Circles on a barber hone.

**niftyshaving** · 07-12-2010, 04:57 AM

Has anyone tried circles on a barber hone?

I am wondering if anyone has tried this and on what
type of barber hone.

I ask because I have a potato chip of a WB razor
that does not lay flat on a big hone but seems to
like my small carborundum brand barber hone. Parts
of the edge are not yet well tamed yet and I was pondering
ways to make a good shaver out of it.

**holli4pirating** · 07-12-2010, 05:14 AM

I played around with it a while back on a long Swaty that I had. I found that it worked quite well, so long as I ensured I totally replaced the random scratch marks from the circles with regular scratch marks from X stroke when I finished the razor.

I also tried it on a C12k to cut down on the lap count, but here the scratches were too fine for me to see with the naked eye so I'm not totally sure what happend on that front. Regardless, the results were quite nice.

**AxelH** · 07-12-2010, 05:40 PM

I've had nice results on a 2" wide finishing hone doing conservative circles to refresh an edge. Shaved like new. Don't know what potato chip means but the razor in question was 13/16th. It laid flat, however. I would think rolling strokes/x-pattern are important for getting the entire edge actually honed.

**gssixgun** · 07-12-2010, 06:16 PM

There is a stroke that has an almost full circle at each end of the hone and then an X stroke in the middle...I have used this on Barber hones to great success, there was a vid of an old barber using it on a Coticule on here...
If I were going to name it, I would call it a Pigtail...

**Slartibartfast** · 07-12-2010, 06:25 PM

This one?

YouTube - Razor Sharpening

**Utopian** · 07-12-2010, 07:07 PM

I never get tired of watching that video. The thing that is unique about it, to me anyway, is that I don't get any sense at all that he is honing the razor. Instead, it looks more like he is shaving the hone! I often try to remember this difference when I am doing finishing strokes at the end of honing.

**Sticky** · 07-12-2010, 08:30 PM

I've used them on a Swaty, Frictionite 00, Dubl Duck, Apart, and a couple of others.

I reserve circles for removing steel faster than a straighter stroke will. That means I only use circles on a barber hone if I believe that it will be quicker than breaking out (and then cleaning up) a somewhat coarser hone to do the same work. That doesn't happen very often; but it does happen.

**Utopian** · 07-12-2010, 10:19 PM

In watching the video, I get the impression that the intent of the circle stroke is not so much a honing stroke so much as a redistribution of the slurry across the width of the hone following the x-stroke.

Any opinions?

**gssixgun** · 07-12-2010, 10:24 PM

Originally Posted by Utopian

In watching the video, I get the impression that the intent of the circle stroke is not so much a honing stroke so much as a redistribution of the slurry across the width of the hone following the x-stroke.

Any opinions?

HUGE +1
I agree, but it also works on the Barber's hone with Shaving Lather... That was how I ended up trying it, I saw the vid and then put 2 n 2 together and thought it would work to keep the Lather on the Barber's hone too....

**Utopian** · 07-12-2010, 10:51 PM

Originally Posted by gssixgun

HUGE +1
I agree, but it also works on the Barber's hone with Shaving Lather... That was how I ended up trying it, I saw the vid and then put 2 n 2 together and thought it would work to keep the Lather on the Barber's hone too....

Thanks Glen for stating the obvious that wasn't obvious to me. I did NOT put 2 and 2 together. I've been using barber hones for several years now and probably first saw that video at least two years ago but I never made the connection. I guess it's time I start using barber hones the right way now!

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