Thread: My first time honing... one good, one not so good

Greetings Gents. I tried my hand at honing for the first time on a Norton 4/8k (thanks Speedster). I have read a ton of useful info on SRP and watch a bunch of videos that were all helpful. I decided to try my first hone with Lynn's circle method (the 40 circles, 10 X strokes with pressure, the 40 circles, 10 X strokes with no pressure on the 4k side and 10 X strokes on the 8k side) I also used one piece of tape. Well my Wade & Butcher went from dull to shave ready first time and shaved excellent! Now my Cattaraugus Green Lizard... I wouldn't try to cut open a box with it! I did the circle method 4 x's over and nothing. So I've been reading a bunch more on here and I am guessing that maybe I need to get a lower grit stone and work my way up the ladder to the 8k? Is the Green Lizard a different kind of metal? Stainless? any advice for me is appreciated. Thank You

Good job on the WB. That Green Lizard is American steel, which is probably a good bit harder than typical Sheffield steel. I don't suppose you have the Norton or other 1k stone, do you? It would make setting that challenging bevel easier.

If you can connect with a mentor (and I believe there are several on LI) you will get through months of trial and error in a few hours, and get to try some different rocks at the same time...

Elbow up, good posture, stable work surface along with some time with a mentor.
You have studied the process so it will come together...

And you will like it...

Good advice already, would just add that if the Green Lizard is a fairly thin hollow grind, it will flex under pressure and cause you to hone behind the edge. Use a permanent marker on the bevels and then do a couple of laps with light pressure and check to see if you are honing to the edge. If not, ease back and try again. With thin blades, you must let the stone do the work. Also, since you are just starting out, a single layer of electrical tape on the spine will protect it from wear as you learn the ropes and will also move the contact point further towards the edge. If you are using tape, check it periodically and replace whenever you see visible wear on it - this will maintain the honing geometry and keep you honing at the edge.

Originally Posted by ScoutHikerDad

Good job on the WB. That Green Lizard is American steel, which is probably a good bit harder than typical Sheffield steel. I don't suppose you have the Norton or other 1k stone, do you? It would make setting that challenging bevel easier.

Thank you for the info on the steel. I do not have another stone other then the Norton altho I did find these packed away in one of my boxes from years ago...

...but I dont think I want to run any of my razors across them. They are Arkansas stones that used to sharpen my knives on years and years ago with oil not water.

Originally Posted by sqzbxr

Good advice already, would just add that if the Green Lizard is a fairly thin hollow grind, it will flex under pressure and cause you to hone behind the edge. Use a permanent marker on the bevels and then do a couple of laps with light pressure and check to see if you are honing to the edge. If not, ease back and try again. With thin blades, you must let the stone do the work. Also, since you are just starting out, a single layer of electrical tape on the spine will protect it from wear as you learn the ropes and will also move the contact point further towards the edge. If you are using tape, check it periodically and replace whenever you see visible wear on it - this will maintain the honing geometry and keep you honing at the edge.

I will try the marker. Thank you. I was using tape and will give it another go

The Norton will cut that steel just fine. As I mentioned before, go easy on the pressure and check for flexing.

How about a pic of the razor and the stones?

What did you lap the 4 & 8k with?

What did the edge look like when you started, any chips?

Yes, you can set the bevel on the 4k. 2 layers of tape on the spine and do circles on a freshly lapped 4k until the bevels are meeting fully.

60X magnification will tell you when you get there.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

How about a pic of the razor and the stones?

What did you lap the 4 & 8k with?

What did the edge look like when you started, any chips?

Yes, you can set the bevel on the 4k. 2 layers of tape on the spine and do circles on a freshly lapped 4k until the bevels are meeting fully.

60X magnification will tell you when you get there.

- I did not lap the stone.
- There were not chips that I could see with naked eye
- The only camera I have is on my phone so Im not sure it will be of any help



- as I said the Wade & Butcher came out great in the first pass around

Having a 50% success rate from the beginning is pretty good!

Did you change the tape regularly while you did the honing?