Thread: Troublesome blade

ok can you do the same on the other side and post a pic?
Also as Oz said above the smile is there by design so do not remove it.

FWIW (from a honing novice):

This razor might have been honed on a narrow hone; you're using (probably) a wide hone, like a Norton (2-7/8"). Honing on a narrow hone could easily result in an edge which is sharp, but which isn't exactly parallel to the spine.

Or, the razor could be warped, or twisted. In either case, you can get the situation shown by the "marker test" in your photo.

It has been suggested (in previous posts by more-experienced people) that you might handle that situation by _pretending_ that the wide stone is a narrow stone. Imagine that there's a line drawn 1" from the edge of the hone. Use an X-stroke to sharpen, and be careful that the _whole edge_ is honed on that narrow strip between the line and the edge of the hone.

The "marker test" will tell you if that's working, or not. I think.

. . Charles

Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

FWIW (from a honing novice):

This razor might have been honed on a narrow hone; you're using (probably) a wide hone, like a Norton (2-7/8"). Honing on a narrow hone could easily result in an edge which is sharp, but which isn't exactly parallel to the spine.

Or, the razor could be warped, or twisted. In either case, you can get the situation shown by the "marker test" in your photo.

It has been suggested (in previous posts by more-experienced people) that you might handle that situation by _pretending_ that the wide stone is a narrow stone. Imagine that there's a line drawn 1" from the edge of the hone. Use an X-stroke to sharpen, and be careful that the _whole edge_ is honed on that narrow strip between the line and the edge of the hone.

The "marker test" will tell you if that's working, or not. I think.

. . Charles

Hone width does not matter, I want to see the pic of the other side to be sure but I think I can see what the problem.

Originally Posted by CSquare

First of all thanks for the support.

Here are the before and after pictures with the magic marker.
I held the blade flat on the stone. Basically only the marker towards the tip has been removed confirming the gap between stone and edge towards the heel.

In response to onimaru55 I can say the gap is not due to the tang (unfortunately); the gap is there when the tang is off the stone as well.

That gap is not abnormal. You just need to adjust your stroke to rock or roll into contact.
You cannot hone a worn smiling wedge with a flat stroke.

Here it is!
This time, despite the marker from the spine as not been removed completely it has almost completely disappeared from the edge.
Does this confirm your idea?

cpcohen1945, I read about pretending to work with a narrow hone and it's exactly what I tried to do.

Ok,
I think the problem is the blade is not straight it is bent slightly towards the side on the last pic.
So on the other side you do not get good contact from the half to the heel.
A stroke that will work for this scenario is rolling x stroke on the problematic side
Rolling X stroke - Straight Razor Place Wiki
and regular x-stroke on the side that is good.

you can practice the proper stroke motion ona higher grit stone to avoid wear then go back the bevel setter and set the bevel.

Originally Posted by mainaman

Ok,
I think the problem is the blade is not straight it is bent slightly towards the side on the last pic.
So on the other side you do not get good contact from the half to the heel.
A stroke that will work for this scenario is rolling x stroke on the problematic side
Rolling X stroke - Straight Razor Place Wiki
and regular x-stroke on the side that is good.

you can practice the proper stroke motion ona higher grit stone to avoid wear then go back the bevel setter and set the bevel.

Thank you very much, this makes sense.
So not all straights are....straight!

I'll keep working on the technique and see if I can improve the edge.

Thanks again for you help and time.

Originally Posted by CSquare

So not all straights are....straight!

In fact very few are straight
I'm honing a W&B right now that has the same warp as yours. Not uncommon at all.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

In fact very few are straight
I'm honing a W&B right now that has the same warp as yours. Not uncommon at all.

I remember I had a Hamburg Ring that the whole blade was not perpendicular to the spine, it was at a bit of an angle it was fun honing it..

Originally Posted by mainaman

I remember I had a Hamburg Ring that the whole blade was not perpendicular to the spine, it was at a bit of an angle it was fun honing it..

I guess this makes the whole business of restoring, honing and using these razors more interesting; especially if you are an advanced user.