Honing issue - need help

Hi,

Yesterday I honed 2 blades, and Berninghaus and a JA Henckels from dull. I set the edge with a Norton 220/1000 then moved on to the 4000/8000. I did 20 or so strokes on the 4K to remove the 1K scratches and then did Lynn's Pyramid in the Wiki that stats 10/10 and ends 1/5. Then I did 40 strokes on the Chinese 12K. Finally I stropped them.

BOTH pass the hanging hair test at the toe and the heel. The middle 1/3 does not. I tried to shave with one and I cut my cheek right in the middle of the blade.

The fact that I got the same result on both blades has me curious if I need to adjust my technique or do I just need to do more honing? What do you all think?

Thanks.

Doug

I can think of a few possibilities:

If your stones aren't flat a problem could arise; a low/high spot in the middle could mess with your edge.

Are the blades flat to begin with? To test this on a blade (it will ruin the edge) I take my razor and kind of roll it from heel to toe on the aluminum case of my open laptop. The backlighting of the screen allows me to see any flat spots by observing if there is light leaking from under the blade. If they are not flat you might consider a little bit of breadknifing on the side of your hones to try to even the blade out.

Another possibility is to alter your stroke. I've found that a rolling x-stroke, which can be found in the wiki, works nicely for blades that don't have a perfect edge. I had the opposite problem of you in that the outer thirds weren't getting sharp. I reset my bevel and worked back up to 8k using a rolling/swooping x-stroke and it helped a lot.

Speaking of bevels, have you set a sufficient bevel on the razors?

One last idea: I've found that on some of the ebay razors I've bought on the cheap, ~$10, the spine has been worn down significantly. If the spine is too low you get a really wide bevel which in my experiences have been a pain to get set for whatever reason. What I do is use a layer or two of electrical tape on the spine to put it back to where it would have been.

Hope this long-winded post helps you out!

Not having seen the blade, it's tough to know what's going on exactly. What's the marker test showing you?

Is this the first time you've honed these razors? Can you perceive a frown or warp in the blade?

What strokes are you using?

Interesting to be sure...but as previously stated, it's hard to say without seeing pictures, or being able to check the blade 1st hand.

I'm not a "honemeister" like Lynn, but I can get a razor sharp ;)

If you would like me to take a look at it, I can let you know my address in PMs and would be glad to take a look at it for ya.

When honing, it is important to "test" the edge all along the edge. I usually end up hitting ~8+ points on the edge when checking for cutting/popping hairs. If the middle is getting missed somehow, I would check to make sure the hones are lapped flat. Beyond that, there might be an issue with the blade, or technique.

Glad to help anyway I can, keep us informed on the issue please :D

Have you tried any test other than the HHT for that middle 1/3rd? A thumb pad test for example? Is the inner third dull, kind of sharp, more than kind of sharp, sticky sharp?

If that area is not sharp, can you elaborate on "setting the bevel"?

I agree on the marker test being IMO critical on ALL honing sessions and utilized on the first few passes on the coarse stone. The marker test is your indicator as to what's happening at the edge. When used in the very beginning, it tells you, in the very beginning what is going on with either the razor, the stone or you or any combination of the three. It prevents you from wasting time and steel guessing along the way.

It doesn't sound likely, but if the razor truly passed the HHT earlier on and was progressively sharper along the entire edge, you COULD have a problem at the stropping stage. Again, unlikely based on what you've described, but possible in this type of scenario.

Chris L

+1 .. If the middle's not as sharp I was also thinking frown or warp.
So many variables to give a definitive answer but even an overhoned edge could give you those symptoms ie if you're using 2 hands & applying pressure in the middle thus overhoning.
Marker tests & a magnified view of your edge may tell you something but if the edge was originally frowning & you breadknifed did you address the spine wear that matches the frown. It could be possible to recreate it on honing. Hopefully you have no geometry issues. Maybe someone nearby could take a look for you ?