Thread: A question about my spine

Looking at the spine on this razor I just picked up and I noticed that the spine right by the heel appears to have no wear on it. Should I attempt to hone it down to the same level as the rest of the wear?

This is an interesting issue, to me anyway. It is likely the result of heel leading strokes. As long as you keep the same heel lead, it should not cause any issue. Another way to deal with it is to tape the spine, but stop the tape where the hone wear on the spine stops.

I have gone to greater lengths on some of my personal razors, OCD, where I taped the edge and the toe area of the spine, marked the spine with sharpie, and ground down the high spot on a diamond plate. I often hone sans tape and did not want to deal with keeping the heel lead angle constant.

You mean the last 1/16" or so next to the shoulder? Guessing it is your choice but you could just stay off the shoulder a bit where the hone wear starts and continue what was done before. I don't use that part of the blade anyway during shaving. If you draw a plumb line down from the beginning of hone wear from spine to edge, it appears to fall just to where the blade edge is parallel with the spine i.e. where the heel curve ends. Good Luck!

No. This is by design. If you look at it with calipers, you'll notice that from that point towards the tail, it is a hair thinner than the spine of the razor. This is on purpose so that you can hone the razor and wear down the spine a bit without introducing 'wobble' at the point where the shoulder would touch the hone.

So no, don't try to 'even it out' because it was designed to be like that, to prevent honing problems as the years go by.

Originally Posted by Bruno

No. This is by design. If you look at it with calipers, you'll notice that from that point towards the tail, it is a hair thinner than the spine of the razor. This is on purpose so that you can hone the razor and wear down the spine a bit without introducing 'wobble' at the point where the shoulder would touch the hone.

So no, don't try to 'even it out' because it was designed to be like that, to prevent honing problems as the years go by.

On the razors where I ground it down, the spine was definitely thicker there. Micrometers and calipers, as well as sitting as a high spot on the hone(sharpie).

I will check with calipers before any corrections are attempted. I have a feeling Bruno is right. I just assumed the worst. Id rather not have to change anything other than putting a shaveable edge on it.

This razor has been honed in an exaggerated X stroke, probably from corner to corner of the stone, with the heel end on the stone, all the way to the tang.

Hone wear marks are clear (in the Blue Circle) where the tang rode the stone, as the stroke moved sideways and down until the tang fell off the stone and on to the stabilizer. Note the shiny mark (in Blue) where the edge of the stabilizer kept the spine and edge off the stone. Then the stabilizer fell of the edge of the stone and all the pressure transferred to the spine and edge, note the heavy wear on the spine, (in red) that starts at the stabilizer and tapers to the toe.

Most probably the honer, then looked at the heel noting it was not making contact, so he redoubled his efforts and added more pressure using the same stroke, “Doing the same thing, expecting a different result.”

Tape the spine and begin your stroke with the stabilizer off the edge of the stone and with the heel forward, keep the heel on the stone until about the halfway point then begin your X stroke, ending with the toe in the middle of the stone, not the lower corner, so that more of the edge stays on the stone longer.



An easy way to test for a stabilizer keeping the edge off the stone, is to paint the stabilizer with ink and do a lite lap on a high grit stone, then adjust your stroke, so the razor sits flat on the stone,+ on the spine and edge without hitting the stabilizer. Heel forward, will hone the heel completely and an X stroke will hone all the way to the toe.

This is the other side. Do anything different on this side.

This side looks better, the spine and bevel appear more even. But there is still some wear marks on the edge of the stabilizer where it was making contact.

Hone it the same as the other side.

Should a person ever hone the stabilizer? To prevent a uneven edge from forming?