Thread: Is my blade warped?

Found a cigar box filled with SR's that my grandfather has been picking up from flea markets. I found out he has been snapping the blades in half to make carving knives out of them. Well he let me rescue a few of them and I'm trying to restore them. I have been buffing a near full wedge wade and butcher blade that has a smile on it. I just placed it on a hone and noticed that it appears to be slightly high at each end, no matter what side i place it on. I can't figure that one out, but is that why they say to hone smiling blades with a rocking motion, or is this blade destined to be a carving knife?

Yeah, sounds like you have just run across a very smiley blade is all. You need to hone these using a heel-first method with a "rolling x" stroke.. lots of details all around the forum, just do a search for "honing wedge" or "hone a smiling blade" or similar.

If the blade were warped, then on one side the ends would be off the hone while the middle touched it, but when turning the blade over so that the other side faces the hone, then the ends would touch but the middle would be off the hone. In simplest terms, that is the explanation of a warped blade. Now, a smiling blade, because of its geometry is going to do what you described as occurring on both sides.

Of course, a smiling blade can also be warped but it will just hurt your head to try to figure that one out.

Ah Yeah. That there is some great news. I can't wait until I can shave with this razor! Thanks.

Originally Posted by Utopian

If the blade were warped, then on one side the ends would be off the hone while the middle touched it, but when turning the blade over so that the other side faces the hone, then the ends would touch but the middle would be off the hone. In simplest terms, that is the explanation of a warped blade. Now, a smiling blade, because of its geometry is going to do what you described as occurring on both sides.

Of course, a smiling blade can also be warped but it will just hurt your head to try to figure that one out.

I guess it could be years of honing on a hone that was low in the middle while not doing x strokes... yea... probably a bit of a stretch.