Thread: When to move up in honing grit.

When I began honing my biggest question was "When do I know to move up in grit?!??!?!". There are all sorts of tests out there that will help you with this question, but they are based on you having the requisite experience to understand what you feel/see. These are just some observations/tips I have picked up in my honing:

1k/bevel setting: There is where most of my time is spent; especially on a razor that is vintage/restored. You can't overhone at this level, but you can certainly take off a good bit of steel. I use tape more often than not to help save my spines. There is no lap count to tell you when you have finished your bevel set and it could be anywhere from 30 strokes to 3000 strokes (hyperbole). I really like to watch edge development at this level and make sure everything is coming along evenly across the blade. Some people use the TNT at this stage, myself included, but generally I see if I can shave arm hair. You should be shaving at skin level: similar to how you would shave your face. Check across the blade in the fashion to make sure everything is up to snuff.

Funny enough, I can usually get a solid HHT off the 1k and always off the a DMT 325.

3,4,5k: I use the 5k as my sharpener, but any of these grits will work. I have never had an issue with edge crumbling at this stage and do not worry about overhoning at this level either. I go to town at this grit, rarely keeping counts, but doubt I have ever exceeded 100 strokes. If you did your job at the 1k this should be pretty quick. I generally will use a loupe at this level to check my scratch patterns and make sure the 1k has been removed. Another great marker is if you move to an 8k and see a decent amount of swarf/black metal particles; MOVE BACK!!! Go back to your sharpener and make some more passes. With the aid of a loupe and the swarf trick you should have no issues knowing where you are.

8k/Polisher: This is where I start counting my strokes. I try to stay at 25 and under with carbon steel. As stated before: look for that swarf to tell you what's up. Here I mostly use the loupe to see how the edge has developed and occasionally will check my arm hair. With my hair I don't usually get a true treetop, but a catching of hair.


Finishers: Here is a grab bag of answers. You and your finisher are on your "hone".....get it? Good luck fellas and add anything ya'll like. This is what has worked for me and hopefully it will help someone else.

There are many paths to get to the same destination. I usually use a 1k until I can pop arm hairs off with ease along the whole blade. Then I progress.

For me the TNT tells me when the bevel is done. It has to DIG not just grab the thumbnail. And when you get that gritty feeling, do some more laps, it will probably get grittier! Then its a matter of wiping the previous scratch patterns off. You can use a 12k naniwa to check the scratch patterns as this turns the "light" on. A shinier bevel will reveal more than a scratchier one. So do the next grit after the 1k and then do some polishing strokes with a 12k nani, and look at it again. I dont do this anymore as I can see whats what with a 10x loupe.

Originally Posted by bill3152

For me the TNT tells me when the bevel is done. It has to DIG not just grab the thumbnail. And when you get that gritty feeling, do some more laps, it will probably get grittier! Then its a matter of wiping the previous scratch patterns off. You can use a 12k naniwa to check the scratch patterns as this turns the "light" on. A shinier bevel will reveal more than a scratchier one. So do the next grit after the 1k and then do some polishing strokes with a 12k nani, and look at it again. I dont do this anymore as I can see whats what with a 10x loupe.

The worst is when you get up to around 8k and check with a loupe to find an itty bitty chip that was obscured by the scratch pattern! I bought a scope to check patterns, but must say a decent loupe is all you really need. My scope was rather cheap so the resolution is terrible. Between the cost of a decent scope and the hassle of setting it up I find it not worth the hassle. I think the average guys problem, at least for me, was moving up from the 1k too quickly. A lot of issues imho is just getting a good stroke down and there are zero shortcuts. I am glad I spent the effort to get down one handed honing and it opened up a lot of doors.

And...bookmarked. This is like a honing crib sheet. Thank you!