What's new

dull toe

Have a razor that has honed up fine except for the toe or the point end. Have tried a number of times and it's getting better, but not compared to the rest of the edge. It might be a bit warped, which would explain things. It is not warped enough by site, but it does look like it rides a bit high on the hone at the end. The bevel is even, which makes me think it may not be warped. My question is what tricks have you found to remedy a dull toe?

Thanks Glen
 
I'm having the same problem, and am eagerly awaiting the gurus' input. I don't detect any warp when I marker up the edge.
 
You will have to go back to the low grits (1K-4K) and get that part of the blade sharp. Do X-Pattern strokes and lift the heal up in the air towards the end so that the toe will be the only part of the blade contacting the stone at the end. In order to ensure that this part of the blade is actually contacting the hone, color the edge with a permanent marker and then adjust your stroke so that it is removed towards the tip. If this is not working fast enough then lift the heal in the air so that only the toe is contacting the hone and do circles (10-20) per side until the toe is sharp as indicated by your sharpness tests. Once it is sharp you can blend this part in with the rest of the blade by doing your normal X-pattern strokes and lifting the heal up a little at the end as before.
 
You will have to go back to the low grits (1K-4K) and get that part of the blade sharp. Do X-Pattern strokes and lift the heal up in the air towards the end so that the toe will be the only part of the blade contacting the stone at the end. In order to ensure that this part of the blade is actually contacting the hone, color the edge with a permanent marker and then adjust your stroke so that it is removed towards the tip. If this is not working fast enough then lift the heal in the air so that only the toe is contacting the hone and do circles (10-20) per side until the toe is sharp as indicated by your sharpness tests. Once it is sharp you can blend this part in with the rest of the blade by doing your normal X-pattern strokes and lifting the heal up a little at the end as before.

Thanks. It seems like at some point a "do what you need to do" approach is called for. I guess I was looking for permission to violate the rules.
 
Thanks David for your advice. I really haven't use the marker yet and think this would be a perfect example to show whats getting honed and what is not.

Glen
 
Thanks. It seems like at some point a "do what you need to do" approach is called for. I guess I was looking for permission to violate the rules.


FWIW working on just the portion of the blade that is dull until it is sharp absolutely is not a violation of the "rules". It is a very common practice when sharpening high end Japanese (and other) knives. Check out Dave Martel's knife sharpening DVD to see what I mean.
 
Top Bottom