Hone with tape or without

[Luecke2326]

Some people say to hone with tape others say to hone without, so you do not throw off the bevel angle. I'm new to honing and would like to take care of my vintage razors as best as possible. So, please tell me which way to go. My razors do not have fancy spine work or gold wash that can be removed with honing.Thank you in advance for your suggestions!

Matt


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[Dick peck]

I've found bevel setting wears more so I tape. After bevel no tape. Some old English and fret I had to abandon tape altogether. Wedges are tricky

 

[Dick peck]

French

 

[miguel]

No tape.............. the spine needs to wear down with the shaving edge to maintain geometry.

 

[California Cajun]

Some people say to hone with tape others say to hone without, so you do not throw off the bevel angle. I'm new to honing and would like to take care of my vintage razors as best as possible. So, please tell me which way to go. My razors do not have fancy spine work or gold wash that can be removed with honing.Thank you in advance for your suggestions!

Matt


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I stopped taping the spine because the hone jobs were better without it.

What I do to preserve the life of the hone is rotate 7 razors and keep them refreshed with .50 and .25 diamond spray paste. I didn't have to hone for 2 years.

 

[Rusty Blade]

I have been honing my own razors for some time now. I hone both vintage antique store finds and newer store-bought razors. In all instances I put one layer of 3M electrical tape on my spines. This way I never have to try to remember...did I tape this one or not? I leave the tape on throughout the honing process from bevel setting through to my 12K finishing stone. After the initial honing I only refresh my SRs once in a while on my 12K stone...even then I will apply a layer of tape. I only remove the tape when it is time to strop. It is just habit now.

 

[buca3152]

Doesn't matter that much if you consider the tiny amount of bevel change isn't going to mean jack unless you hone it every day. Having said that I don't tape any of my personal razors.

 

[Lmarkow]

Koda says, "No tape!"

 

[sfeile]

No tape normally. Wedge or chip removal, but not under normal circumstances.

@Dick peck You are creating twice the work for yourself using tape for bevel setting then removing it.
With tape you make your spine thicker. You are lifting it off of the stone making a steeper angle.

When you remove the tape, you are lying it back down onto the stone. Now the apex of your bevel (the actual cutting edge itself) is no longer in contact with the stone as you are at a shallower angle.

You are now essentially re-setting the bevel you just made, but now with finer grit stones.

 

[Guestabc]

No tape and then after each shave some light laps on the Trans-ark with linen and Leather and have also not had to do a complete honing in at least a year

 

[Polarbeard]

Tape if it's not a wedge then it's two layers of tape. So far no one has given me compliants about my honing.Then again my razors often do have fancy spines.

 

[kcb5150]

Having blanket policies about taping is really not the best. Best thing to do is calculate the bevel on a razor especially a wedge and if it is already obtuse or getting close no tape, if the angle is in a nice place with one layer use a layer. Going over two layers would be a real nuisance as you run into compression issues with the tape itself. Some really need to not be taped.

 

[Steve56]

No tape for me, normally. I tape fancy spines, historic razors, and frame backs with 1 layer of 1 mil DuPont Kapton.

Tape is a tool, I use it when it's needed. Another site recommends that new honers always tape to avoid spine wear. When you're learning, you're going to put some wear on your razor(s), no doubt, but it is not clear to me that to wear the edge and not the spine - or visa versa - is any better than wearing both together.

My opinion is to avoid tape unless you can identify a specific for using it and learn to hone on razors that aren't upper tier razors. A Gold Dollar that someone has fixed up is good for this, the spine is too thick anyway.

Cheers, Steve

 

[Dick peck]

All good advice. I do know I've hone a razor then gone back to the drawing board as the shave was lacking. Also have noticed no one way works all around so far for me. I do appreciate all opinions as I've used different approaches that I've read about. Learning s fun. A great edge is the reward.

 

[buca3152]

Under normal use in a rotation there is little change in the bevel angle for a new razor. I doubt that it will ever amount to a big difference even in 20 years. Unless you hone it excessively BUT the correct answer really is to measure the angle first.

 

[Luecke2326]

Having blanket policies about taping is really not the best. Best thing to do is calculate the bevel on a razor especially a wedge and if it is already obtuse or getting close no tape, if the angle is in a nice place with one layer use a layer. Going over two layers would be a real nuisance as you run into compression issues with the tape itself. Some really need to not be taped.

Ok, how do you calculate the bevel? Is there a thread you can point me to?


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[Luecke2326]

So many great replies, I'm very appreciative everyone!


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[kcb5150]

Coticule.be has a bevel calculation spreadsheet you can dl. Just google it.

 

[Sdm84]

It really is not that much of a difference. Try this- set bevel with tape and go 2 or 3k with tape. Take the tape off and hit the 5k. Within about 20 laps or less you have made up the difference. Voila!

I use tape on worked spines and gold wash. I will also use it if I have to do a lot of repair work. Other than that unless I want to keep hone wear off the blade cuz it's byootiful it makes no difference.


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[*stefan*]

This table can be used very easy. Measure the spine thickness and blade width.
Calculate the ratio.
Find your ratio to the right in table and the corresponding angle to the left.