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Toe side weak

on the last couple razors I've honed.......I've noticed that the sharpness of the toe is a tad weak or less sharp than heel to 3/4 of the blade.

now when I say less sharp.....I do not mean dull. it's scary damn sharp but slightly less than rest of blade.

any non invasive gentle touch techniques to push this over to how the rest of the blade is?

any thoughts on this appreciated.

I dont have much belly hair left from testing a lot of razors.....i find this humorous.

got this one nasty sharp tonight.

20200616_193745.jpg


C Mon Blackie


thanks all.

camo
 
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To help, i think we’d need to be clear on your current approach.

Otherwise the only things i can think if you dont want more drastic measures

  • Spend some extra time on the point area on the hone only
  • Some light rolling x stroke on that area

it kind of looks like a rolling up stroke was used based on the wear of the spine and edge at the point, its probably not hitting the hones if you arent rolling it now.
 
I added a little roll on the toe as finishing stroke.

I'm not too experienced with doing that so I tread lightly. I think more time on the balsa will help too.....but if I don't see improvement.....will most likely go back and work on that area. in reality though.......wont know until I shave with her.

thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

camo
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Check your balsa strops for flatness across their widths. Also, end-for-end your balsa stops about halfway through each use.

As an example of end-for-ending, let's say you are going to do 60 laps on a balsa strop. I would go like this:
  • 10 normal laps
  • 6 short "X" laps, 1 lap pulling, next lap pushing, next lap pulling, next lap pushing, etc
  • 10 normal laps
  • 6 short "X" laps as above
  • 10 normal laps
  • 6 short "X" laps as above
  • 10 not laps
  • 6 short "X" laps as above
  • End-for-end the balsa strop
  • 10 normal laps
  • 6 short "X" laps as above
  • 10 normal laps
  • 6 short "X" laps as above
  • 10 normal laps
  • 6 short "X" laps as above
I work this way with all my balsa stropping, 0.5u, 0.25u and 0.1u both normal and hanging. End-for-ending averages out the stropping effect over the length of the edge.
 

duke762

Rose to the occasion
Asked the same question a while back. I was bench honing and was advised to lift my elbow a little bit. Along with rolling X's it all worked out.
 
Check your balsa strops for flatness across their widths. Also, end-for-end your balsa stops about halfway through each use.

As an example of end-for-ending, let's say you are going to do 60 laps on a balsa strop. I would go like this:
  • 10 normal laps
  • 6 short "X" laps, 1 lap pulling, next lap pushing, next lap pulling, next lap pushing, etc
  • 10 normal laps
  • 6 short "X" laps as above
  • 10 normal laps
  • 6 short "X" laps as above
  • 10 not laps
  • 6 short "X" laps as above
  • End-for-end the balsa strop
  • 10 normal laps
  • 6 short "X" laps as above
  • 10 normal laps
  • 6 short "X" laps as above
  • 10 normal laps
  • 6 short "X" laps as above
I work this way with all my balsa stropping, 0.5u, 0.25u and 0.1u both normal and hanging. End-for-ending averages out the stropping effect over the length of the edge.

will recheck but sure they're good. the precious get treated like a baby and even have their own specific container......away from anything else that could harm their virtue.

after this mornings shave I would wager only minor kid glove work to be done. I would expect the balsa to catch it up at this point.

camo
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
will recheck but sure they're good. the precious get treated like a baby and even have their own specific container......away from anything else that could harm their virtue.

after this mornings shave I would wager only minor kid glove work to be done. I would expect the balsa to catch it up at this point.

camo
You are probably right. Just see how things develop.
 
When you hone on a standard size hone, the center portion of the blade stays in contact with the hone longer than the heal and toe. Because you are holding the blade by the scales, the heal normally gets a little more pressure than the toe. Thus, the toe does not get as much work as the remainder of the blade.

One way to remedy this is to hone on the side of a hone rather than the face. This works well with hones that are 3/4 - 1" thick. They will easily stand up and you can then put some extra effort on the toe to get it where it needs to be. This technique also works well with smiling blades or to correct frowning blades.
 
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