Thread: Razors with Uneven hone wear at point

I have two razors that I bought from the same ebay vendor that I bought early in my straight razor journey so I didn't realize at the time they had uneven hone wear at the point (and they both have funky shapes so it wasn't as obvious as it would be on a totally straightforward 5/8 solingen). So in both cases they are narrower at the point than the rest of the razor. One was a heljestrand 23 and the other an old weltmeister (42 maybe), both quarter grind 5/8 or 11/16s razors (so they are "mini-wedges"). Others on ebay could probably tell they had overhoned points because I got them both for around $25.

Anyway, here's the kicker - they both shave great. Having the slightly (1/16s or less) narrower point is no handicap, and they are in near perfect shape otherwise. And they are nice swedish steel wedges but narrow and maneuverable. They shave as comfy as my TI Le Grelot but both are easier to hone, get sharper more easily, and fly around my face since they are smaller. And they have that comfortable feel from great swedish stell in a a heavy grind. Might they be better if they were evenly honed? Maybe - my guess is the performance would be the same.

Here's my question: what honing stroke was the seller using that unevenly wore the point? I don't think I could replicate what he did on those two razors if I tried, and they were in such great condition otherwise I'm wondering if he did it on purpose.

A photo would help but it would seem obvious that the original honers probably applied more pressure on the point at the end of the stroke.

Originally Posted by loueedacat

... I'm wondering if he did it on purpose.

I often wonder that about the razors I have also. It's hard to say w/o pics but if I were to guess either he had heavy pressure on the toe while honing or he lifted the heal towards the end of his stroke. Barbers usually only used the toe of the blade for clean ups on the side burns, around the ears and the neck. This is the ares that dulled for them fastest and the only area they needed to hone thus heavy hone wear.

Originally Posted by Joed

Barbers usually only used the toe of the blade for clean ups on the side burns, around the ears and the neck. This is the ares that dulled for them fastest and the only area they needed to hone thus heavy hone wear.

This might be the issue, because there is virtually no hone wear on the rest of the blade, and these little guys would be perfect for touch ups.

Anyone who hasn't tried a "mini-wedge" should by the way, they are really fun.

May have been what it took to correct the spine to edge relationship. Neither looks bad to me. YMMV.

Another thing to consider is that a lot of people prefer a smile at the toe. In fact some of the barber's manuals explain hone to deliberately hone a smile into the razor. What some consider to be the result of bad honing others would consider to be excellent honing. Keep in mind these razors were simple tools, to be used and modified as needed in order to get a simple task done as quickly and as well as possible. Their owners were not worried about the their re-sale value a century later.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Another thing to consider is that a lot of people prefer a smile at the toe. In fact some of the barber's manuals explain hone to deliberately hone a smile into the razor. What some consider to be the result of bad honing others would consider to be excellent honing. Keep in mind these razors were simple tools, to be used and modified as needed in order to get a simple task done as quickly and as well as possible. Their owners were not worried about the their re-sale value a century later.

That's what I'm talking about! Didn't know manuals advocated this, but it seemed like it was on purpose, and the result was good. So this totally makes sense.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

May have been what it took to correct the spine to edge relationship. Neither looks bad to me. YMMV.

I'm a butt head. I measured them again tonight under better light and they aren't actually narrower at the point, so they really aren't too bad LOL - the extra honewear/wider bevel on the edge at the point created the illusion it was narrower to my mediocre eyesight (and the mild sway on the helje doesn't help).

When using an X-pattern you risk overhoning the toe, especially if you use a finger of the other hand to stabilize the blade on the hone.

Originally Posted by loueedacat

Here's my question: what honing stroke was the seller using that unevenly wore the point? I don't think I could replicate what he did on those two razors if I tried, and they were in such great condition otherwise I'm wondering if he did it on purpose.

The Seller may not be the cause of the uneven honewear (see JoeD's post) he may have just continued on an uneven blade... To hone that, He probably used the Rolling X or a similar stroke....

I may not be the best at honing, but in my short experience, sometimes there's a problem area on an edge (or maybe a tiny chip... something like that) and I focus on that part of the edge (say 3 strokes on just that area for every one full X stroke) and that causes uneven honewear... However (again, just my limited experience) I've never noticed uneven honewear to influence the quality of the shave... As long as the bevel is properly set, and the razor is properly honed, you should get a nice, smooth shave (which it sounds like you are getting)