Thread: How to hold the razor to prevent it from dulling on the hone

I have a problem with holding the razor flat on the hone. at least I think so
If I go from 1k ( King or Nanniwa ) to 3k the bevel is pretty well set
then I go to Coticule or Welsh Slate with slurry , and the bevel gets lost on the way

so I am wondering if I keep the razor not flat enough or so
one failure by going along the edge of the stone and you are off to the beginning or by maybe putting to much emphasis on the edge ???

are there tricks or points of attention that you experienced honers use to make sure not to kill the bevel again during the process ?

Have you lapped your hones?

All of them need to be flat so the bevel stays in contact with the stone face.

There are numerous vids here on honing. In particular, see the ones done by gssixgun.

yes, the hones are flat
just doubt my ability to keep the razor on the stone the right way

I guess I don't get it, if you have the spine flat on the stone and the edge is one the stone too that is how you keep it flat, just don't pick up the spine or edge as your doing your laps, if your picking it up then you just need to slow down and concentrate. not being an a-hole but that is a simple fix, but the edge being killed when you go up in stones may not be what your thinking, maybe the bevel really isn't fully set on the 1k stone as you might think. you might want to post your location , there may be help near you to figure out what your doing wrong. how long have you been honing? good luck Tc

I have had similar problems. I am still relatively new to all this and don't get to doing this very often so my learning curve is long, but I find using my other hand on the blade as a guide not to add pressure helps.

As Rolodave has said Gssixgun's videos are very good.

yes , I also work a lot with both hands
one as a very light guide
when trying with one hand I noticed very easily going wrong
but if I see the speed of those experienced guys :-)
and I use very little pressure

but I do not know if those people are just keeping the razor flat or concentrate more on the edge ??

If the motions used to set the bevel on the lower grit hone are correct, then thise same motions should remain correct on the slate or coticule.

How do you know the bevel is "lost?" Are you following up with less or no slurry?

Where are you located? Maybe we can find you some local help.

I know that because of the HHT
I follow indeed with thinner slurry and dilute to water only

but also the undercutting becomes worse

I live in the Netherlands , Europe , and will indeed meet some honers there if the problem persists

but what I also actually wonder is
do you just keep the blade flat or just concentrate slightly on the edge or so ?

Try moving the honing 'plane' up or down relative to your elbow bend. (Raise or lower the table) You will find the optimum ergonomic position that keeps everything flat.

If you are holding the hone in your hand, the same rule applies if you keep your wrist locked.

Also works for stropping. Find the right position and it all falls into place.