Thread: Now what? (W&B, uneven wear)

This is a blade I've had for a while, I sometimes pick it up and pet it for a while but so far I've ended up putting it back. This morning I finished a nice little set of scales for it, so I guess it's time to make a decision on how to proceed.

The problem is the blade has uneven wear, or so I believe. It was in a lot of blades I got off the bay and came with little information, and so far I've only done some sanding. It does not have much hone wear, so I really don't know what to think. Perhaps it was worked on by someone else before it came to me. I don't suppose it was made like this?

The problem is the blade is wider at the toe than the heel. To be exact, toe is 1.8mm or 0.071" wider than the heel. Edge has a very small smile, but it is not even. It starts out pretty straight and then goes into a small smile about midways.

I am a tad leery about finishing this knife. Should the width issue be addressed before putting it in scales? That would of course mean major surgery on this old lady, and I'd surely have to ship it to someone more skilled than yours truly. If it _should_ be adressed, and I still don't, will it promote honing problems down the road? And finally - there isn't a chance the blade was actually made like this?

Couple pics to better illustrate:




Thanks guys

Glen would probably be more qualified to answer this, but here's what I know.

Sometimes uneven bevels are a result of botched amateur honing jobs, and sometimes they are because the geometry of the razor was a little sloppy at manufacturing time. If the hone wear on the spine is even but the bevel is uneven, you're probably looking at the latter. The former can be fixed by a honemeister. The latter is not necessarily a problem; if the razor shaves well, just ignore the uneven bevel. I had an Allen that I got from Robert Williams that had a terribly uneven bevel, but it shaved just fine.

The fact that the toe is wider than the heel is not necessarily a problem. A lot of blades were made that way on purpose. If the hone wear on the spine is pretty even, the blade is probably supposed to be that way. If there's a lot more wear at the heel than the toe, it's probably the result of uneven honing. A honemeister could fix it, but if it shaves well, I wouldn't bother. Same goes for smiling blades; if the spine is also curved and the hone wear on the spine looks pretty even, the smile is probably from the factory & not the result of bad honing.

Personally, I would make the scales, assemble it with #0 screws (aka "adjustable pins"), hone it, & see how it shaves. If you find it unhoneable, you can easily disassemble it if the fix calls for disassembly.

Hard to see from the photos. The first one looks like a partial frown about a third of the way from the heel towards the point. The second one doesn't look that way to my eye. I would hone it and give it a go. I would suspect it will be alright. If you feel it is beyond your current ability check out member services in the classifieds and have it honed by a meister.

That looks like it should hone up just fine. The spine looks even and the wider toe end is not an issue. My only concern is that the lower photo suggest a slight frown about 1/4 of the way from the heel, but the upper photo does not. In my opinion any honing issue it might have can be dealt with in scales so go ahead and put it together.

Originally Posted by Utopian

That looks like it should hone up just fine. The spine looks even and the wider toe end is not an issue. My only concern is that the lower photo suggest a slight frown about 1/4 of the way from the heel, but the upper photo does not. In my opinion any honing issue it might have can be dealt with in scales so go ahead and put it together.

I suffer from dyslexia .... Utopian got it right, it is the lower photo that shows the slight frown, not the upper.

Thank you guys, I am relieved!

The spine does look okay, although it is hard to see clearly. I am pretty sure it was at least buffed before I got it in hand, but using reflections it appears the hone wear really is quite light, with a slight increase towards the heel.

There is no frown, I suspect it is an optical thing from the light on the straw mat and the position of and reflection from the blade. Checked it on a flat piece of steel, if anything there is a very slight smile all across the edge.

My biggest worry was that it would have to undergo major steel removal to equate the edge and spine. As long as that is not needed, I feel pretty confident I'll get her back in service soon enough.

I'll go soak my hones and peen the blade now

Thanks again guys.

Originally Posted by str8fencer

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I'll go soak my hones and peen the blade now

I think it would be better if you peened the pins!

Originally Posted by Utopian

I think it would be better if you peened the pins!

I never even noticed that until you said something.

For what it's worth, a quick Sharpie test on a lapped hone will probably give you a better idea of what you're up against than just eyeballing the blade can.