Thread: Old Sheffields with Tapers

Were some old Sheffield razors purposely designed to have a taper of 1/16 to 1/8 from toe to heel? Or is a taper due to poor honing? How does a taper affect honing and shaving?

Is the hone wear on the spine near the toe wider than the rest of the razor? If so, then the taper was created by honing rather than by original manufacture. However, this was not due to "poor honing," as many barbers, and likely others, deliberately honed a smile into the toe in order to improve the cutting action of the razor.

I have seen a lot of Sheffields that are widest about a half inch or so back from the toe, and taper a bit at the toe and a bit to the heal. But, as Ron says, looking at hone wear is usually a great way to tell if the razor was made that way or honed that way. Or with photos, we may be able to give you some insight.

Short answer - maybe?

it could be either.
taper in the blade helps to provide a bit of slicing during shaving
as far as honing, it it's a properly designed razor and not abused by honing it shouldn't matter much.
if it's a result of honing abuse you may have to have to match the previous owner's uneven honing.

I just picked up my first old Sheffielder, with a fairly dramatic taper, and was wondering that same thing. The hone wear seems even to me, so I think it was ground that way. This is also my first smiling blade, so I'm excited to give it a whirl.

Originally Posted by HarryA

Were some old Sheffield razors purposely designed to have a taper of 1/16 to 1/8 from toe to heel? Or is a taper due to poor honing? How does a taper affect honing and shaving?

A little taper is common both on new and used razors.
I have a new TI and it has a bit of a taper....
I have more than a couple 90+ year old blades with a taper...

In some cases the taper is obviously by design and in
other cases it appears to be the result of years of hand
honing. Not poor honing just hand honing.

Some seem to have been made so after years of hand honing
they would wear well with time.

Well honed they all shave like champs.
When honing resort to the magic marker trick and
adjust the stroke as needed and life is good.....

Old razors and old hones tended to grow old with
the owner and each other a little dishing of the hone would
reflect itself on the razor. Since this change can
take years no one noticed or cared.

If you have such a razor and keep your hones lapped
flat the way we do today the razor will eventually
match the hone. Not to worry, X strokes, rolling X and
friends will do the job.

Yup, a bunch of the old razors were ground with a taper, Wider at the toe, narrower at the heel. I don't know why they were ground that way. Most seem to have been made in the 1800's. Bidding on an really old stub tang now.