Thread: W&B Wedge with bad regrind

I purchased this W&B wedge from ebay. I knew it had been reground from the pictures - it looked far to good and the blade had lost some width in the process of getting to good steel. What I didn't expect was that the regrind was so bad that it completely screwed up the geometry on the blade. Kind of a lopsided triangle and nothing is flat.



I have it out to a machinist to see if he can bring it back into proper geometry on a milling machine. At this point the blade won't even lay flat on a stone so there's really no point in trying to hone it. I paid very little for it but the seller refunded about 40% immediately when I complained and asked for a 40% refund because it wasn't worth what I paid. So - to his credit, he refunded what I asked immediately and told me he would make it right if that wasn't satisfactory. At least I got a good seller in a buyer-be-ware market on ebay - that's rare. I would post more pictures but I didn't snap any before getting it to the machinist. His initial impression was that he would have to take down the lopsided side which would shorten the overall width a little bit more. Given the size - do think this will be OK?



Thanks for any advice - I've asked the machinist to wait until I tell him to give it a try.

Adam

Honestly I am not seeing a "Re-grind" from those pics, looks more like a Restore but pics can be deceiving..

I would put 3 layers of tape on the spine and do a few laps to see where the bevel line is before I thought about getting rid of a nice heavy grind Sheffield..

JMHO but once that steel is gone it is gone for good so make sure it really needs a re-grind before you do one/have one done..

Many of the older thicker Sheffield's do not sit perfectly on the hones,,


My Opinion based on two pics that I can see

id be afraid of letting just any machinist tackle a job like that, better off with somebody with skill in grinding blades. gssixgun knows his stuff, go with his advice.JMHO

Yeah - I wish I had taken more pictures. I can ask the machinist to take some for me but the geometry issues can be easily seen with the naked eye. I wouldn't expect a 200 year old razor to be perfect but this is pretty obvious. I did as you suggested with 2 layers of tape before I sent it off and with a bit of time on the 1K - the lines on the blade are all over the place. I took off the tape and ran a few passes so I could see what the spine looked like and it was clearly not flat. I'll see if I can get some pictures so you can really assess what's going on. I appreciate the help.

Adam

I was waiting to see if somebody with more knowledge than I have would answer to see if they saw what I think I saw. I did not think it was a regrind either but a restore on a heavy grind W&B razor. The old Sheffields I have restored for my own use have their fair share of warps and twists that need different honing strokes to make them shave ready. Personally, I don't think it needs a regrind but just somebody who really knows how to hone well.

Normally geometry in reference to a straight razor means the width of the spine relative to the width of the blade which gives you the bevel angle using a formula. It has nothing to do with whether the blade sits flat on a hone.

I would not have a machinist work on it but find someone who is good at honing these finicky type razors.

Bob

Not a true re-grind at all.

OK - thanks - I am listening to all the advice. I've told the machinist to hold until I give the OK, pending the advice I get here. On a wedge, wouldn't it be important for both sides - spine to blade - to be the same length? How could I possibly set a bevel on a hone when the blade itself isn't centered between the sides of the spine? The blade sort of looks like this (of course I'm exaggerating):



I'm not arguing with good advice - I'm trying to understand. I've been here long enough to see people argue until they get the answer they were looking for in the first place - that's not the case with me.

Adam

You've heard form some really knowledgeable men. If it were mine i would take there advice.

Have a few with that shape. As long as the angles are correct it makes no difference honing. And with one or two that pic wouldn't be an exaggeratioon.

OK - very interesting. I only have a year or so experience honing - so it is more likely that I am the problem. Thanks for the advice.

Adam