Thread: Partial bevel?

Hi Tony,

First, start them at, say, 4k--do a 4k/8k pyramid. If they're just less keen because of the previous honer's idiosyncracies, you can get them up to speed without removing too much metal. Always start on the fine side.

If that doesn't do it, read on...

Reset the bevels. If they're less keen in certain sections, there may be problems with the original grind. I bought a brand-new pro-honed Dovo stainless years ago that shaved like it had been pro-honed, but when it became my turn to touch it up I discovered that the spine/grind was off, and the pro honer had worked some localized pressure tricks to make the whole edge as good as it should be.

To me, that's not as good as a razor should be. I like them to hone easily, without drama. That blade has sat unused for a couple of years, waiting for me to get bored enough with honing my others to put in the hard work of not only setting the bevel but also setting the spine.

To that end, I'd recommend honing without tape, so you get the spine and the bevel aligned to one another. A more advanced honer may chime in with different advice, but that's how I've treated slightly wayward blades of my own.

A blade that's more than slightly wayward may need much more experienced attention than I'd bring to it. If you have any meetups happening near you, put these blades aside and take them along for the meetup's best honer to demonstrate on. I've watched Glen (gssixgun) resurrect blades at the Denver meetup; it's pretty cool to see--and humbling, too.

I'd say if you can't get a good bevel set in two or three tries, set them aside before you erode away too much spine.

Good luck and best wishes.