Thread: Smilin' razors

I am unsure if this is the correct area to post this, but here goes anyway (pardon the noob questions btw).
1. How do "straight" straight razors get smiles?
1a. How to prevent them?
2. Should a mildly smiley razor be "flattened" to avoid honing issues??

Thanks in advance

Straight Razors come in many shapes… some have smiles and some are straight.
“Smiley” razors are usually made that way, and the smile may follow a similar curve at the spine…
It is said the “smiley” is easier to shave with than a straight edge razor, and sometimes it's recommended that razors have a slight curve in the edge to give a better shave.

But don’t confuse a naturally smiley razor for a badly honed one.
Any razor after a number of sharpening can develop a bad curve at the toe or at the heel…. this can be caused from a warped blade or bad honing technique.

There are a few ways to prevent his condition
If the edge is straight, ensure the razor is always flat on the hone during the strokes.
If the blade is warped, use a rolling motion to sharpen the razor OR use the last 3rd of the face of the hone to sharpen the razor OR use a hone that is narrower than the length of the blade.

Also you don’t want a frowney edge razor... the above will help to prevent a frowning edge.

Know your razor… you should never have to straighten a “naturally” smiley razor… nothing wrong with it.

1. Smiles are maintained and achieved by using a Rolling Hone Method of honing. Wiki
1a. Smiles are preferred.
2. Nope.

X

Originally Posted by ElChatico

I am unsure if this is the correct area to post this, but here goes anyway (pardon the noob questions btw).
1. How do "straight" straight razors get smiles?
1a. How to prevent them?
2. Should a mildly smiley razor be "flattened" to avoid honing issues??

Thanks in advance

1. Many are made like this on purpose. Other times it is achieved by good honing.
1a. you don't. smiles are much easier to shave with, and imo make for much more comfortable shaves.
2. definitely not. if the razor was made like that, you'll destroy it. Smiles are not a flaw, smiles are a feature, and often made on purpose.

I understand that this may not be obvious if you are new to straight razors, but this is like asking if you should hammer or grind a Japanese katana to make it straight. The curvature is there for a good reason. Removing the smile / curvature will completely ruin the razor

You can also check out the illustrations here in the help files "1961 barber text on honing". I printed this out and referred to it often. It gives a very good overview of correct honing technique and shows the ideal smiling profile for a razor as well as explaining it.

I should add this to the above post but here it is... Some older heavy wedge razors with smiling edge may appear to be worn more more at the heel than the toe, however they were made that way.

That's right. I have a W&B in my restoration pile that is almost 9/8 at the toe, and just under 8/8 at the heel. That's the natural shape they were made in.