Thread: I finally cut my hones in half! Worked out great!

i dont have the experience to say that the difference matters but for a warped razor (not a smiling razor) narrower hones are actually different. read that twice. for a smiling razor yes, you can use the edge of a wider hone to do the exact same thing as a narrower hone, its just bigger and heavier, and maybe more expensive. if you can acquire a more narrow hone or a shorter hone for less and the money matters to you, or you just dont want a big heavy hone, go for it! i hone quite successfully on a 100mmx10mm coticule that cost me less than 20$ shipped.

So here is my thinking. Please realize I do not claim to be an expert, nor have I ever done so.

With a smiling or warped razor I tend to use the edge of the hone more since it won't sit flat on a wide hone. Right?
So yes I realize that you can simply use the edge of a wider hone for this, but I have found I need to lap more often and that edge is really the only area effected. Now I have twice the amount of edges to use for this.

I admit, this is not a revelation, not everyone should go cut their hones in half. But I didn't say that either.

I like the feel of a narrow hone and the hones I have created now are just as capable as the original wider one.

I've been saying the same thing for years, and just gave up. I couldn't convince anyone that anything you can do on a 8x1.5, you can do an 8x3, really. I was selling Coti's, I got more requests for narrow hones, than I care to remember. I couldn't understand the logic behind it. First off, How many warped, smiling blades does someone have? Certainly not enough to justify cutting my stones in half...( I have a Wet Saw too ) But....If you want to cut them, more power to you, if you think they work better, than that's all that matters...But Believe me when I tell you, anything you can do on a narrow hone, you can most definitely do on a wider one....As a matter of fact, I have several narrow hones, I still prefer the wider ones, especially when doing circle method honing...

I know it is probably mental, but i seem to have an easier time on narrow hones when dealing with smilers. Sort of like superstitions in baseball. If a batter believes taking 5 practice swings, tapping is cleats twice and spitting before his at bat helps, then it helps

All that matters though is what works for you. My personal preference is the narrow hones, though i do find it easer to do circles on an 8x3.

I guess what I am saying is i have Hone ADD.

Originally Posted by chee16

So here is my thinking. Please realize I do not claim to be an expert, nor have I ever done so.

With a smiling or warped razor I tend to use the edge of the hone more since it won't sit flat on a wide hone. Right?
So yes I realize that you can simply use the edge of a wider hone for this, but I have found I need to lap more often and that edge is really the only area effected. Now I have twice the amount of edges to use for this.

I admit, this is not a revelation, not everyone should go cut their hones in half. But I didn't say that either.

I like the feel of a narrow hone and the hones I have created now are just as capable as the original wider one.

Just to be clear, I never meant to hint that I thought you had made a mistake. I'm perfectly happy honing on a narrow hone. I'm fully aware that you knew that you did not have to cut your hones, you chose to. I just didn't want a lot of late-comers to the forum thinking they needed to pull out their saws. Remember the mess the breadknifing threads created?

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

I know it is probably mental, but i seem to have an easier time on narrow hones when dealing with smilers. Sort of like superstitions in baseball. If a batter believes taking 5 practice swings, tapping is cleats twice and spitting before his at bat helps, then it helps

All that matters though is what works for you. My personal preference is the narrow hones, though i do find it easer to do circles on an 8x3.

I guess what I am saying is i have Hone ADD.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Just to be clear, I never meant to hint that I thought you had made a mistake. I'm perfectly happy honing on a narrow hone. I'm fully aware that you knew that you did not have to cut your hones, you chose to. I just didn't want a lot of late-comers to the forum thinking they needed to pull out their saws. Remember the mess the breadknifing threads created?

Put these 2 posts together and everything is clear.

The hardest thing for new guys when it comes to honing is to keep the blade flat on the stone whether doing circles or X strokes. The 3 inch wide hones make the learning process and every day honing much easier. You can do rolling X's on the 3 inch stone just as easy and probably have more edge on the cutting surface more of the time. A 45 degree angle will usually work very well on a 3 inch stone for both smiley's and wedges. Personal preference for a 1 1/2 inch or 2 inch stone is fine. Little stones and thin stones are can do stones, at best, as we have discussed many times.

Have fun,

Lynn

Originally Posted by Utopian

Remember the mess the breadknifing threads created?

Very good point. As I was one of the casualties of that breadknifing threads.

I just wanted it to be clear that it worked out really well for me, and that I saw some advantages to having more hones afterwards since I prefer narrow hones anyways. Wasn't trying to make a heated rebuttal! haha!


BTW, I just want to make it clear that this thread was in no way started to bring up any debate on "wide vs narrow hones"
It was started to show the success I had cutting my hones, and give people who were looking to cut their hones a description of my experience.

Making Lapping stone out of 220 is a very good idea. As for narrow stones I'm not on your side. I've heard that they are good with knives, but for razors wide stone is very comfortable. One of the reasons why I don't like eschers, slim piece of stone with which you balance between honing and cutting your finger.

Originally Posted by Zelenbakh

Making Lapping stone out of 220 is a very good idea. As for narrow stones I'm not on your side. I've heard that they are good with knives, but for razors wide stone is very comfortable. One of the reasons why I don't like eschers, slim piece of stone with which you balance between honing and cutting your finger.

Well this is great. First I argue against the narrow hone and now I have to defend it.

There is nothing wrong with a narrow hone. Realize that the Norton and other hones most of us use for razors were not, are not, designed for razors. Any razor hone (Japanese hones excepted) made or cut in the past 150 years was made 2 inches or less. Clearly there was a reason for that and the main reason was that that there was no need for it to be any wider because most of the honing takes place near the edge of the hone anyway. 3 inch wide hones are easier for beginners to learn how to balance the razor flat on the hone, but all honing techniques can be accomplished on a narrower hone. Lynn's circle strokes are the most efficient means of removing metal, but they are just a slight modification from long used diagonal chisel strokes demonstrated in the Maestro Livi videos, and they can be done on any width of stone.

Now, cutting your fingers is another issue. That is your (and on occasion, my) fault, not the hones'.