Thread: Stiction - a visual explanation

G'day all,
had a honing session on the weekend for a few blades and while bevel setting, I notice that by the time the bevel was set I was getting the feeling of Stiction

Stiction - the feeling of a blade sticking or suction created by the surface tension of water between the smooth faces of the hone & blade contact area ( this is my understanding & definition )

This was rather noticable on a light but heavily hone worn old Marx & Co,
then I moved on the my last blade which was a Joseph Rodgers Microtome.
I used GSSixguns 7 to 1 Kamisori honing technique on this and as I progressed the stiction became quite strong on the flat side, to the extent of needing to hold the blade with my other hand also to help,
Now this made think of this post to help try to explain the feeling to other new honers.

this is my visual explanation showing the blade held fairly tight on my Naniwa 1K when bevel setting
it was strong enough to not release for many minutes until I lifted it off



there is clean water only on the hone.

I must note:
I haven’t had a hollow blade without serious hone wear stick anywhere near this much, but the sensation can definitely be felt and this along with the TNT & TPT are my indicators to move up to the next grit.
the stiction gets stronger with the higher grits as I progress and the blade polishes

I also believe this is not as prominent when using slurry ( which I don't )