Thread: Large bevel problem?

Hi everyone.

I'm not 100% sure where to put this post, so if this is the wrong place, let me know.

I recently purchased an old Joseph Allen straight from the bay and I began the process of hand sanding it. After awhile I finally noticed that the bevel on the blade is actually fairly wide compared to most other razors. Probably close to 2.5-3 millimeters. I know that on my brand new Dovo the bevel is almost unnoticeable to the naked eye. I was wondering if this is something a honemeister would fix if I sent it out or is it even something that needs to be fixed? I'll try to post pictures later tonight if that would help.

Thanks

Don't worry about a wider bevel, they (like us) get wider as they get older/used. Pretty much each and every razor's bevel is different BTW. Most Joseph Allen razors I have come across have been great shavers, so once you get it honed I'm sure you will be pleased. In the end, all that matters is the shave...

Thanks for the quick reply shooter. I am glad to know that it's not as big a deal as I thought it might be. I'll continue on with restoring the razor and send it out to be sharpened after I make some scales. I'm having a blast. I wonder, is there anyone out there that shaves with a straight razor and not eventually end up trying to restore them?

Here is a thread, and a link to another inside it, about "Bevel Angle" the formulas in there suppiled by our own math whiz Gugi can simply be plugged into google to find the actual angle... Although shavable edge angles vary quite a bit it would be fun to figure out what yours is at after you get done with the restore... Just for your info so you know where the geometry is with your razor...

http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...-theories.html

Most straight razors have bevel angles of around 16 degrees. The angle is set by the width of the blade (5/8", 6/8", etc) and the thickness of the spine.

A razor with a thicker blade (not a _wider_ blade) will have a wider bevel when it's honed. So a "wide bevel" just means that the blade has thick steel just behind the cutting edge.

There's nothing wrong with that, and it won't affect the shave quality at all.

Charles

The first point is to not worry about the width of the bevel. The only way to make it narrower is to reduce the width of the blade or regrind the edge to make it thinner.

The width of the bevel is determined by the angle created the spine thickness/blade width measurement and second by the thickness of the edge grind ( just how hollow was it ground). Generally speaking the older Sheffield razors are a single thicker concave grind which results in a thicker edge/wider bevel then the biconcave ground German hollow grinds.
Because the bevel is wider it will take more time to hone ( your removing more steel).

Hope this helps,