Quote Originally Posted by ace View Post
In the case of a really fine Straight, the spine on the stone won't cause damage above 4000 grit, and it probably would at the 1000 grit level?
I think it depends on the skill of the honer. A heavy handed honer might cause some wear. Just from my own experience, I honed all razors with tape my first year doing it because I was afraid of causing excessive spine wear.

After a year or so I felt more confident in my ability and began trying it without tape. I took a micrometer and measured the spine on a new old stock vintage razor before I honed it and after. This included setting the bevel on a 1k stone and using the pyramid method with the 4/8 norton and finishing on a higher grit. In that particular razor there was no appreciable spine wear.

I've continued honing without tape since then. The only time I use tape is on Damascus (pattern welded steel) razors to avoid taking off the surface etching. Nothing wrong with using tape and if I honed for other people I probably would. As it is I only hone my own so that isn't an issue. So far I've had no issues with untoward spine wear.