Help setting bevel

I am new to honing and bought a couple of eBay specials to learn on... I am working on a Dubl Duck Dwarf that had a bad enough edge I decided to butter knife it. Now that I am trying to set a new bevel I notice that upon close examination I am getting the start of a good bevel near the toe of the blade; but, the area near the heel has quite a ways to go... I am sure it is due to a defect in my technique ( circles on fine DMT only so far ) but thought I'd stop and ask advice before pressing on...

Thoughts?

TIA,

-A

Did you bread knife all the way to the stabiliser ? If so it may be lifting the heel off the stone hence the tip gets sharp.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...ing-heels.html

Use a black permanent marker on the edge and the spine and take 5 laps on your dmt. You will see where you are making contact with the hone and how far off you are. Hopefully you have a magnifyer or jewelers loupe so you can easily see it.

What you are doing isn't "setting a bevel", it's more like restoration. Breadknifing a razor and remaking an all new bevel is a more advanced technique and I'm not even sure it has a real bearing on day to day honing.

Maybe post some pics of the razor and some of the razor restoration guys or advanced honers can help you out more.

If you are just starting out, my advice would be to start with an easier job. Use a hone with a little too high a grit for the task. That will force you to lot's of strokes, and get a lot of practice with the motions.

Michael

You just decided to make your life that much more complicated it looks like.
As stated above, you may be hitting the stabilizers, it is also possible the grind is off and the blade is off the hone closer to the heel area.
How is the spine wear?
Good pics are always helpful in diagnosing problems.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mjsorkin

What you are doing isn't "setting a bevel", it's more like restoration. Breadknifing a razor and remaking an all new bevel is a more advanced technique and I'm not even sure it has a real bearing on day to day honing.

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Good point. Moved to Advanced Honing forum

Quote:

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Originally Posted by admoore

I am new to honing and bought a couple of eBay specials to learn on... I am working on a Dubl Duck Dwarf that had a bad enough edge I decided to butter knife it. Now that I am trying to set a new bevel I notice that upon close examination I am getting the start of a good bevel near the toe of the blade; but, the area near the heel has quite a ways to go... I am sure it is due to a defect in my technique ( circles on fine DMT only so far ) but thought I'd stop and ask advice before pressing on...

Thoughts?

TIA,

-A

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Sometimes, and this is a rare occasion ... I have had razors that passed my tests for having set the bevel, like no light reflecting from the edge etc etc, but for some reason they felt dull and/or didn't cut hair. After I took them up one step to the soft Arkansas I have they would cut hair. Why not try to go up a stage to the next step in your progression and see what happens.

Also check onimaru's solution with regards to the stabilizer, that could be an issue too.

It will either be that the spine on the razor is not straight or you're not sitting the razor flat on the hone. Both give the same result. I did a restoration recently where I had a similar problem. The spine was not straight. I was getting a bevel at the front and back of the blade on one side and only in the middle of the other (a good indication of a not straight spine). It took quite a bit of honing to get it right but I eventually got a full bevel on both sides of the blade.

Thanks to all...

Appears I was hitting the stabilizers... A little improvement in technique helped tremendously. Still not ready to shave; but, I've done several pyramid sets and it is much, much better. Taking my time and trying to learn patience as it is not one of my natural attributes! I will try to post a photo or two if I can get a good one that clearly shows where I'm at in the process...

Pics as promised...

Work in progress:
Attachment 125431
Attachment 125432

I am happy to report that after multiple sessions spanning several days, I believe I have an edge that is shave ready! I had no idea so much time would be involved to get it right; but, I've certainly learned a lot in the process. Still no expert; but, the thought of "touching up" the edge of a good razor no longer strikes fear into my heart...

Cheers,

-Allen M.

Happy to report for the 1st time today I shaved with a razor I honed myself and it shaved every bit as good as my professionally sharpened Dovo! Nice feeling...
Now if I could just learn to be confident shaving my neck- lol... :p

Looks like a lot of wear on the spine and the heel needs reshaping / correcting. Revisit Onimaru’s Correcting Heels.
Try 2 layers of tape. Examine the wear on your tape, it will tell you a lot about your edge / spine and your technique… pressure.