Thread: Hone a straight edge or to a straight edge?

Originally Posted by JeffR

All this sounds to me just like what one does with any knife: establish an edge, then lightly run the blade along the hone or a piece of wood or paper or one's thumbnail in order to remove any burrs. Then hone the nice clean edge. It's just a bit more important to do it with a blade one shaves with. ;-)

Assuming this is to knock off a false edge, surely, a CrOx strap and additional stopping would break off the false edge. No?

I'm thoroughly enjoying this conversation, btw.

This hurts.
I have interpreted Jim's translation differently than the rest of you. My interpretation is again as follows. I may be wrong but this is how I see it.

I don't think there is an "Iwasaki bread knife method."
The finishing (last) stage of honing is not bread knifing. There is no way that the last stage of finishing a razor would be 15 minutes of bread knifing, or jointing, the edge.

Iwasaki said

Using just the weight of the blade, very very lighly pull the razor about one or two millimeters in a
direction parallel to the razor's edge [i.e. instead of edge leading or spine leading, move the razor
slightly back and forth perpendicular to the stone.--JDR].

The motion described is done with the spine and edge remaining on the hone. The movement is perpendicular to the length of the hone, NOT perpendicular to the surface of the hone. In other words, the motion is perpendicular to the normal path of honing and that movement is parallel to the razor's edge. This was the same idea as Harrelson Stanley's side honing.

I second guessed myself. This is what I saw in my mind while trying to picture it initially. I assumed immediately that I must be completely wrong due to inexperience in honing and honing techniques.

I'd love to see a video demonstration of your interpretation. Almost sounds like a secondary bevel setting motion.... ::/streamofconsciousness

Originally Posted by Siguy

I'd love to see a video demonstration of your interpretation. Almost sounds like a secondary bevel setting motion.... ::/streamofconsciousness

Why would you picture a secondary bevel? Without altering the height of the spine, the bevel should remain intact.

The normal stria from "normal" honing would be diagonal to the edge. The stria from the finishing honing I am interpreting would be parallel to the edge.

I hone to a straight edge, whatever gymnastic description you go through to describe how it's done. And thanks Marty , I am getting a kick out of this :<0)

Just a stream of consciousness uttering and something that came to mind while reading the translation, accurate or not.

In the mind of the beholder, it seems, as you seem to have indicated.

k/r
Simon

Originally Posted by Siguy

Glenn, are you using the TNT to kill the edge or what? There is killing the edge(dulling) and killing the edge(side of a hone)

After the first bevel set I use the corner of the stone, reset the bevel then do the normal TNT and move on..

If I want to do the same at the higher grits I use the TNT instead of the stone,

This all depends on the steel of course, the starting condition of the razor, and the phase of the moon


Some other answers:

@JTmke calling it Breadknifing would confuse people and start an entirely different discussion

Not so sure about bringing the "Side-honing" into the discussion when it comes to smoothing up the edge, I personally don't really see it that way nor do I use it that way, I guess it is possible but I would need a bit more proof of it being viable for this..

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Not so sure about bringing the "Side-honing" into the discussion when it comes to smoothing up the edge, I personally don't really see it that way nor do I use it that way, I guess it is possible but I would need a bit more proof of it being viable for this..

The reason I brought up side honing is because that is what I perceive as being described in that finishing section of the text. It is Iwasaki's final stage of honing.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

But then there is Iwasaki, who 52+ years ago wrote "Honing Razors and Nihonkamisori", (thank you Jim for the translation), section 3, “How to Hone”, Chapter 5, “Edge Finishing” describing a technique where once the razor was at finish level, he lightly jointed the razor on the face of the stone, (1-2mm) to straighten the edge, then brought the bevels to meet the new “straight edge” with high grit stones.

I have quoted section 3 chapter 5 a couple times in this thread. I don't see any possibility of this describing a jointing motion done for 15 minutes. Does anyone else interpret this as side honing rather than jointing? As a finishing, and final, stage of honing the latter would make no sense.

I'm not saying jointing does not have its place, but I don't believe that is what Iwasaki was describing.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I have quoted section 3 chapter 5 a couple times in this thread. I don't see any possibility of this describing a jointing motion done for 15 minutes. Does anyone else interpret this as side honing rather than jointing? As a finishing, and final, stage of honing the latter would make no sense.

I'm not saying jointing does not have its place, but I don't believe that is what Iwasaki was describing.

I always interpreted it as side honing also.