Thread: circles and fine hones

Is there any reason not to hone in circles on finishing hones?

It seems like it might be faster and easier with wedges.

I remember some shots of someone doing circles on what appeared to be a coticule in that National Georgraphic documentary on shaving that someone posted here several months ago. Then again, that movie quoted an "expert" saying that it's impossible to shave yourself with a straight razor.

Originally Posted by dylandog

Then again, that movie quoted an "expert" saying that it's impossible to shave yourself with a straight razor.

I guess I can officially claim to get magical shaves then.

The accepted wisdom behind the straight honing stroke is that it leaves perfect little grooves all running in the same direction away from the edge which facilitate the cutting of the whiskers. Circles wouldn't do that, but it might still be impossible to get a good shave.

X

If I could do circles on a stone, I would do figure 8's. I did fig 8's with narrow blades like chisles and hand planes. The thing about the fig 8's is that it theoreticaly puts more even ware on the stone making resurfacing less frequent ( not my experience) and keeps ware more even on the blade somewhat - compensating for uneven pressure while holding. With my straights I go (dare I say it) straight or with a little cant to the blade up the stone. Ten strokes on one side, rotate the stone 180 degs and flip the blade, 10 more. It may all be vodoo or junk science. I don't think circles would be faster. Maybe this would be a good time to talk about the Zen of honing.

Regards, Zig

You can do circles on the higher grit stones, but I would recommend that you still finish with 5-10 X pattern strokes.

Lynn

TI (or was it Dovo) people do circles on fine stone (Escher) for final stages.

It does put uneven wear on the stone, and then they replace the stone. I read this somewhere on the Internet

Rotating the stone on straight motion seems a good idea to me and I sometimes do it. Not too often though, I guess I could do better

Cheers
Ivo

When honing knives and tools I never bothered with the 8 pattern. I used a W.
the problem with the 8 is that it is far more difficult to maintain the correct angle and pressure when doing a complex circular motion like the 8.
a W by comparison is simple.