Thread: Strop after Taping the spine

Originally Posted by honedright

Isn't the angle from the edge to the back of the razor specifically engineered by the razor makers so that the razor, when placed flat on a hone, rests with just the correct angle for honing?

Not really. There's a wide range of angles that seems to work just fine. I've measured anywhere between 14 1/2 degrees to about 18 degrees on NOS or mint razors, and different examples of the same make and model razor will have different honing angles because the width and thickness will be a bit different due to worker-to-worker variation. Adding a thin piece of tape to the spine isn't likely to change things to any significant degree. The angle increases with extended use anyway because on a hollow ground razor the edge wears faster than the spine because it's thinner.

On the topic of the original question, a razor that has been honed with a taped spine strops normally. I've used a 5/8 razor that was honed with three layers of tape on the spine and it stropped just fine. I could see situations where this wouldn't necessarily be the case, but for normal-sized bevels and normal-sized razors this shouldn't be a problem.

Originally Posted by mparker762

Not really. There's a wide range of angles that seems to work just fine. I've measured anywhere between 14 1/2 degrees to about 18 degrees on NOS or mint razors, and different examples of the same make and model razor will have different honing angles because the width and thickness will be a bit different due to worker-to-worker variation. Adding a thin piece of tape to the spine isn't likely to change things to any significant degree. The angle increases with extended use anyway because on a hollow ground razor the edge wears faster than the spine because it's thinner.

On the topic of the original question, a razor that has been honed with a taped spine strops normally. I've used a 5/8 razor that was honed with three layers of tape on the spine and it stropped just fine. I could see situations where this wouldn't necessarily be the case, but for normal-sized bevels and normal-sized razors this shouldn't be a problem.

I appreciate all of the thought that has gone into this subject, contained in this thread, and another. Obviously, it just comes down to preference.

A little bit of hone wear on the spine of my razor has never been a concern of mine. So I'll continue to hone my razors without tape.


Scott

Hi, I'm a newbie and I just bought a straight that has been honed with a layer of tape and I have a paddle strop, can I still strop without the tape ?

Originally Posted by yoshida

Hi, I'm a newbie and I just bought a straight that has been honed with a layer of tape and I have a paddle strop, can I still strop without the tape ?

Yes

Within reason, 5 layers of tape and a balsa strop might be a problem...
1 layer of tape when honed, and any strop, is fine...

Thanks Glen, althought I just recently joined this forum, I have been reading threads for a while and I can always learn from your posts.