Thread: Greetings (again) from NJ

I first joined SRP about 3 years ago when I decided to make the jump from DE shaving to using a straight razor. Unfortunately, I got discouraged quickly and didn't really stick with it. About a year ago I decided to give it another try. I still had the Dovo Best Quality 6/8 that I used before but had the urge to try something new. I figured that might keep me interested so I got a Leviathan razor from Portland Razor Co. and thought I was well on my way again. Wrong. I dulled the edge from stopping incorrectly and had to have it honed again. The guy I sent it to, who I met in another shaving forum and will remain anonymous, seemed to be well-respected and offered to do it for me. All I had to do was pay for postage. I got my blade back very sharp but with a very crooked bevel. It kind of curved up toward the spine at the toe. It wasn't really a smiling edge but more of a smirk because it was only near the toe and to a lesser extent at the heel. I didn't make a big stink about it because it was done as a favor and I didn't want to disrespect the guy but it just added to my frustration. I thought my brand new razor was ruined. But my determination (or stubbornness perhaps) kept me going. I decided to get my own stones and learn to hone my own razors. I am now at the point that I feel I can get a pretty good edge on my razors and also get pretty good shaves. My Leviathan is shaving great although I had to remove a good amount of metal to get the edge straight again. Hopefully that won't take too much life off the blade. But I really think I am headed in the right direction now and I feel much more confident than before. And since I had a 3 year hiatus from SRP I thought it would be a good idea to reintroduce myself to the community here. I look forward to learning even more and improving my skills even further. It's good to be back.

Welcome back and enjoy.

Welcome back! Sounds like an eventful comeback, indeed!!

Great job hanging in there!!

Originally Posted by Prahston

Welcome back! Sounds like an eventful comeback, indeed!!

Great job hanging in there!!

Thanks. Yeah it's been a bumpy ride for sure but I am getting better and better with my shaves and my honing is much improved although it could be better. It took me a while to get used to the PRC razor since it is quarter hollow and seems to be much thicker steel and feels completely different from the Dovo. But now that I have a better feel for how it handles I am much happier with the results.

An uneven grind can result in an uneven bevel. The honing was not necessarily done wrong and you may have wasted a lot of steel by making the edge straight. There is nothing wrong with a smiling, or smirking, blade. In fact many prefer it. Did the actual edge smile, or smirk, or did the bevel simply widen on each end?

It was actually both. The edge smirked AND the bevel widened in the same area. I know a smiling edge is very common and I actually like the way it looks. I have seen some vintage Wade & Butcher razors with smiling edges that look beautiful. I didn't know that a smirking edge (I'm assuming that means where the edge is straight for the most part and rounds a bit at the heel and toe) is considered normal. But the edge was perfectly straight when I sent it and that's what I was expecting to get back...still straight just much sharper. I just would have expected a heads up if the edge profile was going to be altered that dramatically. That's what bothered me. I probably did waste some steel getting it straight again but I am sure it still has plenty of life. I haven't measured it but it is (or was) a 6/8 blade so there is still plenty of steel left.

Hi and welcome back. I would agree that if it was straight I would expect it to come back straight. After all that is how it was honed originally.

Thanks eddy. And that's exactly my point. I mean the razor was very sharp but I was also expecting it to remain straight. I guess what really matters is I was determined enough to work with it and get it where I wanted it. Now it's straight again and shaving great and I am really enjoying it.

Smiling Blades are so common and desired you may just have to remember to request an edge that is honed to remain straight as so many people (.. and so many Instructional Videos..) hone in a manner to produce a smiling edge that, even on a new blade, they will be laying a foundation for it to eventually smile. Not a difficult thing, just a small change in technique to predispose straight over smiling.

Starting out with Honing as you are by fixing errors/issues, once you get a brand new blade to hone by yourself, you are going to feel like you are on vacation without errors to address!!

Is there a distinct advantage to a smiling edge? I've seen it a million time and I think it looks nice but is there any added benefit other than aesthetics? The blade I had to fix didn't look at all pleasing and really looked sloppy. If it looked okay I would have kept it that way but it really just made the razor ugly. I know the quality of the shave is most important but visual appearance is important too. Otherwise there wouldn't be an interest in fancy scale materials and elaborate blade shapes. Right?