Thread: Hones: where to begin?

Great question and one I hear a lot when speaking with people about honing. One of the things you'll find is that your honing technique will improve the more you hone. Someone with 30 razors behind them, for instance, will get more out of say, a Norton 4k/8k, than someone just starting out. There's no substitute for informed experience honing. One way to be more informed is to examine your blade edge under magnification before you start work on it and then after about 20 strokes. You'll be able to see what effect your efforts have and adjust accordingly. A $10 Radio Shack Illluminated Microscope that give 60x - 100x magnification is sufficient to examine your edge.

Honing is as much art as it is science and there's plenty of both in the practice. One big variable is flatness of the hone. Very few hones come flat from the factory or quarry. They should all be flattened. I use a DMT 8"x3" Coarse continuous diamond stone for Nortons and Belgians. The Shaptons have their own DGLP stone and they're a whole order of magnitude beyond Nortons, DMTs, and Belgians as they're flatter, they're a designed system rather than just individual stones, and their engineering is superb.

Again though, just jump in and start practicing and watch what you're doing under magnfication.

Howard

A nice set of combination hones is available for $124.85 total at sharpeningsupplies.com.
You'll get a 220/1000, 4000/8000 combo stones & a flattening stone.
Not too bad a deal.

Originally Posted by ward1402

A nice set of combination hones is available for $124.85 total at sharpeningsupplies.com.
You'll get a 220/1000, 4000/8000 combo stones & a flattening stone.
Not too bad a deal.

Above is a good deal and i've been able to sharpen even Ebay specials with a setup similar to it.
Where abouts in Baton Rough are you? I'm in the New Orleans area, [ Metairie }

Keep an eye on the classifieds too

I am spot on with all of the above. I would like to add that if you are going to hone your razor, please read up on lapping/flattening your stone.

The Norton 4/8k is the route for any beginner today. Unless Grandpa passed and left you with rocks, it is the first stone to have in your lineup.

Use the 8k side dry. Guide the blade across the stone...gently push it across...do not press it across. When you can do this without hearing metal scraping against stone you're there.

Clean linen times 30x and 30x to 60x on leather and you are there!

Of course there are variations, and hopefully you are aware AD so GOOD LUCK!

A life of Finery awaits!