I have just been reading an interesting thread about the geometry of smiling edges and I thought it was worthwhile to share with members a successful way of getting a nice sharp edge on a smiling razor and especially a smiling edge on a full wedge or near full wedge.
The trick is to make sure that the razor edge and the spine honing edge make abrasive contact with the hone along the full length of the blade. If they don't, the heel and toe of the blade in particular will not get sharpened.
Well the normal answer is you use the rolling X pattern. I never understood a word of what that meant and logically it didn't and still doesn't make sense to me. How can you roll something that is flat? Please, I really don't want an answer to this question.
What you need is one of the following shaped hones.
http://uk.ardennes-coticule.com/index.asp?ID=395&IDF=57
But preferably at least 6" long. (You will have to ask for a special order) If you do a normal X pattern honing stroke on such a hone, bingo, the mystery of how to get a sharp edge on the smiling razor is solved.
You can also make a leather bench hone in a similar shape, coat it with Chromium Oxide and use this after the coticule before going to a leather hanging strop.
A simple inexpensive demonstration of the technique can be appreciated if you have a reasonably sharp smiling edge that needs a touch up.
Just wrap a page of newspaper tightly around a rolling pin and "strop" your razor using an x pattern up and down the rolling pin. If the blade doesn't sharpen along the full length of the blade I'll eat my hat.
Happy smooth shaving.
The trick is to make sure that the razor edge and the spine honing edge make abrasive contact with the hone along the full length of the blade. If they don't, the heel and toe of the blade in particular will not get sharpened.
Well the normal answer is you use the rolling X pattern. I never understood a word of what that meant and logically it didn't and still doesn't make sense to me. How can you roll something that is flat? Please, I really don't want an answer to this question.
What you need is one of the following shaped hones.
http://uk.ardennes-coticule.com/index.asp?ID=395&IDF=57
But preferably at least 6" long. (You will have to ask for a special order) If you do a normal X pattern honing stroke on such a hone, bingo, the mystery of how to get a sharp edge on the smiling razor is solved.
You can also make a leather bench hone in a similar shape, coat it with Chromium Oxide and use this after the coticule before going to a leather hanging strop.
A simple inexpensive demonstration of the technique can be appreciated if you have a reasonably sharp smiling edge that needs a touch up.
Just wrap a page of newspaper tightly around a rolling pin and "strop" your razor using an x pattern up and down the rolling pin. If the blade doesn't sharpen along the full length of the blade I'll eat my hat.
Happy smooth shaving.
