Thread: Rolling X Stroke

So like a lot of new guys I've watched as many videos as I could on honing. I just finished watching Charlie Lewis honing a smiling wedge using a rolling x stroke and the spine seemed to leave the hone at the end of the stroke, actually lifted. Glen says the spine should never leave the hone. I think Lynn kept the spine on the hone but did some gymnastics which I could not really see. Charlie Lewis had the perfect angle to see this stroke but now I am pretty confused. I guess there are a lot of ways to get a perfect bevel but I would like to settle on one....I even watched a guy do a rolling x sitting in his underwear with the hone on a gigantic stump or slab of a tree....he did some weird stuff with his razor....tapping, doing little circles with the toe of the razor scraping at the spine....like I said, I'm a little confused.

At the start I watched sever videos. I picked the one that seemed to make the most sense and then only watched his videos for quite a while. Sometimes there are many roads, and if you take a little direction from many people you get lost. Seeking one path is the simplest way I have found.

I am thinking if the razor has a warp you will have to lift the spine a bit to accommodate the warp.

Bob

Just to be clear That guy Glen doesn't really use a Rolling or Rocking or any other X that lifts the spine off the stone

Last I checked he uses a 45° + heel Forward Swooping Stroke which creates a very even very easy to form bevel because the spine is in control at all times..

I ask him tonight to make sure but when I talked with him last that is what he told me


Glen's Friend

Originally Posted by WW243

I even watched a guy do a rolling x sitting in his underwear with the hone on a gigantic stump or slab of a tree....he did some weird stuff with his razor....tapping, doing little circles with the toe of the razor scraping at the spine....like I said, I'm a little confused.

To me, honing in your bvd's sounds as safe as frying bacon shirtless..an accident waiting to happen. ;-(
I'm learning the rolling X myself right now on a Frameback before applying those skills on the SRP LE. Definitely a different stroke, and as per Glens vid I too am trying the heel first swooping stroke. Works very well, but in my case, a slow process still. Muscle memory and such..
Good luck..

I can't do it with one hand. I start with fingers on both ends, but never equal pressures, except right at mid-stroke as the pressure dominance swaps hands. That's how i figgered (in practice after seeing the vids) to do my smilies, and to "chase the toe" on worn ones.

That's pretty cool that Glen has a friend. What's he like? Probably not as nice as he seems on the forum.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Just to be clear That guy Glen doesn't really use a Rolling or Rocking or any other X that lifts the spine off the stone

Last I checked he uses a 45° + heel Forward Swooping Stroke which creates a very even very easy to form bevel because the spine is in control at all times..

I ask him tonight to make sure but when I talked with him last that is what he told me


Glen's Friend

I was using a combo of the heel forward swoop and rolling x last night on a new stub tail restore. However there is a "hollow" on one side of the razor mid blade that really caused issues getting a bevel there. I was wishing for a 3/4" wide set of stones! Finally got the job done and will test the product as soon as my coffee cup is drained.

I have found that I tend to use the strokes I need to get the job done on a particular blade, each with its own idiosyncrasies...