Thread: The Transition Stone

The Transition Stone may be the most important stone in a progression.

I brought this up in another thread and there seemed some interest so, as not to completely hi-jack the old thread, I am posting a new thread, in the Advanced Honing Thread Forum.

Background
What started this for me was, I noticed lately several threads from new honers having issues with the quality of their edges and it always revealed, an incomplete set edge, where a reset of the bevel and re-honing progression resolved the issue. This past weekend I mentored 4 new guys, were each honed at least 2 razors and I repeatedly witnessed the same thing occur, firsthand.

Now I know they properly set the bevels on 1k stones, a Norton, Chosera, Super Stone and a Nubatama, where I inspected the edges before they moved on, so I can’t blame the bevel setting stone, because it occurred with each brand. No diamond plates were used on any of the edges, a common cause of chipping.

When they moved to the 4k, the edges would fall apart, sometimes at the 8k. We also were using a Norton, Super Stone and Nubatama 4ks with the same results.


Problem
What I think is happening is the rough 1k edge either breaks off, is not fully honed sharp, (not enough Pressure or sufficient laps on the 4k), and later breaks off sometimes at the 8k, or the stone is too aggressive and leaves a new ragged edge or the honer is using too much pressure, or the 4K stones were too aggressive or not aggressive enough to reduce 1k stria and hone the edge.
The big variable and equalizer is/are Pressure and experience. We often say no or lite pressure to hone razors, but that is just not true. And the one thing I have witnessed firsthand, with novice honers is they don’t use enough pressure, especially in the 1k. We do need pressure, it is a matter of the right amount and knowing your stones. Novice honers do not have that luxury.

Solution
One solution is the 2-3k Transition stone or an aggressive stone like the Nubatama 4k. Some have said they use the 2k with good results. And what I believe is happening is it makes a good transition from shaping to polishing.

Accepting that the traditional bevel set stones (800-1k stone) shape/set the bevel, (Set the Angle, flattening the Bevel & straighten the edge). The next stone (The Transition Stone) does double duty reducing the 1k stria while enhancing/straightening the edge. The 2 & 3k stones are aggressive enough to do both, (as is traditional, 3-5K stones, in experienced hands). A side problem/issue is the variation of grit rating and that all 4k’s are not alike, in grit and binder.

Or bevel set on a higher grit stone, a 4k. Most 4K are more than aggressive enough to easily set a bevel, especially if you are not starting from a bread-knifed edge where a bevel already exist and just needs re-shaping or bring to meeting.

Conclusion

So while we often sneak up on finishing an edge with smaller grits jumps, perhaps the smaller steps should be in the early stages and a 1,2,4, 8K progression may yield better edges, especially for the novice honers.
Large jumps are easily made with 8-20/30k Stones with good results. Perhaps the low end is where the smaller steps need to be taken. And maybe this is where the Pyramid technique developed, because in many ways, this is what it resolves.

This is what we do with natural slurry stones and very small step progression, with excellent results.
For the novice honer this may be an easy solution to a persistent problem.

What are your thoughts?