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damn wedges

decraew

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

Over a year ago I tried to hone my first (near - but aren't they all) wedge - an 8/8" Wade & Butcher - and I was amazed I was able to pull it off. What's more: within a reasonable timeframe, with very small bevels as a result and a razor that gives me shaves of top quality for me. So it was with full confidence and enthusiasm that I recently started on a french near wedge I found in the south of France last summer.

Totally different story! It's still not shave-ready but look where I'm at with the hone wear.
Dumasaine%281%29.JPG


Note that before I started (a shame I didn't make a picture) there was no hone wear at all visible ! I think I'm not too far from getting it right but I'll continue working it after my vacation. Enough is enough.

My question for you guys: do you think I should leave the blade as it is, or attempt some sort of regrinding to get rid of the "middle part" ?

And then I started on a George Brittain from the 1840's. According to the angle calculator I shouldn't use any tape so I didn't. Well, look at the hone wear I'm getting:
[img=800]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12489678/P1020052.JPG[/img]
[img=800]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12489678/P1020053.JPG[/img]
And that's after a long session on a dmt.

What would you guys do with this razor ? I could go on on my DMT until the hone-wear finally reaches the edge (or the dmt no longer works)but I'm afraid I'll end up with a very small razor indeed. So what do you think, can something still be made out of this mess and how should I proceed ?
Thanks,
Wim
 
Wim,

apparently you did not use any tape on that. When I do wedges, tape is an absolute must in order to avoid such grinding art (;) ) as you posted. And I really stretch it, meaning I put as much layers as possible, sometimes even exceeding the recommended bevel angle. I even experimented with one particular razor with a heavily smiling tip, where I put an additional short piece of tape just on the very tip of the razor. I was not quite successful with that, to be honest, but only because I did not have the patience to rally finish it off after I don't know how many hours. However, it did seemed to make the trick.
So my advice in a nutshell: TAPE, as much as it can bear.

Cheers
BlueDun
 
These are true wedges, and they were traditionally sharpened with the spine raised. I think it was usually done freehand.
I also think, that it is obsolete technology, eventually replaced by hollow grinding. Even a modern wedge is ground concave a little.

The fun part -for me, at least- is that these make ideal regrinding projects. I've done one for a member of Coricule.be a few weeks ago and he was amazed by the shave, even though he had attempted to sharpen the razor many times before.
I admit being a sucker for the correct bevel angle. Playing with angles makes in my experience as much (if not more) difference than all those fancy finishers, pastes and honing options that tend to dominate forum discussions.

Kind regards,
Bart.
 
Rico, the reason I don't use tape on these (aside from the bevel angle) is that I hate having to change and change the tape again and again.
Bart: I've actually been thinking about freehanding this razor. Should have thought about that earlier though :(
What did you use to regrind btw ?
 
Torben, I remember the Tally Ho. Thank you for your kind words.:) I'm glad the razor is still shaving you well.

Wim, I have 2 tools that I use for "regrinding". One is a Tormek T3 sharpening machine. It has a 200mm water cooled grinding wheel. (It's "dual grit" (read about that on their website: 220/600 grit).
The 200mm diameter is great for creating stiff "wedgey" grinds. And because of the water cooling, there is zero risk to overheat the steel. For this purpose I use the Tormek without any jig and just put the razor flat on the stone. I grind till the concave extends all the way to the very edge, or very nearly so. On the spine side, I am to leave that thick enough to get a 16 degree bevel angle. Next I sharpen the razor with one layer of tape, for 17 degrees.

I have also used the homemade grinding wheels on my Foredom Lathe, that I showed you last time you were here. The wheels are made from 80 grit sandpaper glued with a drop of CA glue to a 3M mesh wheel of 3 inch. It's a much smaller diameter than the 200mm of the Tormek, but the mesh wheels compress a bit while working. Due to the mesh structure generating a lot of air flow, they run surprisingly cool. I have similar wheels equiped with 150, 300 and 600 grit sandpaper. Finish is very good, because I can spin the Foredom at 7000 RPM. The only tricky part is that the very edge must be allowed to compress into the wheels, because that will create a convex bevel near the edge. One can loose blade with in seconds, when that happens, and as you know, it can't be put back on. :O (don't ask)

I have been planning to buy solid regrinding wheels for the Foredom, but haven't ordered them yet.

Kind regards,
Bart.
 
I've been considering the T3 as well because I don't like to free-hand my kitchen knives. It is expensive though, with all their accessories.
Btw Bart, I've seen higher grid stones for the T3 (3 or 4k).

I'v been experimenting with your system of sanding paper but, since I haven't found the mesh wheels (so without axle) for my foredom yet, I've been using the system on my drill stand which is not ideal. If the sanding paper doesn't slide down it's nice to work with, but I think that for regrinding it would be rather slow (compared to a stone) no ?

Regarding the solid regrinding wheels for the foredom, I would prefer the T3 because of the larger diameter (a wedge should remain, erm, wedgie) and because of the water cooling.

I've also considered sending it to a professional: the guys of the french forum CCC are very much in praise of a guy called Mr Coussy who if I remember well is a professional knife grinder.
 
Yes, I know there are higher grit stones for the Tormek, but I really wouldn't know what I'd need a finer stone for. For the majority of purposes the factory stone of the Tormek suits well. And there is of course the leather wheel,,which is basically nothing less than a pasted strop.

Best regards,
Bart.
 
decraew said:
... and the leather wheel suffices for eg kitchen knives ?
Absolutely.
If you want to play with a Tormek, to make up your mind about buying one or not, I could lend you mine for a week or so.

Bart.
 
Bart said:
decraew said:
... and the leather wheel suffices for eg kitchen knives ?
Absolutely.
If you want to play with a Tormek, to make up your mind about buying one or not, I could lend you mine for a week or so.

Bart.

Wow, thanks Bart! I'll gladly take you up on that, but after the vacation period !
 
vgeorge said:
:thumbup:

I have to now seriously think of moving to Belgium. :p

And that's not even mentioning:
- beer & good food
- universal healthcare
- no government at all
 
geruchtemoaker said:
wim you forgot one of the most important ones we have an almost unlimited deposit of coticules :lol:
As long as that dreadful De Wever doesn't succeed in splitting the country in half.:(
 
If that should happend I hope Sir Bart would run for president of the Ardennes..
And a slogan for the election campain : Free coticules for the people!

You may use that freely Sir Bart :lol:

No,seriously it`s not something to joke about.

Torbs
 
President Of The Ardens... It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? :rolleyes:

But Alas, Belgium doesn't exist and since the Ardens are a part of Belgium, neither does it exist. Nor do Coticules. They're just Eschers dipped half in yellow paint and left overnight.

By the way, nothing is so serious that it can't be joked about. People who promote the prohibition of humor, or who claim the right to determine what's funny and what not, frighten me.

Bart.
 
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