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 )

It's called capillary attraction.

Physics. a manifestation of surface tension by which the portion of the surface of a liquid coming in contact with a solid is elevated or depressed, depending on the adhesive or cohesive properties of the liquid.

Frank

Originally Posted by Substance

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 )

So it doesn't mean that my honing sucks ? .................

yes sucky honing = good apparently LOL

I think you are ok. Just that the one side of that microtome sucks!

If it's a problem, would taping the spine help, to keep the flat part of the razor off the hone?

it's not a problem, it was just very noticeable on the full flat blade,
I would say a TRUE wedge would have the same issues.

Also for the final few strokes on the 12K I added 1 layer of tape (trying the Tim Zowada finnish) & it made no difference hardly to the Stiction, like a heavily worn blade also does.

It is very normal. The honing surface on most razors are very thin, just the spine and the edge, with microtome the surface is much wider.