A magnified comparison of many honing results

[membudo]

Below is a comparison of how many of the most well known stones perform on the same blade. I found this helpful and wanted to share it. Maybe foster some friendly debate. This is where I found the info Zowada Custom Knives - Razor Edges

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This is a quick study I put together while I am learning how to hone razors on a semi-production basis. This is not meant to be a definitive study of the honing qualities of various stones. Rather, it is just meant to give me a basic idea of what's going on.

The stone surfaces, and the razor edges are all at 200x.
The razor is O1/L6 Damascus at 62.5 HRC.
The initial edge is honed at a 15 degree included angle.
The initial edge was a horizontal, along the edge, scratch pattern developed with a Norton 8000 grit hone.
Ten, 5" long" strokes were used on each side of the blade.
Only the weight of the blade was used for pressure.
No stropping was done after honing.
All stones, except Spyderco, were used wet.
No slurry was used on any stone.
All stones were freshly lapped at 2000 grit.

The lapped edges had a Chinese 12000 grit finish for the final honing step.

Here, the edge is viewed at a 52 degree angle. This gives a better idea of how the actual cutting edge looks.

Procedure

1. Hone blade at 15 degrees with Norton 8000.
Hone marks should be at least 0 - 40 degrees relative to edge.

2. Add one layer of 0.006" electrical tape to blade back
This kicks the angle up to 15.75 degrees and gives the test stone a fresh edge to work on.

3. Use ten strokes, 5" long, alternating blade sides.

4. Clean edge with acetone.

5. Photograph under microscope.
The blade was held in place with clay and pushed agianst a 60 degree reference.


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Yellow/Green Escher
Bue/Green Escher

Cro2 10 passescro2 5 passesNorton 8 K Swaty