put on a fresh piece and then to 10 more light strokes on the 1k to make sure the very edge is getting cut. I repeat this with each lower grit hone just before moving up to the next one.

I agree with Glenn, 3M tape works best, by far. It cost three times as much as the cheap stuff but it is worth it for the lack of trouble.

By the way, if you use tape and you have a little tape residue left on the blade, the best way to remove it is with the piece of tape in your hand. Repeatedly press the sticky side of the tape down on the residue and it will quickly pull off every bit of it!

Glen is right, 3M is the best. Thicker, but very hard wearing so it may well work out not as expensive as you may think.

On blades with sever problems like warps I tend to let the first layer get very worn down: the high spots on the spine get the most wear, the low spots hardly any. Then I put another layer of tape on - the bottom layer acts as a kind buffer and makes the loading along the spine a bit more equal. Then I change the top layer often.

Not always necessary, but it does work for me.

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

Glen is right, 3M is the best. Thicker, but very hard wearing so it may well work out not as expensive as you may think.

Regards,
Neil

Not to mention that it's good for 10,000 volts per wrap, then again that little pearl is probably not that important for honing considerations. Oh, and it comes in colors, then again that little pearl is probably also not that important for honing considerations. Then again, if honing during a thunderstorm you never can tell...

Have another, Bruce. Don't mind if I do: when you're on a roll, keep rolling.

Originally Posted by Bruce

Not to mention that it's good for 10,000 volts per wrap, then again that little pearl is probably not that important for honing considerations. Oh, and it comes in colors, then again that little pearl is probably also not that important for honing considerations. Then again, if honing during a thunderstorm you never can tell...

Have another, Bruce. Don't mind if I do: when you're on a roll, keep rolling.

I'll have whatever he's having...

The worst part is,
IIRC it is Ron that uses the different colors