Thread: Rolling hone + marker test = shorter honing time

I just wanted to thank Xman and mparker for their honing tips lately. I've read all this stuff a million times, but somehow this time it sunk in and made a big difference.

Tonight I took a razor from eBay condition to shave-sharp in about an hour. This was a pretty bad eBay razor--heavy hone wear, with a strange-shaped edge. I decided to use the magic marker test to see how the bevel was hitting the hone.

Well, well, I noticed that the toe and heel weren't getting honed. I applied more magic marker and tried some variations of the "rolling hone" stroke as articulated by X. Wow, I quickly figured out how to get the entire bevel hitting on each stroke.

That sucker zipped through the grit progression, right up to 8K.

I have been struggling with eBay razors as of late, spending hours and hours when one part of the edge gets sharp and others wouldn't.

My rolling hone stroke needs a lot more practice, but I've added another useful technique to my arsenal.

Thanks guys!

Josh

It's also helpful for working on lightening your touch on the hone. Use something slow like a barber hone or an arkansas stone, and verify that you're lightening the shade of the marker evenly along the bevel and on opposite sides from stroke to stroke. Lighter strokes take longer to remove the magic marker, and lighter strokes are good.

Congrats, Josh. I've never really thought about using a marker that way, to determine the evenness of honing, but it sounds like a great idea.

X

Fantastic idea.

Shows me exactly where I am going wrong.

Now I just need to know how to correct it!!!!!

Wedges look so good but are such a pain in the quoit to hone!!

A good stroke is the key to honing I think. For me its all in the perfect balance and positioning of the scales. Using your finger and thumb as leverage on the shank and holding the razor in position by the scales with the pinky. You can secure the blade to the hone completly without ever pushing down.

Once you perfect this stroke, honing becomes easy, test free and predictable. Soon you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.