Thread: honing a wedge

I have used electrician's tape to make a spine thicker very rarely because I only have one wedge razor. It really helped getting good bevel with my John Pitts wedge. As for taping, many times I use Scotch Tape or that tough-A thin mylar packaging tape to preserve the spine from excessive honing wear. I think that was what I had on my mind as I honed the Pitts when I removed the tape prior to polishing. Even thin tape counts. I shall never again remove ANY tape during polishing. The resultant shave was very good-but a good polishing WITH electrician's re-applied to the spine is in order for an even better shave! It does make good sense to keep the tape on during polishing. That way the cutting edge does indeed meet the surface of the polishing hone. No double bevel to deal with either. This is a great topic to discuss. Good geometry science for a practical task. Thanks, RRR

'Have done the scoop stroke on an old Eyre meat chopper, but that's the last time I did it. 'Takes some getting used to. The issue seemed to be trying to keep the heel on the stone as long as possible after the toe passes through the 12 O'clock position. 'A little more challenging on the return stroke.

Mid-arc, there was more drag, audible feedback on the norton 1k. 'Resulted in a much more consistent edge across the length of the edge, though the width of the bevel varied some - as did the hone wear on the spine. Touch-up test on the face was promising.

Thanks Again, Glen.

Stupid question about taping... what keeps the taping from being wore down by the stone? The stone cuts metal, so it has to be eating the tape, no?

When you switch hones, you are supposed to change out the tape. That minimizes how much tape comes off.

Originally Posted by souschefdude

Stupid question about taping... what keeps the taping from being wore down by the stone? The stone cuts metal, so it has to be eating the tape, no?

This really really varies greatly with the Hone, the Tape, and the actual configuration of the Spine..

But like mentioned above if you at least change the Tape at each stage of honing ie: bevel, sharpen, finish, you should have little issues, also keep in mind this is a good guide to your honing skills also..
If you are burning through the tape, you are not torqueing the edge into the hone and you would be causing excessive spine wear if you were not using tape this is why many people recommend at least learning to hone with tape.. When you don't need to change the tape often then you can feel more confident in removing it from your honing

BTW I have found through trial that the 3M #700 or #88 seems to have the best wear resistance, but if you are using tape as an indicator to your honing progress it is best to start with one brand and stick with it...

Quick question for you, Glen (or anyone else who might know)...

I have a W&B that's either near wedge or quarter hollow. This thing was beaten to death it seems, and I'd like to see some life in the old girl. As I'm sure you can imagine, tons of uneven hone wear, wavy bevel etc.

Now, doing the 45 degree heel leading stroke to correct the bevel I get. Doing it on a wedge, or near wedge, I get, and I definitely plan on using this on the W&B.

My question would be that if this blade were, say, a full hollow smiling blade w/ a barber's notch, to correct the same issues I could do the same stroke with a lower number of strokes, and then switch to swooping strokes for the toe/notch correct?

Originally Posted by crouton976

Quick question for you, Glen (or anyone else who might know)...

I have a W&B that's either near wedge or quarter hollow. This thing was beaten to death it seems, and I'd like to see some life in the old girl. As I'm sure you can imagine, tons of uneven hone wear, wavy bevel etc.

Now, doing the 45 degree heel leading stroke to correct the bevel I get. Doing it on a wedge, or near wedge, I get, and I definitely plan on using this on the W&B.

My question would be that if this blade were, say, a full hollow smiling blade w/ a barber's notch, to correct the same issues I could do the same stroke with a lower number of strokes, and then switch to swooping strokes for the toe/notch correct?

Yes, there is honestly no difference between honing a New heavy blade and a New hollow blade, the problems arise in the 100+ years of bad hone wear that have been put on many of them over the years..

The older Hollows hone the same they just require fewer laps "In General"

Well how about that... I CAN BE TAUGHT!!!

Thank you, good sir!!