Several questions in this post. If there are links to previous posts, love to see links.

Newbie here. Want to understand. Reading lots of posts here at SRP. I'm not quite ready to buy anything vintage on the Bay yet...but was reading posts of photos of Bay items, and some comments were "overhoning marks on spine" and the like.

Help me understand what overhoning is. If a previous owner, perhaps decades ago, wanted to sharpen his SR, he used a hone to do so. The blade was sharp for a comfortable shave. We do the same thing today.

Even Lynn Abrams' DVD shows how to hone, and he doesn't use electrical tape on the spine for most SR, unless it is fancy, decorative, or a Damascus blade. Most guys on SRP seem to agree no electrical tape on spine most of the time, but just hone naked blade, as it were

So, what is overhoning on the spine? I have a new Dovo, so this question is also in the vein of taking care of my own new SR.

Also, some comments were along the lines of "why would some idiot do something like take a Dremel to the blade to clean it up? If there is rust or crud, leave it there, so I can remove it right!"

Hm....Lynn Abrams' DVD also suggests taking a Dremel with felt wheels and some Maas (or other rubbing compound) to clean up a blade. Yet some guys are suggesting they hate that. There are even videos posted here of a guy using a bench grinder with cloth wheels and compound to remove pitting. Some guys prefer to leave some pitting, or all. I understand if there is etching on the blade, there may be other ways to do it, or perhaps leave etching and rust, or remove etching, or perhaps it cannot be restored...there are many options here. How does one decide what actions to take in restoration?

Now...I'm not ready to buy a vintage Bay SR yet, there are a LOT of things to look for. And I'm not ready for a restoration project, which is fine because I don't have the time for that with work right now, not to mention lack of experience, which is part of the reason behind this post. But I have to say, there seems to sometimes be contradictory info (opinions) here on SRP. How's a new guy to figure stuff out?

It seems some guys directly contradict Lynn Abrams and what he suggests on his DVD. I realize Lynn is not the Bible truth (some guys will call me a heretic for saying so, but I imagine Lynn would just laugh) and there are many ways to skin a cat. And, it seems many of Lynn's posts end with the suggestion to "have fun" and there are many ways to do almost anything.

So, I'm curious...

So, what is overhoning? Is it best to use a Dremel or not to clean/restore a blade? And how is a newbie to find his way with contradictory info?

Thanks for clarification...
MarkC