Originally Posted by
Utopian
Oh boy, I have wondered about this ever since I first read Jim's translation. You guys have interpreted it WAY differently than I did.
5. Edge Finishing
Rinse the Honyama very, very well with clean water, removing any trace of slurry. You mustn’t
leave a single grain. Very carefully wash your hands and the razor as well.
Wet the surface of the hone, and hold your razor or Kamisori in one hand. The proper place to hold
a Kamisori one-handed is likely a mystery.
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]. Don't move any further than that. On the
off chance that you move too much, or use too much pressure, you will remove too much steel and
you'll create another false edge. In that case, you should go back and repeat step (4). This technique
is very delicate, and requires a lot of practice.
[This section was a bear to translate due to some really vague language. After much research and
investigation, I think this is basically the freehand creation of a secondary bevel, in Japanese called
"Kobatome," 小刃止め or "small edge finishing." Anyone who reads Japanese, please feel free to
check me on this.--JDR I was wrong, wrong, wrong. The word used for “standing,” tate, is also the
word used for “lengthwise,” and I went entirely the wrong direction.--JDR]
(Underlined section was crossed out.)
So you guys interpret this as microbreadknifing. I don't.
The blade is not to be perpendicular to the surface of the stone. Instead it is to be moved perpendicular to the length of the stone, as stated "instead of edge leading or spine leading." If the microbreadknifing were the correct interpretation, then some kind of honing should be described to follow it, but there is none. This is the edge finishing.