They share common goals. Really those who say they are different and a razor is harder to sharpen are misleading those who already have knife sharpening skills and want to try honing a razor.

The basic steps are

1. Set the edge on a coarse stone (depending how dull, rounded, chipped the edge is)to establish a new cutting edge.

The level of coarseness will be on a case by case. Generally razors use a higher grit stone to establish the primary edge.

2. Refine the cutting edge using finer abrasives (stones/pastes) to the task that is required. I.e. push cutting hair or slicing sushi or cutting rope.

Again depending on what is required of the knife some Japanese chefs sharpen to 12k +.

3. Strop if required or steel to realign the edge.

Not every knife gets stropped but just as with a razor the edge gets damaged and misaligned due to impact so it needs to be straightened

They differ in the use of pressure and the use of different angles sure but sharpening knives is no different from razors.

Razors are easier because of the built in honing jig (the spine). Namely you can't change the angle that the edge is coming into contact with the stone during the stroke as long as the razor is held flat against the stone. Knives have to be held at a consistent angle which is more difficult and some cannot achieve freehand sharpening of a knife and rely on jigs to hold the consistent angle for them.

The biggest difference I noticed was that the type of edge I was chasing with the knife edges was less keen as what I was trying to achieve with the razor. No doubt because of what the task at hand is with either. This made me a big sloppier with my knife technique... Accepting less then perfect edges because it would still "cut".

That is just me personally but like I mentioned some people are routinely achieving a 12k+ on their knives.

When sharpening razors we don't use so much pressure that we flex the edge. I don't know why any competent knife sharpener couldn't lessen his/her pressure. If the sharpener is adept enough to finish a knife to a high degree of polish 8k+. They are not using high amounts of pressure on the finish stone just light pressure.

A little bit of technique adjustment and they really don't differ that much. Your average knife user probably uses less fine stones but with a set of finer stones(as long as they're willing to invest) they can easily sharpen razors.


Why this forum mystifies razor honing is unknown? It just takes time and practice to develop just like any skill.



Sent from my LG-K210 using Tapatalk