Thread: Honing towards the tang?

I just finished up polishing a vintage razor and put it to the hones.
The first time I got good enough to shave with but sharpness was really uneven along the edge so it gave me real bite because I tried to adjust for the unevenness. So I went back to the hones and this time I managed to get it silly sharp (in my opinion) along the whole length of the blade except for perhaps a centimeter towards the tang. I tried everything, adding a little more pressure etc but I just can't get it as sharp as the rest of the blade. The problem seemed to be that when putting the blade on the hone the reinforcement at the back pushed the edge closest above the hone and therefor no sharpness. I tried honing with that reinforcement outside the hone but it still didn't work.

Is this something that comes with experience? Or is it that some razors you just can't hone the full length of the blade? The rest of the blade pops HHT just fine and gives me a really smooth shave but I feel I have to put to much pressure to get the back part of the razor to shave my face.

you need to modify your stroke to get the problem area honed. Use magic marker to see which stroke works best.

Originally Posted by mainaman

you need to modify your stroke to get the problem area honed. Use magic marker to see which stroke works best.

Of course, magic marker.

Why didn't I think of that? So magic marker, do one stroke and see where it didn't took and then re apply and try again?

Hej, PMH!

I have a couple of razors like that. Hone them with the heel leading and a little bit of rocking modification to your X stroke (look up "rolling X" in the Wiki). It means that that blade will always require special attention when honing. I've tried to correct it by honing really aggressively on the spine, but that didn't work for me. It just wore down the spine.

You can reshape the heel a little bit so that the unhoneable area is no longer part of the shaving edge. Just don't hone away any of the shoulders, if the blade has one or two.

Best wishes to you. Vi ses.

Originally Posted by PMH

Of course, magic marker.

Why didn't I think of that? So magic marker, do one stroke and see where it didn't took and then re apply and try again?

pretty much yes

Originally Posted by mainaman

you need to modify your stroke to get the problem area honed. Use magic marker to see which stroke works best.

This is always good advice. You can see where you're stroke is missing the hone, if you use slurry you can see where the hone isn't moving the slurry on the stone also. You may need to use a rolling stroke to get the heel of the blade as you may have a slight warp in the razor you can see with the naked eye.

I had the same problem. For me fiddling around with the rolling strokes and pressure helped. Also I did some X-strokes with my thumb on the blade near the tang, applying light extra pressure, but on the beginning of the push and pull movement I give more time for that part on the hone. So kind of like an X with long, straight legs and more extreme curving at the ends, if you get my drift. Longer direct contact would be it in a nutshell.