Thread: Free handing a second bevel.

So I just got some .25 micron diamond spray in from hand american, and I was playing with it a bit. Not wanting to fully commit it to a leather bench hone, I grabbed a spare piece of 11x3 balsa and sprayed a few squirts on the surface.

I went to the bathroom and got one of my experimentation razors, a morley and sons clover 5/8 full hollow, and put a piece of tape on the spine. (Since it's an experimentation razor I goof around with it quite a bit and don't want to add more hone wear than necessary).

After a few strokes on the diamond I decided to give a microbevel a shot, too. I know that's really unscientific of me as you would ideally want to change only one variable at a time, but it's my experiement and I'm not sending this in to any peer reviewed journal, so whatever.

A bit of background: I've been freehand knife sharpening for quite a while now, and I've got knives that shave better than some of my razors. Sometimes I freehand a microbevel onto my knives and it's always worked out great. So I take the Morley and Sons and raise the taped spine off of the balsa a bit (maybe the height of a penny.... pretty stiff angle for a straight razor microbevel) and did four or five very careful strokes along the edge.

I went to the bathroom and stropped it up, grabbed the tabac and did a quick and dirty beard prep (I'd say 70% of my preps are quick and dirty...) and the shave was GREAT. Supasharp. And reasonably smooth. I'm sure it would've been smoother had I stropped more (only 40 or so strokes this time), but it wasn't uncomfortable in the least.

Had this been a leather bench hone or hanging strop, I wouldn't have gone for the microbevel, but on the balsa it worked great. If anyone is feeling daring and can freehand sharpen decently, give it a shot and let me know how it went for you.

Until I have bad experiences with it, I'll do it again some time.

If it worked for you, great, but I'd say in most circumstances freehand honing a straight is not an ideal option, especially considering how easy it is to simply add a couple of layers of tape onto the spine.

out of curiosity why not on a leather bench hone which i believe some refer to as a paddle strop or is they different.

I must ask- did you see the same thing I saw

Wow, that's impressive, Ben! I wouldn't advocate the use of creating free-hand bevels for everyone, but it's great that you have the skill to do such a thing.

Originally Posted by kevint

out of curiosity why not on a leather bench hone which i believe some refer to as a paddle strop or is they different.

I must ask- did you see the same thing I saw

Paddle strops and bench hones are dang similar, pretty much the same thing. I just made a raised base that I can swap out different inserts with so that I can use different leathers or mediums on. I have bovine, horse, scrubbed toolbelt leather, very smooth suede, balsa, felt, papers, and nexcare tape that I goof off with. Kinda the Hand American idea, but a DIY implementation. I guess I just assume that paddles have handles, and since mine doesn't.... well, leather bench hone seems to be the proper moniker.

I always use abrasives on cheap throwaway substrates like the papers or nexcare tape on granite (or balsa) until I'm sure that I like them and then I decide what kind of leather or other 'base' that I want to put them on. That's why I used the diamond spray on balsa today.

Normally when using sub-micron abrasives on softer leather, I don't do any kind of microbevel or anything because of the rounding of the leather on the edge of the razor. A small convex edge is pretty similar to a microbevel when you are dealing with something as thin as a straight razor.

With a firmer substrate like horse leather or balsa, you don't get much noticeable convexing of the edge, so I either leave the edge like it is, or put on a tiny microbevel a la Tim Zowada. This time I just wanted to see if I could freehand it for the heck of it, and it was actually really easy. I'm sure any of the competent honers around here could do it just fine with good results. Is it needed? No. But I like to goof around with every concieveable way to sharpen anything, so there ya go.

I like paddle strops/bench hones, and get good results from them. Great for touchups and initial sharpenings if you want. I'm not sure what you mean by "Did I see what you saw," so I don't really know how to respond to that. BTW, Kevin, I'll respond to your PT tonight or tomorrow in thorough detail, just don't have the time right now. Need to go apply a second coat of paint to the guest room.

Here's a few pics of my 'bench hone'. That's why I don't call it a paddle strop.

Originally Posted by StraightRazorDave

Wow, that's impressive, Ben! I wouldn't advocate the use of creating free-hand bevels for everyone, but it's great that you have the skill to do such a thing.

It's easy. I'm sure you could do it, too.

Yeah, it's quick to add a few layers of tape, but it's quicker just to freehand it. There is a greater penalty for failure this way, but it was pretty easy.

nice stuff you have in there Ben.
excellent work

Thanks for the detail. I remember you showing us that nifty base some time back. what do you think of the term bench strop. I guess, I think if you are running back from the edge it's a strop.

What i saw was spine raised back stroke on a stropping vid.

Originally Posted by Ben325e

So I just got some .25 micron diamond spray in from hand american, and I was playing with it a bit. Not wanting to fully commit it to a leather bench hone, I grabbed a spare piece of 11x3 balsa and sprayed a few squirts on the surface.

I went to the bathroom and got one of my experimentation razors, a morley and sons clover 5/8 full hollow, and put a piece of tape on the spine. (Since it's an experimentation razor I goof around with it quite a bit and don't want to add more hone wear than necessary).

After a few strokes on the diamond I decided to give a microbevel a shot, too. I know that's really unscientific of me as you would ideally want to change only one variable at a time, but it's my experiement and I'm not sending this in to any peer reviewed journal, so whatever.

A bit of background: I've been freehand knife sharpening for quite a while now, and I've got knives that shave better than some of my razors. Sometimes I freehand a microbevel onto my knives and it's always worked out great. So I take the Morley and Sons and raise the taped spine off of the balsa a bit (maybe the height of a penny.... pretty stiff angle for a straight razor microbevel) and did four or five very careful strokes along the edge.

I went to the bathroom and stropped it up, grabbed the tabac and did a quick and dirty beard prep (I'd say 70% of my preps are quick and dirty...) and the shave was GREAT. Supasharp. And reasonably smooth. I'm sure it would've been smoother had I stropped more (only 40 or so strokes this time), but it wasn't uncomfortable in the least.

Had this been a leather bench hone or hanging strop, I wouldn't have gone for the microbevel, but on the balsa it worked great. If anyone is feeling daring and can freehand sharpen decently, give it a shot and let me know how it went for you.

Until I have bad experiences with it, I'll do it again some time.

Ben,
I know very little about knives other than what I tell my wife in that they need lots of maintanance and "ya see honey we need to by these hones to keep them just right"
Now to your experiment, you call in the knife world "putting a secondary bevel" on a stropping stroke too? Or did I totally not understand. Just curious.
Mike

Ben - Love the "Bench Hone"! I think I'll end up making something like it for myself...great Idea Thanks!