Thread: Beginners Tips: August 2010

Originally Posted by ShavedZombie

However, it is worth noting, you shouldn't go into honing with a fear of overhoning... But you should realize it's possible... I know it's the minority, but I went in taking this too far, I viewed it as almost impossible to overhone (stupid, right?) and ended up making my bevel setting take hours because I would hone so furiously before testing the edge that I made things worse... Don't worry about over honing most of the time, but better to test it frequently as you go and know it's underhoned, then overdo it and start from less than scratch

Hopefully the majority of new guys are smarter than me though!

EDIT: What I said was in reference to bevel setting... With the 5k, 8k, 12k, etc, I usually do quite a few strokes (20? Sometimes 30 if I'm using rolling strokes). I keep the pressure very light and do extra laps on the higher grits

Hey, for 99.99% of people honing is going to be a dance of success and failure with sporadic moments of real learning. There will be big breakthroughs that help you make sense of what you're doing. So don't sweat the learning curve.

I don't want to put words in anyone's mouth, but when I hear someone talk about "overhoning" in my mind it usually deals with the idea of taking a razor up to optimal sharpness (at a higher grit level) and then continuing to hone well beyond that point. The idea, as i understand it, is that after some time of extra honing the edge will fail or become too weak to be sustainable.

Now... blitzing an edge on the 1k for ages after the bevel was set would definitely be overdoing it though.

Once your bevel is set, it's set... the rest is enhancing the sharpness, and finally the smoothness in the edge. And this is why there is such a learning curve in my mind. Setting a bevel can be an entirely different ballgame from razor to razor. Ditto for sharpening and finishing. Throughout each of these phases you'll need to learn when your razor is "ready" to move on. I almost consider it to be learning three different but related processes.

Anyway, I'm rambling.... good post Glen, hope I added something worthwhile.

Dave