Mitigated bow in blade

Hi.

I've had a couple blades that have a slight bow that prevents it from laying completely flat. I verified the condition by laying the blade on a piece of reference gauge block. When I try to sharpen these blades, one side of the blade gets excessive contact at the tip and heel of the edge and the center portion makes no contact at all. The other side of the blade has the opposite problem.

I tried something and it worked... I used a total of 5 small pieces of popsicle sticks. On one side, at the edge and heel of the shaft, I stacked two layers of shim and on the opposite side, I placed one shim in the center. The entire setup was then placed in the jaws of a machinists vice and then clamped until nearly flat. The shims have to be placed to "un-bend" the blade. Care must be taken so the vice jaws do not contact the blade. The edge of the blade was sticking up above the jaws safely away from coming in contact.

The vice was left clamped for a full day. Of course, this could crack a blade but it was a chance worth taking.

The wood compresses almost completely but, this setup straighted the blade quite a bit. It was not perfect but, was much improved when checked against the gauge block. I was able to sharpen the blade with a lot less hassle and I'm sure my stones will wear more evenly.

It gave me a great shave this morning!

I wonder why so many blades are bent this way. About half of the used razors I have are bent like this...