Thread: honing a wedge

seeking info on the best way to hone a wedge thanks gents

Hone it the same as any other razor. It just takes longer to set the bevel.
Some people that don't tape other razors will tape wedges to speed things up a bit.

That is a really challenging question to answer with the limited information you have. Can you hone a hollow adequately? If so, what type of wedge are you honing?
Really, some are much more difficult than others. Many of them fall into the categorie of they just take more time because the bevels are generally larger so you are moving more steel. Hope this helps some, but more info would be helpful.
Generaly, hollows are easier and some wedges are not that bad, some require more skills than a beginer can handle.

I have had some wedges hone up extremely easily like music to my ears, while others have been an absolute BEAR set bevel, and I mean it.

Correctly said before me, the real challenge is setting the bevel. Everything else is simple for me.

I believe the difficulty in bevel setting on a wedge is the temper of and the type of the steel, then how close to a true wedge we are talking. Many refer to what is between, and including, a quarter hollow and a true wedge, ie. Henckel scale 2-3. I fall into that camp too.

Tape certainly helps, as does knowing the variety of X stroke you will in all likeliness require, due to the smiling nature of their edges.

I like to tape then do 40 circles per side several time if needed at 1K level to set the bevel. Use this as a starting point, then post back and let us know how you get on.

As others have said, one layer of tape on the spine to start with and dont move off your 1k until you can easily shave arm hair at skin level.

A lot of wedges tend to have a slight smile to them so you'll more than likely need to do a rolling X stroke/ rolling circles to get full coverage along the edge. Watch the ripple of water and make sure it moves evenly along the edge as you go. If it doesnt then you'll end up with dull spots on the edge.

I'm the same as Scipio, I use a layer of tape and then use a pattern of 40 circles a side and 20 X strokes, repeated until I have a shavable edge. The most important thing is to make sure you're getting the WHOLE edge, not just a bit of it.

You dont say what hones you have? Some, like the 1k Naniwa, tend to dish out fairly fast so you might find that a harder stone like the 1200 DMT or Shapton 1k help you here as you'll be removing more metal on a wedge than a hollow ground. JMHO of course!

Good luck and keep us posted!

There is some great info above ...

BUT

One thing that needs to be pointed out

A wedge hones EXACTLY the same as any other razor, the difference comes in the fact that 'Most" are at least 100 years old and "Most" have been honed over the years by many people,, So the work in setting the bevel, is actually correcting all the previous hone wear,, Then and only then can you hone the razor..

There are tricks to honing wedges that have to do with tape, but know this, if you tape (especially multiple layers) then hone, you are simply honing around the problems and the edge will never be, what it is really capable of... Once you hone an NOS or at least an wedge that isn't "hone worn" you are going to realize why many are so hard to hone...

If you are a restorer I would recommend setting the bevel then restoring the razor it will save you a ton of heartache later...

The real wedge stroke is a 45 degree heel forward X as that is the stroke that will let you feel all the multiple bevels as you hone. If you do that stroke on an older worn wedge you can actually feel the "Bumpity bump" as it goes across the hone. If you want to FIX the bevel you have to master this stoke, if you just want to get a halfway good edge and move on, then tape it, and learn the Rolling/Rocking X as that will sharpen the edge, but will not correct the whole bevel...

I know that isn't really what you want to hear, because it is HOURS of work to correct an old worn multiple bevel, the good news is the choice is yours and it is your razor

Originally Posted by gssixgun

The real wedge stroke is a 45 degree heel forward X as that is the stroke that will let you feel all the multiple bevels as you hone. If you do that stroke on an older worn wedge you can actually feel the "Bumpity bump" as it goes across the hone. If you want to FIX the bevel you have to master this stoke, if you just want to get a halfway good edge and move on, then tape it, and learn the Rolling/Rocking X as that will sharpen the edge, but will not correct the whole bevel...

Glen, I'm also about to start honing wedges. Does the stroke you describe start out heel-forward and end toe-forward? That's how I've been imagining it. Sham has a video on YouTube where he does that stroke.

Just throwing this out there. How about the double bevel? I had two wedges that I was honing not too long ago, and posted a couple threads in the honing forum about one in particular that was really taking me for a canoe ride. Anyway, I was using Basil's coti at the time, and went to the coticule.be website and followed the wedge honing instructions there.

After spending a bunch of time on the Norton's, and having a massive bevel to show for it, this method cleaned the bevel right up, and both wedges shave incredibly well.

My two cents. Not sure if this helps or if it's a wrench, but that one wedge was giving me a headache from all the banging against the wall I was doing.

I honed (Crescent barber hone/lathered) my John Pitts 6/8 Wedge as I did my Hollows-but used electrician's tape (one layer) for the last 20 X passes per side. That really brought the bevel to proper angle. I polished (Escher) 40 X passes without tape and stropped 50 strokes on "sharpen", and 50 strokes on "finish" (Austin, TX Shumate Strop (pre-1904). It was an extra effort to get the John Pitts shaving again, but it was worth it. The difference I notice between a hollow and a wedge is that there is absolutely no sound as the wedge shaves! Not even a quiet "skritch" as it cuts the whiskers. I really like using a good wedge. To me they are worth the extra effort and time. Today (Thanksgiving, 2010) was a good shaving day and I am thankful for having Straight Razor Place for help and fellowship. Keep healthy friends, RRR

Originally Posted by MarkinLondon

Glen, I'm also about to start honing wedges. Does the stroke you describe start out heel-forward and end toe-forward? That's how I've been imagining it. Sham has a video on YouTube where he does that stroke.

If you look in the Wiki here that is called a swooping stroke, no biggie what you call it, I named it that years ago.. Many people use it and call it different things, to pull the toe into shape on the older Barber's Notches, and yes it works well, but that is more for a razor that has a curved toe...

For the stroke I am talking about, bring the razor straight across the hone in an X with the heel angled forward you are going to feel the bevels as they go across the hones.. Just try it slowly at first, it really isn't hard to do, it is just hard to do for hours

Lets see who I can pi$$ off by saying this hehehe, but it takes quite a few wedges to really get the hang of honing them out, really no two are the same since so many different people honed them they each have separate problems, the less hone wear on the spine the easier they are to hone...I always love when someone hones their first wedge and gets a good one and they think they are sooooo easy, then the next one kicks their butt..
You also are going to run into the infamous W&B heel warps, those are tons of fun


OK now that I gave you the horror stories, of what you should do, here is a fast down and dirty trick to get a wedge shaving without having to do all the work...
This will not correct the bevel and spine but it will get the wedge shaving with a pretty even bevel...