Heel Issues

OK, I received this W&B smiling Extra Hollow in mail yesterday (1,2). I was able to get it honed up using Norton 1k,4k,8k, C12k and a pasted strop. I used some 3 layers of 3m to set the bevel. Afterwards, I stripped it down to just one which worked out fine. However, I was struggling with getting the heel straight. The bevel does not look right. Carl, on SOTD, suggested to have some folks look at it. He pointed out that I might need to do something with the stabilizer. Btw, other than the heel issue she shaves fine.

1)
Attachment 100178
2)
Attachment 100179

Thanks,

James

Your bevel is basically a reflection of the spine wear at this point. It will normally reflect the spine wear regardless. When correcting it, you need to pay more attention to where it forms the edge vs. the top part of the bevel which could be all over the place depending on the previous wear.

On this one, if it lays pretty flat, I would concentrate a little more pressure on the heel with circles and then blend that concentrated area with X strokes. If the razor is not laying flat, then I would pick up the heal first trying a 45 degree angle X stroke and if that doesn't work, go to a rolling X stroke.

Have fun

Thanks, Lynn, yesterday I was doing 45 and rolling X strokes. I was seeing that some of the stabilizer was getting worn so I stopped honing that area. I was making some progress but I did not wanna mess the razor up. The rest of the edge was popping hairs fine at the 1k level so I decided to move on. I am guessing that I need to take it back to the either 1k or 4k and continue with the 45 degree or rolling X's until the edge will pop hairs. I have noticed, with a few older razors, that the heel seems to be the area that is not honed properly, causing issues such as this.

I usually try to take it right up to the stabilizer or shoulder. Going further will definitely go into it and you can see the wear. Some people though use the heel when they shave so with a razor like this, you may have little choice but to get that area if you use the heel. I normally don't, so no big deal for me. If you lead the heel a little in your strokes you can avoid some of that wear.

Have fun.

Thanks again. Basically I would like to have it sharp all the way up to the stabilizers. Sometimes I need to use that part to get to certain areas around my neck. As you are pointing out, some do or do not sharpen the heel area. So I guess that is a matter of choice. Maybe I should adapt myself to the razor not the razor to me? Anyway, it is smoothly sharp all the way up to about 1/4 inch from the stabilizers. Btw, this is fun. Of all the things I find fascinating sharpening objects is one of them. Who knew? Hmm, I wonder how sharp you can get a butter knife?

I've found setting the honing project aside for a day or two then coming back to it with a fresh mind helpful too!