Thread: a not to sharp question

Nope, not a honemeister. no way no how. honemeisters have to be able to get razors sharp themselves, not just be able to tell others how to get them sharp.

Edit: On topic, a good way to visualize what's happening at the edge when you're honing is to take one of those pink trapezoidal faber-castell (or was it eberhard-castell) erasers and try to "hone" it on a wood rasp, a file, sandpaper etc. Try it both edge-forward and edge-trailing. Then try doing the same thing to a more brittle tan rubbergum eraser. Then try it on a piece of soft unhardened rubber to see why zeepks won't get sharp.

I'm not sure this edge-deformation model is really correct (hardened rubber doesn't "flow"), but it seems to do a good job of explaining why slow-cutting natural hones like the arkansas, tam o'shanter, and coticule seem to punch above their grit rating. And why diamond seems to leave a bad-feeling edge. And why abrasive strops seem to eventually weaken the edge. And why microchips occur and how to avoid them. And, umm, why the newspaper trick is (a) slow and (b) gets so sharp.

I started to get a pretty good feel for it after about 4 years. I, too, vote for some one-on-one training.

With barber hones, I've found that it makes honing tons easier to slightly cup the hone and tilt it ever so slightly up maybe 10-15 degrees, so that when you hone, your razor is angled upwards with less of the razor's weight bearing down on the hone. It's allowed me to have a better touch on putting edges on my razors.

Yup, I do the angling thing too. As I get to the final strokes on the hone I may wind up close to 75 degrees or so. I do the same thing with the Arkansas and Shapton hones - the translucent arkansas does beautifully with a high angle on the hone and a very slow (1/2" per sec) stroke. Can't do the tilty thing with a puddle or slurry hone unfortunately. At least not without making a mess.

Learn to hone? It took me a long time to both develop the "feel" of honing and to learn the various techniques that can be used on the different razors. Learning how to evaluate an edge before I started honing and then selecting the most effective tools was a big step for me. YMMV.

I'm still learning.

I was able to refresh a close edge imediately. It took me a few weeks to get decent enough to put an edge on a dull razor, and a few months to get good at setting a bevel.

X

I use the same technique with barber hones, and it works wonders. Tilting the hone also makes it easier to adjust to blades that are less than straight--like smiling blades.

Josh

Sure - one more vote for angling the hone. I do this with even with my Escher and the slurry runs a bit...

I find it's just too unnatural to hold the hone otherwise (horizontal) in my hand

Cheers
Ivo

Well, I can't just say we're going off topic and be nice, because I have to have 10 characters to make a stinking post. So I'll ask.... but keep in mind I'm not really asking.... I just need 10 characters but;

How does angling the hone change the amount of time it took you to learn?