Thread: Bevel symmetry

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the SRP forums and straight razor shaving. I have a question that I was unable to find information on through the search function that I was hoping some of you might possibly shed some insight into.

I recently purchased a 5/8 Timor Hamburg Ring and attempted to hone it myself using a 4k and 8k Japanese Waterstone (both Matsunaga King stones) and some CrO2 paste. After honing, I find that the Timor shaves well with the grain, but provides some tugging and discomfort when going against the grain when compared to my pre-honed Dovo from Tony Miller.

My question is whether or not bevel symmetry is something that should be present on a good shaver. I noticed that when sharpening my Timor that one bevel is noticeably thinner than the other, unlike the Dovo which has relatively symmetric bevels. I always maintained a balanced number of strokes on the stones so that one side would not be honed more than the other, but I just wanted to know whether this is normal or whether I should pursue trying to make the bevels symmetric the next time I sharpen it up.

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate all the knowledge and expertise available through this forum.

Generally speaking, the bevel should be symmetrical unless the razor was ground badly, but then you wouldn't want to shave with it. Even though you used equal numbers of strokes, I believe the pressure wasn't even and that created the bevel issues.

It doesn't really seem to matter, except aesthetically. The bevel angle is pretty much the same whether the bevel is even on both sides or not. I've got one razor where the bevel angles from one side to the other from the heel to toe, and it shaves great. I'd still rather have a symmetrical bevel, but I'm not gonna spend an hour on the 4k just for that. Now if the bevel is only uneven in one spot, or the wide side varies from one side to the other several times, this is a clue that the razor may be warped.

to clarify: The bevels should be even from the factory, but IMO it's not a huge sin for a vintage razor to have an uneven bevel, though an even bevel should be your goal as you hone it and use it in the future.

Thanks for your insight. I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn't be spending unnecessary time and grinding off excessive steel for something that is more aesthetically orientated than performance-wise.

As for the pressure, I'm quite certain that I was applying equal pressure for both sides - certainly the disparity of pressure wouldn't be enough to cause for the difference in the bevel angles that I'm experiencing. Nevertheless, I made a note when honing to ensure that the bevels meet the edge by watching my progress through an 8x loupe, so I'm guessing that the grind is either slightly off on this razor. It might be also worth noting that there was a slight frown in the blade, but I was able to hone it so that it's pretty insignificant at this point.

Get rid of it completely, and that may take care of the uneven bevel. Either use the heel-to-toe rock or go straight across the 1k with a bit of extra finger pressure on the heel and toe.

The bevel symetry is uneven on a few of my razors also, but they shave great. Near as I could tell, the original blade geometry probably had some minor imperfections. It wouldnt take much to notice a difference in the width of the hone line at the blade edge. The only razor I have with a nearly perfect hone line at the edge on both sides is a vintage 7/8 Friodur.

Dave