Thread: Re honing

A bit of pressure can be OK when setting bevels, but too much can obviously be a bad thing. One of the main goals when honing is to maintain the integrity of the (intended) geometry - full hollows can "flex" under too much pressure, for example, thus impacting on the intended geometry.

As others have mentioned, lifting the spine would have "narrowed" the bevel, and then dropping the spine back to the hone means there's more steel to remove at and around the change point where it angles in. A 6K might get you there with circles and short strokes and bit of pressure, but it will be slow going and require a lot of patience and consistent technique.

It's not impossible, just tedious. I used to set and even create bevels (for a long time in fact) on the Norton 4K. It was a chore, and you have to be patient. A lower grit stone is a lot faster and easier.

On the bright side though, if you do reset this bevel successfully with a 6K stone your stroke practice and muscle memory will be getting a good workout!

James.