Mid-Honing Help

Trying to set a bevel on a 5/8 Edwin Blyde that I bought the other day (looks like 1/4 hollow) and I'm having trouble. I'm findin that I can get a bevel on most of the length of the blade except the last centimetre or so at the heel. I keep working away at it and it seems to be improving but I'm starting to get an uneven bevel along the rest of the blade as a result (on one side, the bevel is really wide in the middle of the blade).

I started of with circles and am now mostly doing x-strokes with pressure on the heel but there's not much going on. Any advice on how to rectify the situation?


Cheers!

Photos would help. That said how smiley is the blade? If the razor is a smiling. Try the 45 degree heel forward stroke with a swop at the end.

However the razor may not be able to have the last cm sharp depending on geometry, and where you are measuring from.

Here is Gssixgun's video that has the stroke I described, so poorly.:)

gssixgun Honing a Smiling Wedge part 1
gssixgun Honing a Smiling Wedge part 2
gssixgun Honing a Smiling Wedge part 3

Jonathan

It's not smiling. I tried to take some pics but the light and the iPhone isn't quite good enough; you can't really see anything useful.

Perhaps I just need to keep at it. It IS getting better, though there's still a bit that doesn't bite on the TNT. I just seem to have been trying to set this bevel for hours. I'm conscious that I'll have ground away the entire razor by the time I'm done. I'll only be left with a set of scales!

use a marker to see where you are loosing contact between the blade and the stone.
Then use the marker again to find out the best stroke that will give full contact.
I suggest that you try rolling x stroke.

Thanks for your input guys! I rolled the pressure onto the heel and did circles like that and it seems to be evening the heel out nicely!

Bonus credit to gssixgun for the explanation in one of the above videos!

I think I've done it. I really have no idea until I shave with it! It is interesting, though, what the difference in grind makes—my other razors are hollow ground and, even on the strop, this 1/4 hollow feels completely different. I can only describe it as the same kind of feeling as when you wake up with pins and needles in your hand and everything feels thick and numb. Well that's what this razor feels like!

Was about to shave with this razor again (2nd time) but I know that I'm really not happy with it right now—I'm sure that it's not cutting at all towards the heel—so I'm actually going to try and hone it again to get it right, maybe with a couple of layers of tape this time.

Quick question, though; what's the best way to kill the edge first?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PigHog

Was about to shave with this razor again (2nd time) but I know that I'm really not happy with it right now—I'm sure that it's not cutting at all towards the heel—so I'm actually going to try and hone it again to get it right, maybe with a couple of layers of tape this time.

Quick question, though; what's the best way to kill the edge first?

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You can run it on a glass with or the corner of your 1k hone, with no pressure.

Alrighty. Thanks!

Well the razor is freshly honed and stropped. There's still a point right on the heel that will not cut no matter what I try but it's better than last time. I'll try and shave with it shortly and hope that it's better that the shave I got from it before.

Failing that, it looks like I might be sending it out. I hope I won't have to though...that'll be the third time in three weeks that the thing's been honed and it feels like by the time it gets to a decent shave-ready state, there won't actually be any metal left on it!

I wanted to take pics just so you guys can see what I'm on about but the lighting is really poor at the moment and any pictures I take are of no use whatsoever.

Did you check if the spine is perfectly straight?

I noticed you mention the Thumbnail Test. This dulls the edge. Also you may have a slightly warped razor or the previous honer honed heavy at the heel causing it not to be even beveled with the rest of the edge.