Thread: Does weight or grind matter?

Surely the whole point of setting up a razor in the first place is making sure the whole of the spine and the whole of the edge marry up,and there are no high spots,so when honing the maximum edge and the maximun spine come in contact with the stone at any time together at the same time.How many people have razors not properly set up.The only razor i have that was sent shave ready took me ages to set up correctly,it must have sharpened with a taped spine.You cannot set up a straight razor with a taped spine,you wont know where you are.

I dont mean you can apply any pressure to the centre of the razor,you will ruin it,only either end quarter in,you are honing the spine as much as the edge ,the whole razor in fact.

Folks tape spines all the time for different reasons. if you have a decorated spine you want to protect it and 1 layer of tape does not affect the honing process. if you have various problem edges tape might be mandatory with numerous layers depending on the problem. Some grinds like wedges often require several layers if th edge has deteriorated.

The statement about not being able to set up a razor with a taped spine is simply untrue.

I hone with 1 layer of tape on all my blades. No issues here. And keeping the spine and bevel on the stone at all times is fact. But you can shift the weight a bit to the edge and from the spine. This also depends on the grind of the razor. I wouldn't do it on a 8/8 Fili.

Since my interest is almost purely for 150+ year old razors, I tape everything and regularly hone razors where the contact points between spine and edge are A) extremely narrow and B) eccentrically offset.

It's not at all uncommon for me to hone razors where the length of spine & edge touching the hone is less than 1/8th of an inch, or that needs to be tilted in some way. With practice, these take as good an edge as anything, but you do have to learn how to burn through weird bevel offsets quickly.

Essentially, all is fair in love, war, and bevel setting. Especially bevel setting.

Originally Posted by adductum

Surely the whole point of setting up a razor in the first place is making sure the whole of the spine and the whole of the edge marry up,and there are no high spots,so when honing the maximum edge and the maximun spine come in contact with the stone at any time together at the same time.How many people have razors not properly set up.The only razor i have that was sent shave ready took me ages to set up correctly,it must have sharpened with a taped spine.You cannot set up a straight razor with a taped spine,you wont know where you are.

I think you are confused regarding a taped spine and not being correctly set up, the tape can actually correct many years of honing abuse where the spine geometry has been altered from many years of honing a razor without this helpful little strip of plastic we all now take for granted, a normal straight razor bevel can be between 15 and 19 degrees so one layer of tape will in no way put you in or outside of those boundaries enough for you to tell the difference, I hone hundreds of razors every year and I tape everything that comes into me, I'll bet you couldn't tell the difference between a 2 brand new razors if one was honed with or without tape in a shave test.

I always tape the spine firstly for preservation sake and in most cases with vintage razors, it alleviates some of the honing gymnastics required on the old warped and twisted masterpieces.

In terms of hollow or wedge shaving better, with a shave ready edge, never found it made nor should make any difference in my experience, it's the edge that does the cutting.

I find that the balance of a razor and feel in my hand are the most important factor in getting a comfortable shave considering the razor is shave ready to my standards. I have 8/8 to 5/8 grind, steel, Damascus and stainless steel with very large scales and light scales and everything in between. When I pick up the razor and hold it in my hand, the feel and balance will tell me the pressure and angle that is best.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

That oxidation may still be in play from a structural p.o.v. On a razor like that I would be checking the edge under magnification after multiple shave tests. It can take a few honings to get to good steel even tho it may appear & work ok at first.
That you say it "feels sharper" than other razors may/may not mean there are microchips in the edge. Sharp razors feel smooth to me but YMMV.

This is what I was thinking as well

Originally Posted by onimaru55

That you say it "feels sharper" than other razors may/may not mean there are microchips in the edge. Sharp razors feel smooth to me but YMMV.

I tend to disagree. When I notice it's time for a touch up it's usually not so much because the razor feels dull, it's because it starts to feel harsh and leaves my skin irritated (with coticule/Thüringer edges).