Thread: any difference in honing smiling edge?

Originally Posted by JSmith1983

You don't have to use the rolling x through the whole progression, but you DO have to use whatever stroke that will allow you to make contact with the entire edge for the entire progression.

Just honed one the other day and a Frederick Reynolds.

I go through the same process. The Sheffields can be a bit more of a challenge, IMO. In my limited experience, they react differently to varying shave tests. Perhaps, not being extra hollow ground Solingens has a bit to do with it.

Charlie Lewis has a great videos on YouTube with the rolling x stroke on his new razors. Not to say that Lynn's aren't great as well because he goes into great detail when he explains it. The Lewis razors video has a little bit different perspective as far as the camera angle goes. I would watch that one first as its a bit more of a close up view of the stroke then watch Lynn's because he goes into great detail and is more descriptive. Both are excellent!

A lot of things can happen if you don't hit the edge evenly and none of them are good. You could get uneven hone wear or at least hone wear different from what you may desire, or weak toes/heels. Synthetics and some JNats can cut faster than you think they do, even at the finisher end, and so over time cause problems if you're not hitting the bevel evenly.

It isn't unusual to hone smileys in sections, but you still have to smooth things together at some point by "rolling the pressure", and almost everyone finishes up with an X stroke or rolling X stroke. It's a valuable thing to learn, so might as well do it! A narrow hone can help you learn if you have one.

Make sure you note the spine wear and bevel wear before honing, go lightly and check often during honing for uneven wear that may be a sign of an uneven stroke. My own stroke tends to be heel-heavy so I have to watch that.

Cheers, Steve

hello everyone, I just wanted to say thanks for the great help and feedback! A week ago I was able to successfully sharpen a smiling wedge using a magic marker to know where I have set the bevel and where I missed a spot. I also used the video that john3126 posted and just worked through the hones. The shave was much better this time around. As a follow up, I just wanted to know is there any difference in stropping a smiling wedge? My strop is pretty thin in width and I usually use something like a x-pattern since the edge is too big to fit across the whole strop. So would it be a good idea to use something like a swooping-x when stropping to make sure the toe gets stropped as well? its just something ive been thinking about.

Nice work for using the marker pen on the bevel - it really does make all the difference. I nearly had a breakdown trying to hone a wedge with a smiling profile and 'interesting' warping - using a marker pen it made the whole process clearer.

I use a sort of windscreen-wiper motion when I'm stropping - making sure that I'm starting from the edge and that I reach the other edge by the end of the stroke.