Thread: noob, Honing

The sharp maker can also be used like this...
(again, pretend that's a straight blade)

Just another consideration, shaving with a straight is not just about sharp it's about smooth as well. So you want to aim at getting an almost silken edge that actually doesn't feel sharp until you introduce lateral movement & it cuts you. If you can do that with the tools you have you will be well on the way to a pleasant shave experience. If not, well you may need to look at alternatives.

I wouldn't use one of those for a razor.

Originally Posted by markevens

I wouldn't use one of those for a razor.

+1 I wouldn't use anything made for a knife on a straight razor...

Originally Posted by markevens

I wouldn't use one of those for a razor.

is there a reason why?

Originally Posted by red96ta

+1 I wouldn't use anything made for a knife on a straight razor...

Aren't bench stones and water stones ect. made for sharpen knives? Tools? Razors? and anything else that can be sharpened?

This is from the manual that came with the Sharpmaker.

Originally Posted by ShaggyChunxx

is there a reason why?

Simply for the sake of simplicity. Sure, I suppose you can hone a razor on a 1" hone, but you increase the likelyhood that you either lift or lower the heel and contact the edge of the hone, which may roll the edge. If you're starting out on honing razors, opt for a 3" hone so you can have contact along the entire edge of the razor while limiting the rolling.

Several truisms come to mind including the fact that sharpening a knife is not the same as honing a razor, there's a different technique to it. Also, it's the hand that hones, not the hone...even with the right equipment, it takes time to develop the requisite skill-set in order to hone a razor. IMHO, it's tough enough to acquire this skill-set without making the job harder using a tiny hone. Other techniques like a rolling-X on a larger wedge would be nearly impossible to pull off using a tiny hone.

Originally Posted by red96ta

Simply for the sake of simplicity. Sure, I suppose you can hone a razor on a 1" hone, but you increase the likelyhood that you either lift or lower the heel and contact the edge of the hone, which may roll the edge. If you're starting out on honing razors, opt for a 3" hone so you can have contact along the entire edge of the razor while limiting the rolling.

Several truisms come to mind including the fact that sharpening a knife is not the same as honing a razor, there's a different technique to it. Also, it's the hand that hones, not the hone...even with the right equipment, it takes time to develop the requisite skill-set in order to hone a razor. IMHO, it's tough enough to acquire this skill-set without making the job harder using a tiny hone. Other techniques like a rolling-X on a larger wedge would be nearly impossible to pull off using a tiny hone.

ok... That makes sense

It sounds like you are very open, and that is important. Sometimes I find that guys with a knife background are better left alone for a while. Then, after a few months, when everything they thought they knew about honing doesn't work for razors, they are even more open to new epiphanies.

It's very possible that for you the honing sticks placed side by side might work. It's also possible that they won't. Try it and see. If someone else comes along and tries it and it doesn't work, then it doesn't work for them. No biggie.

Skill is another important dimension. I could hone a razor on the bottom of a coffee cup, but I wouldn't run around recommending it. On the other hand, I would recommend someone spending the five years of so studying and practicing honing razors, that I did, to do likewise.

It's really hard though for many of us to really comment effectively on every single unusual honing technique we see, because we push for people to succeed. It's hard enough using the correct equipment.

How secure those sticks are is important too. Because, and this is the secret to honing razors; your objective is to apply as little honing effect as possible, consistently, over and over again, a few hundred times.

that was very well put, thanks!
I actually read it a few times, you make several helpful points.