Thread: Warped Blade?

I have seen that kind of "inconsistency" several time's before in new razors. The quality control methods used at the factory leave a bit to be disired.

To hone that razor you would need to use either a rolling X pattern on a standard hone or an X pattern on a narrow hone.
The bevel will probably never be even but it will shave just fine.

Just my two cents,

Originally Posted by Mark C. Candela

mparker762,

Nice call. I placed the razor first on a piece of granite and then a plate glass with the blade and the spine flat against the surface and I could see daylight between the surface and the spine and the blade. It does seem to be warped consistantly with the way the honing reads.

I checked all of my other knives and leatherworking tools and none of them show the same signs of inconsistant honing across the blade.

I am still sending it off to Lynn today, but I would like to know if any of you guys have ever experienced this kind of inconsistancy in a razor. I have seen it in some of the cheaper knives that I have purchased over the years but I would not expect it in something that was supposed to be so precise.

Thanks for your feedback.

Mark

I have the Filarmonica you are getting and it is a fine shaver.

Another thing you can try is using a magic marker in the edge of your razor and then try honing. If the marker comes off in some places and not others and your sure your hone is flat then you know your not making consistant contact with the hone. I don't know about a warped blade. Personally I've never seen one. I'm sure they exist especially old well used ones but newer ones? I would think it a rare defect. Maybe others can chime in with their experiences with allegedly warped blades.

Thanks for the feedback on the Filarmonica. I am looking forward to it. I also just purchased a 8/8 Henckel that looks pretty fina as well. I am eagerly awaiting both.

Randy,

The problem may still very well be me, but it is a bit more comforting to know that someone has seen this kind of problem before. I understand that during the heating process sometimes the blades do bend and they attempt to straighten them. I guess some may get through QC with a slight flaw.

Thanks,

Mark

Warped blade are not as uncommon as you may think. The heat treating process does it. The thinner the steel, the more likely it will warp. I'm pretty sure razors were either only partially ground or not ground at all before the heat process took place. After they were tempered, a different process, then they were ground. No way could they have been ground to their normal thin profile and then heat treated.

I have knifemaker friends who do their folders this way to ensure the blades do not warp. Warped blades can be fixed. Use a big vise.

Put the blade parallel to the top of the jaws near the surface. Vertically insert one wood dowel on each "low" side of the blade at the spine. Then insert a vertical dowel on the opposide side of the blade at the tangent of the "high" side on the spine.

Crank the vise shut until you go a little past the curvature of the bend. Practice on some junkers first. Do a little at a time and keep checking to see if the blade is straight.

Tip: Tape the dowels in place on the blade because you will need 5 hands otherwise to get them where they need to go.

Another thing you can try is using a magic marker in the edge of your razor and then try honing. If the marker comes off in some places and not others and your sure your hone is flat then you know your not making consistant contact with the hone.

This oughta be the "sticky" TIP OF THE DAY". What a great tidbit of knowledge to have.

I just finished honing an old composite frameback with a twisted spine piece so that the blade described a slight helix. The "signature" of this one was interesting - the hone only wanted to touch the ends of the blade and not the middle, even though the blade had a minor but noticeable smile to it. I was able to get a basic bevel by combining the rock-and-roll motion with a sort of corkscrew twist, but could never get the entire edge to the hair popping stage using just the stone. I punted and finished the edge on the pasted strops, it felt like the slight give of the leather helped compensate for a less-than-perfect corkscrew/rock/roll motion. A pasted hanging strop would have probably worked even better.