Thread: Good Info - has anyone seen this

I was looking for info on knife honing and come upon this:

straight razor | scienceofsharp

Good info on a lot of the aspects of honing

Very interesting read. Thanks for sharing. Some amazing photography. Of course the analysis really does boil down to (sorry can't attribute this quote as can't remember the member who said it ) rub on stone until sharp, anything else is just an improvement in efficiency. (Or something like that) lol

I really like how it emphasizes the importance of linen (or other cloth like material) strop when preparing the edge for shaving. You can really see the difference the strop does to the edge before it even touches the leather.

Who is the website's author?

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Who is the website's author?

He has identified himself as Todd.

I think it has great potential, but he is limiting it by choosing a format more suitable for a soapbox than discussion. He has access to expensive equipment and experience in using it, but I noticed number of occasions where the conclusions are not supported by the evidence he is presenting or amount to simple definitions of terminology rather than the new insight that is claimed.

The peer review process of scientific publications is not just a nuisance, and this blog is a good example for how the lack of qualified and vigorous review results in lower quality product. I wish it can be given to an undergraduate student as a project with the goal of peer reviewed publication.

Still, it's has a lot of good stuff, especially given that very few of us have access to the imaging equipment he has, the skills to use it, or the time to spend researching these topics.

I found the comments interesting and seeing as this is a recent blog you may have your questions/requests answered ?


Things like this tell me he doesn't use a straight or hone, he just compiles data.

""I will be presenting the pasted-strop data and discussing "overhoning" in future posts. But you are correct, the data indicate that there is no reason to go beyond 4 micron (Shapton 4k) if you finish with a diamond strop.""

Originally Posted by gugi

He has identified himself as Todd.

I think it has great potential, but he is limiting it by choosing a format more suitable for a soapbox than discussion. He has access to expensive equipment and experience in using it, but I noticed number of occasions where the conclusions are not supported by the evidence he is presenting or amount to simple definitions of terminology rather than the new insight that is claimed.

The peer review process of scientific publications is not just a nuisance, and this blog is a good example for how the lack of qualified and vigorous review results in lower quality product. I wish it can be given to an undergraduate student as a project with the goal of peer reviewed publication.

Still, it's has a lot of good stuff, especially given that very few of us have access to the imaging equipment he has, the skills to use it, or the time to spend researching these topics.

Thank you for the response to my question.
I just have a bug up my a$$ with anyone who posts information/research on a topic & does not put his identity to his work. Whenever I attend a class of instruction on any subject, I want to know who is teaching me & his/her background in the subject.
Whenever I teach one of the few subjects that I have knowledge on, my audience will know all about me before the first instruction.

I'm not ungrateful for the O.P. & the link to the work,,,, so thanks for the information.

Nice resource
I wonder about the J-nat slurry though. The shape of the particles is weird, I took images of slurry a few years a go and it looks a bit different.
Here a pic from a book by the Kyoto stone association


you can see the layered structure of the slurry and the theory is that that is where the break down occurs with honing.

His description of the slurry getting black with metal swarf is also not very consistent with a finishing stone. Those usually do not abrade so much as to darken the slurry significantly.

Any way there is no hard evidence that I know of what happens really with the slurry.

Originally Posted by mainaman

Nice resource
I wonder about the J-nat slurry though. The shape of the particles is weird, I took images of slurry a few years a go and it looks a bit different.

you can see the layered structure of the slurry and the theory is that that is where the break down occurs with honing.

His description of the slurry getting black with metal swarf is also not very consistent with a finishing stone. Those usually do not abrade so much as to darken the slurry significantly.

Any way there is no hard evidence that I know of what happens really with the slurry.

He also referred to the Nakayama Asagi (the source of the analyzed slurry) as having a "red-orange colour." That seems odd.

Originally Posted by Utopian

He also referred to the Nakayama Asagi (the source of the analyzed slurry) as having a "red-orange colour." That seems odd.

Ron I missed that good catch.