Thread: wedge

I have made a startling discovery ,that large English wedges that have a slight smile are an absolute nightmare to hone. I have been at this one for most of the day,got real close once then stuffed it ,had to start again.
this is the first time I have tried to do one of these and have found the hardest thing is to maintain a consistent rocking motion to keep an even bevel and cutting edge
Any advice ,tips or tricks of the trade from the professionals to help me with this one would be greatly appreciated.with all the work I have put into it I certainly don't wish to bugger it now
Kind regards Peter

I can only think of one way: get a perfectly straight edge 1st & then start sharpening. Start with a coarse hone and then move on to an ever finer one.
You will lose probably 1/8" or more.
I once had a very rusty Dovo and did the same. I straightened the edge with a scythe sharpener, just making sawing movements on the surface of the sharpener till the edge was straight. I worked but it did pain me.

thanks for that but I wish to retain the origional shape
Kind regards Peter

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.

I think xman is a big fan of the smiley blade. Might want to give him a yell. He was very helpful with some honing issues I had a while back.

I think Lynn recently addressed a post about wedges in which he said he uses a very sharp heel leading motion.

Yes I like the smiles and actually find my 1/2 hollow W&B a dream to hone. Your issue might indeed be with the fact that it's a wedge which I can offer no assistance on.

Looking for evenness throught the Rolling Hone stroke is essential regardless of blade grind or shape. It could conceveably be the most important part about honing a blade. As long as it's the same all along then whatever you've done, you can build on. If you start a stroke and find you're rolling up the edge faster than usual, do not be afraid to simply stop at the end of the roll (when you're at the tip of the blade) even if you're not at the end of the stroke (the end of the hone). You can always do an extra lap and keep that one even as well.

The best way to keep even is to GO SLOW! Whenever I hone I always keep to a pace just slower than I want to be going. The desired speed is always too fast for me to keep the attention I want on each millimetre as it reaches the hone.

X

My solution will most likely be considered as heresy by some but I had a similar problem with a “smiley face” Marshes & Sheppard wedge. To establish uniform and smooth the bevel I used the fine stone from a Lansky sharpening kit but didn’t use the jig to hold the razor or the stone. I simply used the narrow stone in a sweeping motion on the blade, after getting the edge to a point where it passed a thumb nail test and effortlessly shaved the hair off my arm I then resorted to using rocking motion on the Norton to finish off the honing then unto a diamond pasted strop.. I subsequently found that it was easier to hone this blade on a narrower stone such as barber hone rather than the 3” wide of the Norton. The end result was a razor that shaves very well.
John

Originally Posted by bg42

I have made a startling discovery ,that large English wedges that have a slight smile are an absolute nightmare to hone. I have been at this one for most of the day,got real close once then stuffed it ,had to start again.
this is the first time I have tried to do one of these and have found the hardest thing is to maintain a consistent rocking motion to keep an even bevel and cutting edge
Any advice ,tips or tricks of the trade from the professionals to help me with this one would be greatly appreciated.with all the work I have put into it I certainly don't wish to bugger it now
Kind regards Peter

THis is the typical problem with a wedge, because you are taking down the entire side of the blade. That's why most wedges are slightly hollow ground. The tru wedges have flat sides and present the greatest problem.

In my opinion, a razor should be honed with a smile if that was intended. You can usually tell because they have a spine that curves into a smile. But there are somee with straight spines. The amount of smile required on a blade can be cut on a stone with any motion and without requiring scything or rocking or anything like that. If you use anything but a straight motion you will need to be very careful to get an even bevel and even spine bands.

If you're honing a razor with a smiling spine. Honing it flat on a wide stone will allow you to maintain even pressure and will give you a perfect smile that matches the spine.

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.

Just my two cents,

Originally Posted by FXR

My solution will most likely be considered as heresy by some but I had a similar problem with a “smiley face” Marshes & Sheppard wedge. To establish uniform and smooth the bevel I used the fine stone from a Lansky sharpening kit but didn’t use the jig to hold the razor or the stone. I simply used the narrow stone in a sweeping motion on the blade, after getting the edge to a point where it passed a thumb nail test and effortlessly shaved the hair off my arm I then resorted to using rocking motion on the Norton to finish off the honing then unto a diamond pasted strop.. I subsequently found that it was easier to hone this blade on a narrower stone such as barber hone rather than the 3” wide of the Norton. The end result was a razor that shaves very well.
John