Thread: Eurasian combo honing for bevel

Well sort of.. was wondering how many of you use the Japanese tech of honing when setting bevels? What I have noticed with my hand and tendencies is that when setting a new bevel a combo technique of push/pull strokes helps with uniformity of the bevel. Usually I will start with a stabilizing hold of the blade heel and toe
push stroking forward with slight angle on a 3" wide stone. I then pull the stroke (no weight) also at slight angle. To make sure that the bevel is getting even abrasion sometimes if the stroke is too straight forward, I repeat the stroke on the same side but start at the middle point to toe. (heel to middle, middle to toe).
Checking on the uniformity of the bevel (width even), I then do a couple of light X strokes to even out the edge length wise. If the bevel seems thinner in one spot, I place two fingers over the light spot when I stroke the blade. As always I finish up with light X strokes. I have also noticed in my experience that pulling strokes (spine leading) gets the bevel sharp faster on some blades. These types push strokes I reserve for the end (near perfect bevel) but will always finish with light push strokes (edge forward). For me I suppose the X pattern is more of a finishing stroke or touch up than a bevel setting technique...

Just a thought; IMO pull stroke spine forward puts less grinding pressure on spine and concentrates the grind to the edge.. any thoughts?