Thread: When is hone wear bad?

I don't think it is a problem. I have actually been giving this some thought lately. I tape my spines when I hone them to keep them looking new. That works good if you only hone it a few times. If you have one or two razors and they see a stone every month, after a year of touch up hones, you have significantly changed the geometry of the blade.


The spines were designed to wear. So as you hone the blade, the bevel angle stays constant. To much honing with a taped spine will give you the geometry of a hatchet instead of a long and lean super sharp edge. With a hollow ground, you will eventually ware into the hollow grind swell and beyond making the blade a quarter hollow. Once it hits the hollow grind swell, its life is coming to an end.


I have been thinking of keeping the spines taped for the first few honing's then removing the tape and re-cutting the bevel with the spine exposed to bring the geometry back into proportion. I am lucky enough to have more then two dozen blades in my rotation so they only get a touch up two or three times a year so it would be a couple years of use before I honed down the bevel.


Any thoughts from the razor masters on my idea?


But to your point, an evenly worn spine (even is the key) is little more than an indicator of a well used and cared for blade. A lopsided worn spine is a sign that the blade was not cared for very well and the previous owner did not know how to use the tool.