Thread: Narrow Belgian hones

I just ordered a 4x1.5" Belgian blue and a 4x1.5" coticule from Howard at The Perfect Edge.

Has anyone used this size before? Any comments? Any suggestions for someone who's used to honing on a Norton?

It seems like at least 10 to 20 percent of the razors I hone have some kind of mild warp to the blade, and I'm thinking these narrow stones will be just the trick for dealing with warps and smiles. I've been having great success with using the 1" wide edge of my Norton 1K to start the bevel, but getting individual 4K and 8K stones would have cost almost $200. These hones ran less than $80 total. (The latest warped blade was a NEW Dovo. I'm hoping the owner will get a replacement on that one...)

I've had some luck going from the side of my 1K to the edge of my 4/8K combo, but it's pretty tricky to get it right.

Also, how quickly do Belgian stones wear? If I honed several razors a week, how long could I expect to go before I used up the stone?]

Thanks,
Josh

Josh, I have a 6 x 1.5, vintage blue & yellow (bonded, not natural). I love it.

I don't hone as often as you so I can't say how fast it wears. I think I've read posts by both Lynn and thebigspendur saying they wear very slowly.

I think what you're going to find however is that the blue is much slower than the Norton 4K. The small yellow will be a great stone for you to finish up smileys and warpies, but if you're doing lots of razors for other people I think you'll find the blue side trying for basic bevel work. Randy stresses that the slurry is all-important in making the blue side a more efficient working stone.

Good luck.

Josh,
I have quite a few narrow Belgians in my collection. We had a thread on advantages and disadvantages or narrow vs. wide hones and strops just a week or so ago. Check the hones section and scroll down a page or so.

Tony

I have used one of my naturals for a couple of months and haven't noticed any wear. Major work is still done on 1K and 4K though.

And yes - I believe these narrow hones will be the ticket

Cheers
Ivo

Yes its true that the blue works very slowly. I really don't use it that much. Its kind of like a 6K. I usually reserve it for problem razors that don't respond to the usual routine. Sometimes its just what I need and some razors just seem to like it better than the 8K Norton. I use my coticule all the time and though I've had to flatten my 4K many times the coticule is a flat as when I got it. Afterall its natural stone and harder than razor steel and I don't think it will show signs of wear for a very long time if ever. The ceramic stones are just particles epoxyed together so as you hone the particles just come loose so thats why they wear so fast.

They don't wear very fast at all. I've had my tiny conticulefor about a year now and it has hardly worn at all in that time. I think you'll enjoy it.

I am still experimenting with techniques and stones, but these are the things that I noticed:

- use it without slurry after the 8K and it works like a charm for final polishing.
- used with certain slurry stones it is extremely abrasive. much more than the 8K.
- you can use it to remove microchipping without having to fear overhoning.
- you HAVE to round the corners if you want to use it on warped razors, or you'll damage the edge if you are honing the 'hollow' side of the blade

I have 2 small coticule lapping stones. one is cream colored and very hard. it leave a very thinslurry that polishes nicely.
The other one is white, raises slurry like mad and is so abrasive that all your hard work on the 8K is gone after 15 passes.

Like I said I am still finding things out, but currently I use it without slurry after the 8K and that seems to do it for most razors.

The other side is blue (natural combo) but I haven't used that in a while. with a good slurry it is ideal for edges that are prone to chipping. It is very slow, but it seems to me that the slowness is better for edges that would otherwise be difficult to hone.

Oh yeah, my stone is 6" long and 1.5 inch wide. it has a hairline crack near the end, but if it is lapped you cannot feel it when honing.

How slow would you say the blue stone is compared to the Norton 4K?

If I were going to hone a razor from scratch, I would work the edge into shape on the 1K, then do maybe 40 or 50 strokes on the 4K before going to the 8K.

Coming off the 1K, how many strokes would you do on the blue stone before moving to the yellow one?

I'm thinking the slowness will be quite an asset with problem razors, because usually I find that I end up with wires on part of the blade while the rest isn't getting honed enough.

I'm hoping that a slower hone will actually save me time with these blades, since I think I waste a lot of time trying to get the edge uniform. I go through the dull-overhoned-dull sequence several times before I get an edge I'm happy with.

Josh

So many strokes..........WOWZA.........slow or faster cutting will not make the difference. If wires at some part and not others either your stroke is suspect along with pressure or the blade edge needs to be more in line to receive the entire stroke. Sometimes I wonder if folks make honing easier or harder than it needs to be. Tis really not a precise art.

Lynn

Lynn,

I'm mainly talking about warped blades here. I seem to get a fair number of these for some reason. It's really hard for me to get "inside" the warp, so I'll end up overhoning the toe or heel while trying to get the middle sharp.

The 1K and 40 or 50 strokes on the 4K is my routine for an eBay special; with a new Dovo I'd do a quick pyramid and be done with it. After the 40 or 50 4K strokes, a short pyramid usually puts it right where it needs to be.

Just wanted to clarify that I'm not honing these things to toothpicks...

Josh