Changing Horses

[Acmemfg]

Seems that a copious amount of sage advice says that honing without tape is better than with tape. I do know it’s at least simpler. So, I’m thinking that’s the route I’ll follow.
Question: All my razors have been honed with tape for years. Is it alright to just make the switch without having to kill edges, reset bevels, and all that other stuff?

 

[xuzxuz]

Going from no-tape to tape I don't breadknife. (You are removing steel from edge toward the face.)
Going from tape to no-tape, I breadknife. (You are removing steel from face toward the edge.)
(Just one super light stroke on the lip of a cup.)

I've found that without killing the edge I can't easily tell if I've reached proper apex.
If it were me, I would kill the edge just enough.

 

[Christian1212]

I think tape being a bad thing would only happen if you had 1 or 2 razors that you use only and they get a decent amount of wear. So I would stick to not taping your nice razors at least.

xuzxuz advice is what I would suggest though. Can be done without killing edge but you might not know when you have truly set the new bevel ( should not take long)

 

[buca3152]

Yes and yes. Kill the edge very slightly. Thats what I do to verify the edge while I'm working on it on my nail. And then the thumbnail test. Of course there are other tests.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I never "kill" an edge. Absolutely not necessary. If you want to, no big deal. You are only gonna do that once, after all. But I don't do it.