Thread: tape when honing: myths, fact, and opinion

im curious as to how many prefer tape vs. no tape when honing. i'm sure taping does increase the angle by aprox. .5 of a degree on initial honing on a new razor and, as far as i know(newb here), after a great amount of time the angle will exponentially increase as the blade width decreases. Although i cannot perceive that amount of material being removed in my life time, is it really a problem to tape during honing? i'm a little bit necrotic when it comes to my razors, that i have just restored, having hone wear on them. especially since i only finish on a norton 8k.

tape....no tape... oh my..

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C...razorplace.com

My first year honing I honed everything with 1 layer of 3M electrical tape. I was afraid of causing significant hone wear. I think that was a good thing because I was still learning and probably did way more strokes than was necessary much of the time. After a year I ventured out into honing without tape and gave it up on all but damascus (pattern welded steel) or decorated spines. I like honing without the tape better and I don't find appreciable hone wear with no tape. OTOH, if I have an ebay special with an edge that resembles a hacksaw blade I will use a layer until I've got the chips out of it and the bevel where I want it. Then I'll go sans tape. Just my preference and I don't hone for other people so no issues there. YMMV.

thanks for the link. looked for the info but for some reason just couldn't find it. i do most of my browsing during free time on my phone, which is usually in responsive. by the way, hows that spoon working for ya.

If you want to use tape use it, if you don't want to use tape don't

But please use the search function first on this topic as it has been discussed and debated ad nauseam on SRP..

Good luck and happy honing.

I have upgraded to a spork.

Originally Posted by musicman

thanks for the link. looked for the info but for some reason just couldn't find it. i do most of my browsing during free time on my phone, which is usually in responsive. by the way, hows that spoon working for ya.

Myth: At the Battle of Trafalgar, after being shot through the spine, Admiral Lord Nelson whispered to Hardy "Kiss me Hardy, and tape thy spines against hone wear using 3M biodegradable tape!"

Fact: Tape is sticky and can be cut to any desired length. It can be stuck to the spine of razors when honing.

Opinion: The tape I use is the cheapest and the best for honing razors.

James.

Like Jimmy, I will use it when I am using an aggressive modern stone and removing a lot of metal.

After that, no tape, especially if your finish stone never raises the slightest hint of black from the razor, regular maintenance on a good fine natural stone doesn't seem to remove much of anything from anywhere on the razor.

There is no myths or facts when it comes down to using tape. Tape changes the bevel angle minimally and no one has ever found out that tape or no tape is beneficial or adverse to honing a razor, other than tape will protect fine spine work or gold wash.
To your remark about geometry relation ship between spine and bevel when the razor is honed with tape, I do not think there is any reason to worry.
Once the razor is honed from bevel set to final polish, assuming the edge will not need repairs and only touch ups the geometry will not change significantly at all over decades of use.

being a little bit Necrotic? is not a good thing