Honing of slightly smiling W & B

[mikromicke]

Hi.

I got this W & B blade through B&B a while ago and haven't had time to do much about it. I finally got around to trying to fix it and very soon realized that the rust at the point was too severe for me to be able to get it out. I settled with having a razor that didn't look very nice but figured I should be able to put an edge on it as the edge looked fine.

So first of, I've only honed my only other razor before. An extra hollow razor but I feel that it's more or less as sharp as when I had it honed by a pro. I'm currently using a hard arkansas and a translucent arkansas and I'm well aware that they aren't too highly regarded around here

When honing the W&B I end up getting it really sharp in the center but not on the two ends of the blade. So in total, maybe half of the blade is sharp and the two end quarters aren't as sharp. The razor appears to have a bit of a smile so I've tried using swooping and rolling x-strokes which seemed to get it sharper but I can't seem to be able to get it all the way.

By looking at the images, would you encourage me to keep trying (open for suggestions on how to improve), give it all up or might it be worth to send this blade to a pro.

 

[chess1]

i am not sure how experienced are you on honing.
if you want to do yourself this may help.
At first make sure your blade is not warped.
second use half moon strokes(i know you will what h-l is that)
you keep your wrist in 1 point and hand makes half moon stroke( i called this because it was easy.)
in the other hand you should be able to sharpen just using x strokes.
Lastly if you don't want to mess it up too much send to pro's.
hope this helps. gl

 

[mikromicke]

Thanks, I'll definitely try that as well!

 

[wdwrx]

I've found for me that smiling blades are a little trickier, I often have parts that come up sharper in some areas than others. What I do is make a few partial strokes focused on the areas that are lagging behind.
For me, the trickiest part is often the heel, where it sometimes needs a deep reach with the stroke.

If you are just starting out, I would recommend taping the spine, if only to prevent a lot of wear. If you are like me at all, it'll take practice, and lots of it, to get it there.

 

[rawface]

'Had similar experience w/ an Eyre wedge. It was a slight swayback like yours. I can't tell for sure, but your WB looks pretty wedgy. Prepare to take some time. It was my first pronounced smiling edge. Note in your photo #2, the inordinant amount of additional hone wear. That gives you an indication of the amount of extra strokes that were used for heel & toe. It also sets up a negative condition that will make your bevel a mile wide at the toe & heel. I wound up putting 1/2" elec tape on the worn spine at toe & heel, then one full length layer over that. 'Keeps the hone wear from getting worse on the spine, and the size of the bevel from growing.
'Shaves well, but was surprised. 'Recently bought a wacker wedge, and thought everyone who said a wedge gave no feedback was nuts. The wacker does. It's a lovely blade. The Eyre was comparatively deaf, dumb and blind. Silent, vibrationless. I don't know if the WB will be like that, but if it gives little or no feedback, don't conclude that's what all wedges are like.

 

[Chimensch]

I would just add that it helps to have a mental image of what you're trying to accomplish. Since you know that the center is in good contact with the hone but the ends aren't, imagine that, when you start your X-stroke, you are concentrating on the heel and then transitioning to the center and finally the point as those parts are in the center of the hone.

 

[mikromicke]

Thanks for all the advice. I did tape it for my last session but it was obviously already unevenly worn before that. I'll try to remedy it and work more on the toe and the heel.

It's already shaveable and I've tried it twice. The shave I get from it is soooo much nicer than my extra full hollow razor. Very smooth. Seems like my beard is too tough for those too hollow razor. Can't wait to try it when it's better honed as well.

 

[Woodash]

Only way I've had any success with these guys (which I seem to favor more and more these days) is to use the Rolling X. But I usually do this using a kind of a steep, heel-leading stroke that moves through an arc, finishing on the toe. That keeps more of the edge on the hone longer and gives you some control at both ends.

That's my main plan of attack with the smilers - YMMV as they say...

BTW - I've done a few of them recently, and just honed my first wedge: a F. Reynolds with a real smile. Just a great, great shave.

 

[rawface]

Seems like my beard is too tough for those too hollow razor. Can't wait to try it when it's better honed as well.

Hi Mikro,
FWIW, I'm at about 3 months, and LOVE my heavier grinds. I've posted about their being better for clearing the field for XTG/ATG. I keep getting told I'm wrong - that the full/extra hollow will do it also - the difference being technique/skills. In some ways, that confirms the heavy grind being better - it's less picky about technique. But the point is well taken - there's never a defense against perfecting the technique. As I was rightly reminded, barbers would use a single razor, usually a full hollow, to shave all customers - light/heavy stubble - didn't matter. It may be pure coincidence, but the first time I shaved w/ a full hollow with ease, was when a) I let go of keeping a 30deg. angle. When the grass gets thick, the spine is almost against my skin. and b) I tried shaving w/ cold water. It was fairly dramatic. It was easy to use a very light hand and still take care of business without the feeling that the blade would flex enough to dig in. Another thing I've tested & found true is that a full hollow that's 7/8 or larger, is stiff enough that the flex is minimal. I tried my first big blade, full hollow (13/16), and found that to be true for me.
That said, I enjoy my 1/4 hollow and wedge (both wackers) more than any other blades.

 

[mikromicke]

I had another go at it two days ago. My wife was kind enough to just mumble something about me spending time trying to hone the knife again and then went out to the living room with a book

I tried both half moon and more rolling x moves and I managed to get it better at the heel, although not as good as the center, but the toe is still not nearly as sharp as the rest. The center is now probably the sharpest I've ever shaved with and I get wonderful shaves from it. Now, just imagine if ...

I'll probably give it a few more tries and after that I'll have to evaluate if it's good enough or if I should send it to someone.