Judging the bevel...

[mbrossar]

What should I be looking for before moving on from the bevel setting stage?

When I first started honing, I used a coti with what I now know to have been too much slurry. Since I was a novice honer and didn't even realize I was affecting the bevel, I think I may have mucked it pretty badly. Since that time, I've managed to get a pretty good edge on my razors, but it's very difficult. I think I'm still well short of perfecting my edges, but I'm not sure if it's my overall honing inexperience, a poorly set bevel or both. So, I'm trying to figure out how to best gauge the razor's current condition and what to do about it.

I don't have a microscope. I do have a 20x jeweler's loupe. I've inspected the bevel reflecting from a strong light source, which seems to be more revealing than the loupe. I read an article from Robert Williams that seems to support this. It appears using this method that the bevel is not the same width all the way across the blade, but I don't see any other unusual light or dark spots.

First question I have is it normal to have some deviation in the width of a bevel or is this pretty indicative of a poorly set bevel?

Second question is, assuming the deviation is not desired, how hard is it to correct, especially for a relatively new honer? I'm wondering if I should just punt and send my mucked razor to a honemeister to fix the bevel (again assuming the above is indicative of a bad bevel) or try to fix the bevel myself.

 

[Woodash]

First question I have is it normal to have some deviation in the width of a bevel or is this pretty indicative of a poorly set bevel?

I think you're good to go if you have some variation in the bevel width as long as it shaves well at all points along the blade. You're more or less inheriting the hone wear from someone else based on the particular geometry or imperfection characteristics of your blade. But if it shaves, it shaves...

 

[JeffE]

There is a very simple way to tell if you have a properly set bevel, and it has nothing at all to do with inspecting the edge with your eyes. Instead, a properly set bevel should, at the very least, shave off a good percentage if not most arm hairs at the skin level. And this is really the only way to tell if your bevel is actually "set" -- that is, the two inclined faces of the bevel are actually meeting in a point right at the edge, rather than in a blunted "shelf" or "plateau."

About whether the bevel is or needs to be perfectly even, it depends. I find that some of my bevels are slightly wider at the edge of the blade, especially towards the toe, than they are at the middle, but that is probably caused by the way that I angle the blade while honing. It does not appear to hurt the edge at all or wear the razor down prematurely. On the other hand, if your bevel is significantly wider in the middle of the blade, or follows some other weird pattern of wide and narrow areas, then you might not have a perfectly flat blade (or there's something wrong with the spine), and I would send the razor to be checked by an expert.

The only place where you do not need or expect to have an evenly wide bevel is on a Japanese razor, where the shape of the omote side often results in a non-uniform bevel.

 

[Legion]

Ideally you would want the bevel to be an even width right across the edge. Unfortunately we live in an imperfect world, and I have had some bevels that are noticeably wider or narrower in some spots, due to spine wear or the slightest of curves in the blade. As long as the bevel goes all the way to the edge, though, they still seem to sharpen up well. This is where you need a powerful loupe or a microscope, because sometimes these uneven bits look like they have gone all the way to the edge but in fact they are the tiniest little bit away from it (especially in the narrow parts). You need to keep honing these, probably back down at the 1k level.