Thread: Bevel is wider on one side?

Originally Posted by daflorc

If the bevel is uneven on one side/cheek/face of the razor, we're looking at warping or stone needing a lapping.

Or a warped blade or a blade with a spine thickness that's not uniform, or a blade with metal that's not of uniform thickness at the edge...
Especially if the OP is doing x-strokes it's unlikely that the hones being flat or not is the culprit here. You have mentioned in several posts that you bought wide hones so as to not have to do x-strokes. In that case an unlapped hone can cause problems like this. The x-stroke greatly reduces that possibility.

Originally Posted by daflorc

Bill: assuming they're aren't any irregularities in the blade, if you have a lumpy stone, the high points in the stone will take off more material faster and neglect the lower areas, leaving you with a razor with an uneven bevel.
You'll be able to hear it in a pass...it'll be a smooth, grinding sound....then in one part of the stone it'll show more resistance and you'll hear a louder, nastier noise... uneven pressure between heel and toe will give uneven bevel wear as well.

I've never had a lumpy stone. My Norton 4K had a lot of porosity, but my hones (even when new) only showed a very slight curvature across the surface.

In the interest of keeping this thread on track I have to say that I'm with Jimmy and Sham on this on this one.

Originally Posted by BigJim

Blue wavelength light travel's faster

Not true Speed of light in vacuum is the same across all frequencies/wavelengths, and not in vacuum the dispersion can be either way depending on the specific material

But of course, apart from my nitpicking, color contrast can be much better depending on the particular lighting situation, so it's great advice.

Originally Posted by gugi

Not true Speed of light in vacuum is the same across all frequencies/wavelengths, and not in vacuum the dispersion can be either way depending on the specific material

But of course, apart from my nitpicking, color contrast can be much better depending on the particular lighting situation, so it's great advice.

Well that's what I get... Just kidding. I'm no physicist or anything, but as you pointed out, the contrast helps...I just wouldn't use black.

Neon green might be good, unless you live in a 70's retro shag apartment, then you'll want to do something different. :P

+1 to HSNB I have a blade that looks flat on the edge but when the spine is on a flat surface the blade edge kicks up in the toe, so I had to either breadknife it or tape the spine till the edge is flat on both sides.

Originally Posted by BigJim

unless you live in a 70's retro shag apartment, then you'll want to do something different. :P

I've gotta turn off those cameras that broadcast me all across the internet
Or may be redecorate in glam rock

I think that your spine is flat/even on one side but not the other. Wider in the middle on the side that is giving you issues. Your hand is pushing down on the heel end and rocking it that way lifting the toe. An X stroke should help that issue since it is wider in the middle.

I just had a related issue with one that is narrower in the middle of the spine on one side. One bevel looked perfect. ( At least to me!) The other was wider in the middle of the bevel. Now if the edge was warped it would show up on the other side as well but it didn't. I measured the spine thickness with a caliper and found the narrow part of the spine corresponded with the wide spot in the bevel. Leading just by a little bit. I think that the x stroke in that instance contributed to the problem. As the narow spot in the spine approached the edge of the hone it changed the angle of the bevel. If I would have just laid the blade flat on the stone the spine would have rode on the high spots at each end and kept an even angle accross the whole bevel. It sharpened up good so I am going to leave it alone for now but it doesn't look right on that side.

Tim

Bevel is wider on one side the other side looks perfect to me very narrow the whole length of the blade. Hone wear is uneven on the spine, middle on one side and the other is toward the toe. I don't have a stone to lapp my hones. What are my options until I can purchase a lapping stone? Sandpaper, scotchbright?

This sounds like the exact problem I'm having. I think I'll try a marker on the edge, to see where I'm messing up.

You can use 325 grit sandpaper to lap your hones. Flat surface and plenty of water to wash away swarf. See this illustrated tutorial by Josh Earl here.

It is not at all unusual for a razor to have a wider bevel on one side or the other, one end or the other. These things aren't always perfectly symmetrical. This is why x and rolling x strokes come into play. If you can get a good shaving edge on it evenly symmetrical bevels, while desirable aesthetically, don't matter.