Thread: a not to sharp question

How long would you say it takes to learn to hone? I'm gonna order some stones tomorrow and and awaiting a pasted strop from Tony. I'm hoping to get honing tech down in time for the next giveaway so I can donate a piece. Please, all opinions welcome.

It really depends. You may get your first blade shave-ready in under an hour and it may take you a couple of weeks of frustration before you get there. A big advantage is knowing what shave-ready is. I didn't have that advantage until X generously invited me over for a honing session. Some blades were still difficult to get over the hump with slow-cutting Japanese slip-stones, but I got there eventually. Norton was a technical leap of the millenium for me.

Depends on a lot of factors, not least of which is knowing when to stop. At what point would you consider yourself "knowing how to hone"? When you can shave with your own edges? When you can beat the Feather? I've been doing this for a bit over a year and I'm still learning, though I was shaving with my own edges pretty quickly. Even Lynn, whose been honing and shaving with straights for decades, has indicated that he is still learning new things about honing.

I thrashed around for several months before I realized that my honing skills were getting decent. That's because I was stupid and didn't get a shave-ready razor to begin with. So I'm not really sure when I had my first success.

Another good idea that would shorten the timeframe is working with a razor that has a properly set bevel already. Learning to set a good bevel takes time, and when you're starting out it's hard to figure out if an edge is dull because you overhone it or because it needs some time on the lower grits, like 1K or so.

I've thought about offering "hone ready" razors that have good bevels but still need to be polished before they're shave ready. I'd be willing to work with anyone who's just starting out with honing...

But to answer your question directly, I'd say a couple of weeks to a month seems like a reasonable average. Some take a lot, lot longer.

Good luck,
Josh

I agree with Josh, having a bevel that is already set makes the first honing go a bit smother. The first razor I honed was the Dovo 5/8 that I got from Tony. The bevel was already properly set, so it was really just a matter of trying to get it back to shave sharp. Took me about 30 minutes or so if I remember correctly. That isn't fast though, the edge wasn't that dull to begin with, and I actually made it worse before it got better.

People here say that knife sharpening experience wont help when it comes to a razor, but I disagree. Yes, the technique is very different, but you are still sharpening an edge. If you have sharpened knives before, then you have two things down. You can gauge how a edge is developing, and you know how to steady your hand movements. Just my humble opinion.

Matt

Originally Posted by Kentriv

"you know how to steady your hand movements."

"Steady as a rock."
Sheriff Bart

"But I shoot with this *shaking violently* hand."
The Waco Kid

Funniest movie of All Time

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

Another good idea that would shorten the timeframe is working with a razor that has a properly set bevel already. Learning to set a good bevel takes time, and when you're starting out it's hard to figure out if an edge is dull because you overhone it or because it needs some time on the lower grits, like 1K or so.

This is interesting, Josh. While a good bevel is definitely all-important, I tend to think of high-grit honing as trickier because of the importance of a very light touch. With the lower grits a little pressure evenly applied is fine. I use the magic marker and if it wears away evenly along the length of the blade, I tend to think I'm doing ok on those lower grits.

On the other hand, I think I might have the all-time record for slowest learner on the hones...around 8 months or so, though admittedly off and on...and there's some razors that are still giving me a hell of a time (all quarter hollows) so I wonder if I'm too casual in my approach to the 1k/4k.

I'd welcome feedback as to what you think is trickiest or most crucial about low-grit-honing. And if you have something to say about bevel-setting on 1/4 hollows, that'd be just gravy.

Curtis,

from what I hear everyone is having harder time getting these well honed. I'd choose one with a good grind geometry and no warps and stick with it, as many sessions as needed. Do they pass the HHT?

The 45 deg approach on the hone does helped me a lot (I thought you already do this but just in case added it here - it can help someone else reading)

Good luck
Ivo

Dylan,

Well, true enough. It's all tricky. For me, I spend most of my time on the 1K and 4K hones. If you do things right there, a short pyramid will take you to shave-ready.

I think there's a difference between shave-ready and maxing out the potential of the 8K, which is where the ultra light touch comes in. I'm not there yet, but I can get a nice shaving edge off the 8K without worrying too much about using light pressure.

I also think we tend to skip over the lower grits and end up spending tons of time on the higher grits to make up for it. I get the best results by making sure the edge passes the thumbnail test off the 1K and the HHT off the 4K. That's not always possible, but it's the goal I shoot for.

The magic marker is great for checking the evenness of your strokes. Just make sure that your bevel goes all the way to the edge before you jump up in grit--in other words, you should be looking to max out the sharpness on each grit before moving up.

But hey, you've been at this about as long as I have...

Can you give more specifics about your quarter-hollow issues?

Good luck,
Josh

Originally Posted by izlat

Curtis,

from what I hear everyone is having harder time getting these well honed. I'd choose one with a good grind geometry and no warps and stick with it, as many sessions as needed. Do they pass the HHT?

The 45 deg approach on the hone does helped me a lot (I thought you already do this but just in case added it here - it can help someone else reading)

Good luck
Ivo

No, they don't pass the HHT. They shave OK, but not great. I can do laps and laps – like 50, say – on the coticule and they just don't even seem to change – they don't even get overhoned. They just keep cruising along, steady in their mediocrity.

I've never done that 45 degree thing on low grits, only high. I'll give that a try. Do you X while going at 45? It always seemed to me that both approaches combined would produce a very shallow angle of scratch mark...