Having some trouble...any tips?

I have a 5/8 half hollow that has been a troublesome blade for me. I have been able to get some really nice shaves from it, but the edge never lasts. At first, it would not get sharp at the toe, but was very sharp along the rest of the blade. Now it is very sharp at the heel and toe, but much less sharp in the middle. It shaves, and it shaves decently, but I have to do more touchups than I care for, so I find myself avoiding using it.

At this point, I have knocked it back down to dull to see if bringing it back up again, for the third time, will finally get this edge even and equally sharp across the whole length.

If that doesn't work...I'm at a loss. It has some uneven hone wear, and I have to wonder if this is what is causing my issues. If so, how would I go about correcting a blade that has more wear in the center of the spine than the edges? Do I grind it on a coars stone to make it all even(and large)? Do I attempt to grind back the hone wear and make the spined even again?

Unfortunately, I am at work at the moment, so no pictures will be forthcoming until I get home from work. I will get a couple pictures of the spine and edge when I get home. Hopefully, one of you guys with more experience can offer some tips for correcting this balde that has proven quite difficult to get "right"...

Hey there.can you post pictures of each side,also from above the spine looking down and from the edge looking spine ward? [Image: 9165b5c6b624c1ca4e9eaa948dbc4390.jpg] this is my representation of a spine down picture.

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caleb31 , yes absolutely. I will take a couple of pictures when I get home and post them. Thank you so much for responsing and being willing to help. I really appreciate it!

caleb31 here are the pictures you asked for. If you need me to take any other shots or anything, please let me know. I really appreciate any input you might have!





And here is one of the flat of the blade, in case it holds any clues...

You can actually see how deep the wear is on the spine in the middle here...the bevel looks nearly the same as the wear on the spine...

Have you tried taping the spine?

Have you tried taping the spine?

I do tape the spine on all my razors from 1k through 10k. This razor came with this hone wear, and I have been battling it to get an edge all along. It will take an edge and seem to shave decently, then it starts pulling and goes flat on me. It isnt responding to the stones the way I expect. The slurry and swarf all undercut evenly at 10k, frontal displacement is even throughout the progression, the blade feels ready on the stones, but when I take it off the stones, the middle of the blade is not as keen as the toe and heel. Its got me stumped...

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Have you tried two layers of tape? What you're aiming for is to get a level spine. Can you see any sign of a frown forming along the cutting edge -- toe and heel longer than the mid point? Getting the spine wear even takes a lot of time and more skill than most mortals possess, so another solution will need to be found. Of course there are plenty of true honemeisters that can fix you up if you want to send it out.

You have a frown sir.
The middle of the spine is over worn.

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Two options really.either tape the center of the spine and set a smiling edge that tracks the grind or,thin the spine to match the thickness of the middle section of the spine and use a slightly rolling X stroke on all future honing.the last option will be ugly but make all future refreshing easier

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Two options really.either tape the center of the spine and set a smiling edge that tracks the grind or,thin the spine to match the thickness of the middle section of the spine and use a slightly rolling X stroke on all future honing.the last option will be ugly but make all future refreshing easier

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This is actually what I was suspecting to be the case, I just wanted to get some verification from someone that knows much more than I before I started grinding away at the spine on a really coarse stone.

"Ugly" don't bother me. Functional is my goal. This razor was my first antique store find, and I picked it up specifically to test my honing abilities, so I think I will give the second option a go.

Thank you, Gentlemen, for all your input and advice. If I get a successful edge out of her, I will be sure to post the results. If not...it will be disappointing, but not enough to stop me from moving forward and moving on...

Thanks again, Gentlemen!