Thread: Circles. yay or nay?

Hi, i'm back to drain your knowledges
Today i honed a razor with my Shaptons 1,4,8,16k . Also did some of the old diamond .5 and a 100 stroperoonies. (sorry ill speak proper).
I just had a shave and found that the heel half of the razor was super sharp but the toe end half not so much.
I'm asuming its down to my circular technique.
Following Lynnes video doing 40 this way then 40 the other way, going in one direction is a bit akward.
Should i keep practicing this untill i become the master i know i can be and would that be why one half is sharper than the other.
Also i notice that no other honers ive seen, use that technique, they all go up n down.
Do you guys use circles?
I've found it to be the best method of cutting metal but you could fill a book with what i dont know
Thanks for sharing....

I always use circles, actually more like ovals on both sides in combination with x's. I will do that on all hones but usually end with very light touch when on my finish hone.

Circles. yay or nay?

Yay!

Circles are great. Just be aware that the pressure is even and watch the water displacement as you want to make sure the whole edge is touching the hone. Circles are a faster more efficient way than straight laps. Not that straight laps aren't good. Japanese honimg uses a lot of circles to break slurry down. And the Japanese have been honing for a long time. Lynns method especially the pyramid is fool proof.

I do circle type honing but only at the lower grits. I would never do them with a finisher.

40 on one side and then 40 on the other sounds like a lot to me. I do 10 or 15 then flip and do the same. Sounds like your using a lot of pressure and chasing the center of the bevel back and forth. Maybe all over if your not keeping it light and even.

I use circles occasionally when a get a razor with no defects, rare for me, at the 1K and 3K stages. Other than that mostly some type of X stroke. I used to use a balsa strop pasted with Crox but fell out of that habit. Keep in mind this is coming from a shallow knowledge pool. I think most everyone has their own way of doing things.

Bob

I use pyramid honing almost exclusively, but always start off with circles to set my bevel. After I feel the bevel is set, I move on to laps using the pyramid method.

I have the same Shaptons and use circles on the 1K and 4K at the beginning of either hone, but always end up with (x-)strokes. I feel the feedback of the Shaptons is much clearer to be felt that way and it is easier for me to keep the blade flat, use little or no pressure and keep that pressure even along the entire edge. The 8K and 16K get x-strokes only from me.

Honing on my slow Jnat, I use circles almost exclusively, until my slurry dries out to a sticky paste.

Originally Posted by lz6

I always use circles, actually more like ovals on both sides in combination with x's. I will do that on all hones but usually end with very light touch when on my finish hone.

Bob I continue to learn from you. I think circles is the only way to go