Thread: Fromm trouble

Hi q31,

A Norton 4000 would be handy, but you can get the razor honed just fine with your 1000 & 8000. I have the same Fromm 72R and shave with it all the time. On mine the spine wasn't perfectly straight. That means that the conventional "wisdom" to always keep the spine in contact with the stone does not hold in this case. Simply sharpen your razor by taping the spine, or better yet, lift the spine a millimeter or two. If you live in Southern California I would be happy to show you how you can hone your razor in about ten minutes.

Best wishes,
Jeff

Originally Posted by JeffR

Simply sharpen your razor by taping the spine, or better yet, lift the spine a millimeter or two.
Best wishes,
Jeff

Basically Jeff your advice is sharpen this blade as a knife?
and this will resolve the issue ?
Good luck

Yep. In case you hadn't noticed, a razor is a knife, albeit a specialized one.

Did I mention that I shave with my Fromm? I like my Dovo better, but the Fromm gives a fine shave.

I sincerely respect that you have a great amount of skill and probably a more refined taste in razors than myself, so I understand how you wouldn't want to bother with a middling-quality blade.

Best Regards,
Jeff

Let's not get into ridiculous semantics. A razor is not a knife in one simple way that is applicable here. A razor is not honed like a knife because it requires a much more precisely and thinly sharpened edge. The way that a razor is precisely sharpened is specifically by means of the spine serving as a guide for maintaining an exact honing angle during the entire duration of the honing. I have seen the result of razor honing done in the manner you describe and it is a mess of multiple bevels because the honer cannot possibly maintain EXACTLY the same angle all the time while honing with the spine lifted off of the hone.

To me, this simply looks like a terribly uneven grind, which is common on lower quality current production blades -- I see no signs of a warp, and I see no signs of a frown -- he simply was forced to hone through the center portion of the blade which was not ground as hollow as the rest of the blade (heel/point).. It looks like heavy pressure on the hone in the center, but if that was the case his improper technique would be seen on the pile side. It is more likely that the heel/point simply were not making contact because of the abundance of metal throughout the center of the blade that was never properly ground out...

I have found that the there is no necessity to keep the spine in contact with the hone. Keeping the spine in contact works well, and so does raising it slightly. I would agree though that it is indeed optimal to keep the spine in contact.

Originally Posted by Undream

To me, this simply looks like a terribly uneven grind, which is common on lower quality current production blades -- I see no signs of a warp, and I see no signs of a frown -- he simply was forced to hone through the center portion of the blade which was not ground as hollow as the rest of the blade (heel/point).. It looks like heavy pressure on the hone in the center, but if that was the case his improper technique would be seen on the pile side. It is more likely that the heel/point simply were not making contact because of the abundance of metal throughout the center of the blade that was never properly ground out...

That's what it looks like is happening to me, but I don't know for sure. It's possible that I did this by initially honing away on an unflattened hone. Anyhow, I have a question. What is the furthest point over that the edge of my hone should be? Which line should be the hone edge?

The middle line, which is the stabilizer.

The hone should only contact the spine & edge, not the body of the stabiliser. I hinted that I thought you had it contacting the top of the stabiliser before which is a recipe for disaster as it will lift the heel off the stone..
Also as you hone in future you will have a spur forming at the stabiliser on this blade unless you grind a part of it away.
No offence but that blade is now excessively worn. I don't know how much belly it had before but compare it to this razor which is ideal for easy honing.

if i had power i would add those words in red color start of the honing page.

Originally Posted by Utopian

The way that a razor is precisely sharpened is specifically by means of the spine serving as a guide for maintaining an exact honing angle during the entire duration of the honing. [/B]