Assuming my razor was honed with a single layer of tape from bevel set to finish, would it be possible to avoid using tape when doing future touch ups on the finisher?
Touch ups with Tape?
- Thread starter theklaw
- Start date
I tape every SR I hone or touch up. Doesnt matter if it is brand new or a 100 year old vintage razor. One layer of tape. This way I never have to guess if the razor was taped or not. Now, to your question of whether your razor should be taped for a refresh touch up, I would say yes.
If your razor was honed using tape you will generally need to touch up with tape, on a stone.
The exception is, if you are touching up on a pasted strop, the give and deflection of the strop will more than compensate for the thickness of the tape, so it should work fine.
The exception is, if you are touching up on a pasted strop, the give and deflection of the strop will more than compensate for the thickness of the tape, so it should work fine.
In my experience balsa will have enough give. Tape is only a fraction of a mm thick, and the compression of balsa is sufficient to work. But YMMV, and there is no substitute for practical experience. It’s a cheap experiment to try out, so have a go.
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
Yes, it depends on the pressure that you balsa strop with. My balsa stopping, particularly on 0.1μm would not use enough pressure to work on a tape-prepared bevel, even if the tape was 0.01mm thick. It may work on 0.5μm and possibly even on 0.25μm but they do not prepare edges that I can comfortably shave with.
No.
If it was honed with tape, tape it again for a touchup.
If your touch up honing goes on for a long time you might get to the apex eventually without tape
I am unsure if tape is required, even if honed previously with tape.
There are often more than one way to do things.
Here is a youtube link supporting of the idea that you don't have to keep using tape.
His argument is that taped OR not, the edge was beaten back.
At between 5:30 he starts talking about tape.
In case the link fails: gssixgun "Quick and fast tips and tricks on just doing a simple Re-Fresh using a Naniwa 12k On your Straight Razor"
Take care - Jody
There are often more than one way to do things.
Here is a youtube link supporting of the idea that you don't have to keep using tape.
His argument is that taped OR not, the edge was beaten back.
At between 5:30 he starts talking about tape.
Take care - Jody
I have tried the opposite - using one layer of 1 mil Kapton tape to finish a razor that was honed without tape - worked fine and the edge shaves great. There's only one way to know for sure - just don't do your experiments on your most valuable razors - get one or two lesser valuable razors.
- just don't do your experiments on your most valuable razors - get one or two lesser valuable razors.Kapton tape being much thinner means less honing than if it were reg. tape.
Still need to "touch up" more than a normal touchup to get it to work though.
Still need to "touch up" more than a normal touchup to get it to work though.
I have tried the opposite - using one layer of 1 mil Kapton tape to finish a razor that was honed without tape - worked fine and the edge shaves great. There's only one way to know for sure
If I have valuable razors, I would not know it.
I have assigned each of my razors to a 'stone'.
I am still trying to assess differences in shaves that I can pin down to edges.
Intuitively, it would seem that adding tape could speed up the refresh process. Is it enough of a difference to make a difference - I do not know. I am usually not in a big hurry when I hone (which almost never happens, because the razors seem to stay sharp for a long time). If I might add, my experiences are never about speed. If one were honing for $$, he would want faster results. An extra 5 minutes per razor could add to a lot of lost money for a pro sharpener.
Take care everyone - Jody.
The fact that he says the edge was beaten back is funny to me.
The razor does not get smaller in use and he does not say that simply refreshing on a touch up hone without tape will work. He simply says tape it anyway.
The edge gets beat up, yes it does!
It does not change the angle it simply creates an uneven edge at the same degree you honed it.
Stropping slightly rounds the bevel through many uses - it does not shorten the razor.
All this is clearly visible with a decent microscope.
Honing from tape to no tape can be changed in as little at 20-40 strokes on a 1k. It may also take 100 - 200 on another razor.
Fact is, it changes the angle by about 1 degree - just under 1 actually but for argument sake call it 1.
You can certainly not use tape if it was honed with tape but in a refresh situation it will take MUCH longer.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
to achieve the compression to make that work, requires more pressure than we normally use on the pasted balsa. I typically hold mine vertically, so that the entire weight of the razor cannot bear down on the balsa. It really makes a difference. So yeah, you can do it, but not at the reduced pressure that has become part of The Method. Results will probably still be "very good" but not insanely sharp.
