Dumb Beginner's tape trick

Tonight I just had to hone up a razor. Problem arose as I couldn't find my black vinyl tape.

I used Scotch Packing tape. It was a little difficult to handle as it had to be cut for width as well as length.

I did 40 passes or more on 6K and more on 8K and finished on Thuri.

NO TAPE WEAR. None. Nada. smooth as silk and no residue on stone or blade.

Haven't tried it on 1K setting bevel but my 6K will get all gummed up with black.

Even the 8K will grind done the vinyl tape.

If it works this well on a 1K stone I am going hunting for 1/2 inch wide packing tape and not looking back.

MMHV

Hmmmm,,, Very very interesting,, I have some Duck packing tape right here, and 12 razors that need honing, me thinks I shall try your idea :p

Did you use just one layer? Scotch packing tape is only .002 thick. tough stuff for sure.

A single layer of clear packing tape. This particular roll is the Staples branded clear on a red plastic dispenser. I have found it identical to the 3m branded item usually hanging beside it in the stores. I will do some bevel setting tonight testing how well it holds up on a 1K stone.

This sounds interesting. I'll be following to see where we go from here.

I never have a problem with electrical tape. I have never had gum on the razor on hone afterwards. I think I will stick with it.

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Originally Posted by sleekandsmooth

I never have a problem with electrical tape. I have never had gum on the razor on hone afterwards. I think I will stick with it.

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Well probably my lack of experience is showing here but I find it necessary to change the black tape often while honing. Nearly everytime I change a stone and more frequently if I stay on one stone for a long time.

MMHV

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Originally Posted by jaswarb

Well probably my lack of experience is showing here but I find it necessary to change the black tape often while honing. Nearly everytime I change a stone and more frequently if I stay on one stone for a long time.

MMHV

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that being the case I would suspect you're using more pressure than is necessary .... or advisable .... OTOH, I could be wrong, I was wrong once before. :shrug:

Impressions: Compared to my normal #700 3M Electrical tape

Good,
Performance was as good perhaps better
Very slick feel
I could feel the edge easily
No problems with water
Less wear than the Electrical tape and I was pushing it :)

Bad.
Wrong size
You have to trim
Can't see it
If you mess up the application at all, that piece is trashed
Hard to apply
Harder to remove


Thoughts,
Not a bad idea at all, not sure if it is better than Electrical tape because of the problems with application and removal but it is an option, especially if it were the right size on a roll....


Thanks for the suggestion

Glen, your thoughts on the thickness being a third of 3M elec

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Glen, your thoughts on the thickness being a third of 3M elec

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I don't think it matters one bit unless you are taping for spine correction reasons, the thinner tape for spine protection would just make all the calculations that I did proving tape doesn't change the bevel angle in our lifetime, just triple :rofl2:

ps: I actually checked the thickness too with my calipers, and you are about dead on... #700 = .007 / Duck brand packing tape = .002 both as advertised....

Makes sense,Thanx

Great post! I have just two points here.

As far as electrical tape goes, I find that the 3m 700 tape has better wear resistance than other brands.

Maybe there is a very heavy version of scotch tape that will work like packing tape but in a smaller size?

Maybe this:

IBM WebSphere Portal

Michael

Well tonight I got some new victims to tape up and grind on.

Roughly a total of 50 passes on 1K with the first razor(Torrey Gun Metal) and the packing tape had just begun to give up. So was I as it doesn't usually take me so many passes to get a bevel I can work with.

Second razor (WesterBros) fewer passes about 35 (25 circles+10 rolling X's) no wear at all. I was paying particular attention to pressure on the stone as I thought uneven pressure along with too heavy handed honing caused my problems with the Torrey. I am still just a beginner so the simple stuff can elude me from time to time.

The 6K, 8K, Thuri all went without issue and the new tape was none the less for wear. Stropped them up and did my one pass ATG and they were smooth as silk.

I have the hang of applying and cutting the tape but I will be hunting for some narrower rolls.

I LOVE THIS RAZOR STUFF!:rock:

Actually just procured a narrower version,Ran a new roll thru my bandsaw,be carefull as it gets grabby.

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Actually just procured a narrower version,Ran a new roll thru my bandsaw,be carefull as it gets grabby.

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:rofl2:

Goes to show don't ever tell old farts with sharp things what we can and can't have :p

Moving along,I have created a newer technique for creating precision razor tape.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...cone/taper.jpg

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

:rofl2:

Goes to show don't ever tell old farts with sharp things what we can and can't have :p

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Don't want to know what happens if someone says don't run with scissors.

Has to be a great idea, love to gry it myself, soon too.
Thank you.

tinkersd of SRP.

Ha! I was just going to suggest cutting around the tape with a utility knife, but this is *way* better! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Moving along,I have created a newer technique for creating precision razor tape.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...cone/taper.jpg

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My gawd,SRP is truly a suppository of Knowledge:), with the above post in mind,I have developed some new technology.
This is state of the art my friends.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ne/cleaver.jpg

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Glen, your thoughts on the thickness being a third of 3M elec

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As long as it was consistent what difference would that make?

Sorry I was about a page behind when I posted this! LOL

The only issue I have with packaging tape is when it wears you can't see it as well as electical tape. My advice is to change it frequently on lower grits cause it does not give you as much warning when it is ready to tear.

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

My gawd,SRP is truly a suppository of Knowledge:), with the above post in mind,I have developed some new technology.
This is state of the art my friends.

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No I disagree some of the other places I have been to are suppositories but SRP is much more comfortable.:rofl2:

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Originally Posted by Kingfish

The only issue I have with packaging tape is when it wears you can't see it as well as electical tape. My advice is to change it frequently on lower grits cause it does not give you as much warning when it is ready to tear.

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Well tonight the packing tape got a fail! I had to bread knife a beautiful old Torry Full Double concave. Looked like it had been used a few times and put away wet. The edge was just serrated. I set the new bevel with a King 1K. Admittedly I was using pressure to remove a lot of metal initially but even when I backed off to very light pressure towards the end 40 passes was the limit of the packing tape. I was pulling it frequently and checking it for a grind line. When I move up to the 6K King and then the 8K Norton no problems but I still kept checking it frequently. Maybe if I used a more course stone with very light pressure the packing tape would have acted better. It still works well enough to be of value to me.

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Originally Posted by jaswarb

No I disagree some of the other places I have been to are suppositories but SRP is much more comfortable.:rofl2:




Well tonight the packing tape got a fail! I had to bread knife a beautiful old Torry Full Double concave. Looked like it had been used a few times and put away wet. The edge was just serrated. I set the new bevel with a King 1K. Admittedly I was using pressure to remove a lot of metal initially but even when I backed off to very light pressure towards the end 40 passes was the limit of the packing tape. I was pulling it frequently and checking it for a grind line. When I move up to the 6K King and then the 8K Norton no problems but I still kept checking it frequently. Maybe if I used a more course stone with very light pressure the packing tape would have acted better. It still works well enough to be of value to me.

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But was it more resistance than the 3m black electric tape?

Find that if I give the razor a good rinse and wipe with alcohol any tape sticks better.

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Originally Posted by Double0757

But was it more resistance than the 3m black electric tape?

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My perception it lasts longer than black electric tape by far. I did not do a side by side stroke by stroke comparison as I can't find my black tape which is what started this thread. I am not likely to go back to black tape as I don't normally have to do so much grinding on a blade. No question for me the packing tape is better from the sharpening phase(4k/6k) to the polishing(Thuri).

Wonder how thick that fiberglass reinforced packing tape is? comes in 3/4 in widths.

I don't believe it is smooth enough. I also believe it doesn't have the abrasion resistance of the plain packing tape. I finished my Henckel Set last night and when I pulled the tape of the last three razors it was all still shiny and smooth no wear visible(only used 6k/8k/thuri). Only the heavy repeated passes on 1k while setting the bevel has proven to abrade the packing tape and IMO it is less wear than occurs on electric tape.

Attachment 99208Attachment 99209
Here are a couple of tapes I have been using with great results. One is the House Tape from a local electronics store “Orvac Electronics” I don’t recall the price, but think it was less than $2. I bought red to use as a final layer over black 3M to better see if it was burning through. It is labeled as PVC Electrical Tape (the smaller roll). The thickness was not labeled but is about the thickness of 3M. It is also a little stretchier that 3M. Orvac has a website but I could not find the tape.

The other is tape I bought at Habitat for Humanity’s resale store, great place to buy slabs of granite and other cool stuff, work shop cabinets, granite & marble 18X18 tiles for a buck, pre-cut and dovetailed drawer parts a buck, the list goes on. This tape cost $1.49 is much thinner than 3M. Labeled IPG Red Vinyl .75in x 60 ft. No thickness, this tape is very thin & stretchy.

IPG is a tape manufacture and makes all kinds of tape. A quick web search shows it priced from $1.30 to 16.50. Sears is a vendor and sells for $1.30, though I haven’t seen it there.

Both are more wear resistant than 3M, but the IGP shows almost no wear after a full Norton 1k-8k progression, just light scuffing. They both come in a variety of colors, I think they are designed more for marking, but you can’t beat the price, compared to 3M and the performance.

Yesterday, I gave gloss-finish Scotch tape a try. It's a different, tougher material than the regular matte-finish tape, and it seemed to work well. There's definitely much less drag than from electrical tape. I did a 3-3, 1-3, 1-5 pyramid on a Norton 4K/8K combo followed by a dozen laps on a Thuri with the same tape, and it didn't wear through. Admittedly, this wasn't a proper test of its toughness. However, unlike the packing tape, this tape is already the proper width for our use.