Thread: W&B Honing Difficulties

Originally Posted by Kees

Randy,

Why wet sandpaper? For Thuringers I use ordinary sandpaper that can only be used dry, works a treat, lies flat all the time, and even if it doesn't it does not matter if it is slightly pushed up at one end when you flatten the hone as I usually round the sharp edges anyway.

Hello Kees!,

I am referring to using the sandpaper as a substitute for a hone. I use wet/dry sandpaper because then there is no buildup of swarf in the sandpaper, it does not get clogged up.
I am not referring to lapping hones with sandpaper.

Sorry Randy, I misread your initial post on the sandpaper. I was thinking of sandpapering the side of the hone to make it suitable for honing the smily razor!

You can buy double sided tape that is really useful to hold down wet and dry sandpaper. One source is the tape they use to hold the rubber handles on golfing irons.

If you do this, you can use the paper either wet or dry as it doesn't curl at all.

Unlike Randy, I prefer to use the paper dry. It's just my preference. I find I get a grippier edge quicker. I find that grit size between 1000 and 1500 usually does the job.

However what Randy say about swarf is very true. I find that 10 heavy return passes is all I get before I need to change the paper. I get three fresh hones out of a standard piece of wet and dry. This said on a hollow ground razor, five return passes usually does the job for me. With a full wedge and no taped spine, it can take 30 to 40 passes. With a taped spine maybe 10 passes will do it and for or a very hard edge, 15. But it takes as many passes as it takes. If using dry paper, just remember to change the paper when you see it filling with the filings. When I have used the paper wet, I usually find the surface wears off after about 40 passes and I find the removal gets slow after the first ten passes anyway. It feels smoother with water but for me at least not as effective.


You should always shake and dust off a new piece of wet and dry before use to ensure there is no foreign grit on the surface. Sometimes just one piece of foreign sand is enough to put a scratch groove in the razor edge. But you can feel foreign material with your hand very easily.

One more trick, after you have finished on your hones.

Move onto chromium oxide on a flat bed hone. Or use newspaper.

Finally, when you strop, lay the strop flat on a worksurface edge and then strop as normal.

You may want to try the last two suggestions first if you think you have a good V on the blade already. It might be the missing bit in your honing process.