Repairing a nick in the bevel, breadknife, or not

[zib]

I shaved with my Red Bismarck 5/8th's with pearlex inlay the other day and nicked myself. It didn't feel like your normal, run of the mill nick. I took out my loupe and checked the bevel, sure enough, at the end of the blade, just before the heel curves, was a nick in the bevel. Here's the thing. I'm curious to know how other's repair this common problem. I've done it twice with excellent results. I shaved with the razor today, and got BBS. I have serious HAD so, I had my choice of weapons. I decided to go with my Naniwa's. I love those stones. If you don't own a set, or one, I highly recommend them.

I have the entire set, and started with the 1k, and quickly moved down to the 400k for faster removal. It took about 45 mins from start to finish. I used the 400k, (should have used the 200k) 1k, 3k, 5k, 8k, then broke out the Coticules for the finishing touch as far as stones go. I then went to 1.0, then .50 Diamond paste, Crox, then .50 Diamond Spray on the SRD Wool Felt strop. Next time it needs a little touch up, I'll use an Escher or Nakayama.

My question is this, Should I have breadknifed the razor to totally reset the bevel? The nick was completely through the bevel. The last time I repaired one, I did breadknife it, and as I said, This is only the second time I've done this. I maintain my own razor's and bevel nicks are rare. What do you guys think. To me, both ways take just as long. I don't know if there was any reason or benefit to breadknifiing. BTW, Since this razor has a gold etched spine, I did tape it, just in case anyone wanted to know....

Rich

[Lynn]

That is some serious honing for a nice that you needed a loupe to see Rich. I'd say you used a good part of your arsenal on it for sure. The main thing is that you are happy with it and it is shaving comfy once again.

Nicely done.

Lynn

[gssixgun]

If you needed a loupe to see it, then it did not need Breadknifing IMHO

That is really a serious restoration technique...

[zib]

It took a good deal of time to get the nick out, I checked througout the process with the loupe. That was the majority of the work. Man, that's some hard steel. Once the nick was out, I progressed up, 10 laps each, just to refine the edge. Was it overkill? Recommendations? As I said, I've only done it 2x.

My understanding, of honing, and please correct me if I'm wrong is much like sanding. When you sand something, be it metal, wood, and you start with 220 grit, you don't go to 1000 grit, To get the best finish on you project, you progress up, hitting each grit along the way. Is this correct thinking with honing, or am I confused. I'm all about saving the steel, less is more type deal......

P.S. My eyes have gotten so bad the last year, I need the loupe. Someone else may have been able to see it....

[Bart]

No matter how small or big the nick, the entire edge needs to be honed back till the "bottom" of the nick becomes the tip to the bevel. How you remove the amount of steel that needs to go, is of no real consequence to the final results.
I personally find it easier, quicker and safer to control the straightness (or smiling curve) of the edge, if I hone out the nick "breadknifingly". For a big nick, I use a DMT 325, for a smaller one, I might only use the DMT 600. I never breadknife on any other hone, as I do not like to get a kerf into the hone's surface.

You say the nick was "completely through the bevel". If I understand correctly, the nick was as deep as the width of the bevel? In that case, I would not hesitate to use the breadknifing technique. I always monitor the progress with magnification, and I stop breadknifing strokes just before the nick is entirely gone. At that point, I start rebuilding the cutting bevel, with one layer of tape on the spine. Near the end of the bevel stage, I remove the tape and correct the bevel angle for honing without tape.

I believe this is the best approach to keep control over the shape of the edge and a well balanced bevel.

Nicks that only occupy a very small portion of the bevel, easily come out with single sided, circling or back-and-forth strokes.

In either case you need to keep an eye on the even development of the new (nick-free) bevel.

Best regards,
Bart.

[jreiter22]

Bart just looked at the videos on your site they are very well done.