Thread: wedge

Originally Posted by JLStorm

I know in a conversation with Joe Chandler, he mentioned that he loves wedges but HATES honing them...says they are really a pain in the ass.

The big upside is that if you ever get them sharp, they tend to stay that way for a very long time.

I've tried Randy's solution, using the side of the big 3" Norton to hone with. It's weird feeling at first, but it works. Use an exaggerated "sweeping" motion. Put the blade on the hone at around 45 ( [ / ] )degrees. Pull down, curving the blade as you do so. At the end of the stroke, the blade will be almost perpendicular to the hone. This usually works well for me, honing both wedges, and those with a smile. Please note that my 45 degrees will be backward for you, as I'm left handed.

thanks one and all for the sound advice,unfortunately I have a combination norton,However I tryed that method on a different hone and it seemed to work ok,
With a combination of all the methods described I have managed to get the razor just below the h/h test,even managed to cut a couple ,so I will carry on using that combination. I have been working on it for two days now ,I reckon another one should just about have it .
Thank you all once again
Kind regards Peter
PS Good to be a member ,isn`t it

Originally Posted by bg42

thanks one and all for the sound advice,unfortunately I have a combination norton,

Never mind, just use that. But first, use some other stone or hone to scratch the glue that is holding the two pieces together. Like a shallow and narrow channel between the two of them. At least that is what I plan to do...

Nenad

Would a pasted hanging strop work for getting that last bit of edge on a wedge?
I know they're supposed to be a no-no, but it seems that on a wedge, especially a smiling one, that a hanging strop would be just the ticket.

Originally Posted by mparker762

Would a pasted hanging strop work for getting that last bit of edge on a wedge?
I know they're supposed to be a no-no, but it seems that on a wedge, especially a smiling one, that a hanging strop would be just the ticket.

I wouldn't

Originally Posted by randydance062449

I agree that a narrow hone makes it easier to sharpen a razor with a "smile". My Norton hones are single grit stones about 1" thick. At times I will use the side to hone the razor. It is a bit more difficult to keep the razor flat and it does require more attention to the amount of pressure but it is very effective at sharpening a razor with a smile.

Actually it depends on the spine. If the spine is built with a smile, flat honing will easily produce a parrallel smile on the edge.

From my point of view, it is easier to hone a smile with a narrow hone, but it requires skill to hone evenly. A newbie might find it easier to hone flat and use a little more pressure or extra strokes at the ends of the blade. Of course, this produces a bevel and spine bands which are slightly uneven, but if you keep the honing to a minimum you don't notice it. Besides, as the barber manual notes, the smile only needs to be slight and it can even be a taper, the idea being to prevent a frown.

Originally Posted by Joe Chandler

Use an exaggerated "sweeping" motion. Put the blade on the hone at around 45 ( [ / ] )degrees. Pull down, curving the blade as you do so. At the end of the stroke, the blade will be almost perpendicular to the hone. This usually works well for me, honing both wedges, and those with a smile.

That's kind of what I do, but I find that if I don't use higher pressure at the start of the stroke, the smile is crooked. That is, it's shallow a the heel and curvature increases toward the toe.

I would just like to say thanks to all that helped with this big wedge,i had my first shave with it tonight ,not to bad ,not to bad at all. It could probably do with a tad more on the stones but only the barest minimum ,I would say I`m 98.5% there
I did have one hickup though, and if you are interested you can read about that in the shave forum under problem
Thanks again one and all
Kind regards Peter