Thread: Honing questions

I've only been honing for about 6 month and am able to get a good edge pretty consistently (still learning wedges).
After my 8k norton, my edges can pop arm hairs a 1/4" above my arm. However after taking that same edge to my 12k Shapton stone, it will no longer consistently pop hairs above my arm.
I that the 12k edges shave is a little less harsh but not much differance. I get great shaves even when I don't use the 12k.

Am I doing something wrong?

I am not going to be of much help because I have the same problem with my Sigma 13K. In the end I decided to move on with a different hone and it is just fine that way. I have a friend that uses the same hone, we have honed together, his edges are nice and mine are not. I have no way of explaining it. I do think that a shapton users will be able to explain it. They are pretty common,

Had a similar problem, with my 20K SG when. I had lapped it but it was leaving a rough edge and stria pattern.

I re-gridded the stone and took one lap with a worn 600 plate and saw a slight 1X1.5 in depression in the middle and center of the hone.
I re-lapped it, several times, removing a bit of the face, and it is a hard stone… and that solved the problem.

Take another look at your stone. Grid it and take one lap on a high grit plate or wet & dry. If you have a depression as the stone wears the un-lapped portion comes to the surface.

Or it could just be a pressure issue…

can you tell me about the smoothness difference of your shave coming off of 8k vs. 12k.
I have the same situation and I'm trying to see the final outcome which is the face and not the arm hair.

You can get a smooth shave from an 8K, I did for years. But the 12K is much smoother, much like an 8K with lots of Chrome Oxide laps on it.
I use a 12K Super Stone so I can’t comment on the Shapton.

It is a noticeable difference.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Take another look at your stone. Grid it and take one lap on a high grit plate or wet & dry.

Or it could just be a pressure issue…

I grid and lapped it before honing.

Originally Posted by gfro

can you tell me about the smoothness difference of your shave coming off of 8k vs. 12k.

I get great shaves off of each the 8k and when I contune to the 12k.
The 8k edge is more harsh and maybe a little closer.
12k is smother and just fine. It just doesn't pop arm hairs.
My arm hairs are long and soft compared to my facial hair, so all n all I'm not sure it's really all that important. I just thought a 12k edge would be even sharper and more refined than the 8k.
I dont think I should stop popping arm hair 1/4" above the arm. Shaves arm hair at the base wickedly.

With some hones it happens that way

As the edge gets more refined and "Smoother" sometimes the tests don't work the same

I have a similar problem with the Naniwa SS series it took some getting used to

My 1k tests work the same as every other hone but as I go from 3-5-8-10 the tests no longer work like what I am used to, once I hit the 12 and do a shave test all if fine so I just roll through now when I use them..

I haven't used a Shapton 12k except at a couple of the meets so I can't say for sure this is the same issue, but if the shave test is good after you are done, it might well be...

If you don't have anybody local, perhaps you could mail some of your edges to a mentor willing to help you through. They can evaluate them, then redo them themselves and send them back. I.e. compare notes on the same edges.

May be a 12k and 8k edge are just as good to you, while they are as day and night to somebody else. Or may be there's something you're missing honing-wise. It's probably worth knowing what is the case and discussing the exact same edge is the way to address the inherent subjectivity.

"I grid and lapped it before honing."


That was my point, take another look at the stone.

Grid it and do one lap with the diamond plate or sand paper. See if, all the grid comes off.
If the grid does not come off in 1 lap, the stone is not flat, and if that is a depression that has never been flattened, it will leave a rough edge.

When doing multiple laps it is not uncommon for the slurry to remove the pencil grid and parts of the stone, will have never touched the lapping plate.

Eliminate the stone as an issue, then look elsewhere.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

"I grid and lapped it before honing."


That was my point, take another look at the stone.

When doing multiple laps it is not uncommon for the slurry to remove the pencil grid and parts of the stone, will have never touched the lapping plate.

Eliminate the stone as an issue, then look elsewhere.

As Jimmy would say; "excuse me, while I kiss the sky"

Thank you...that makes so much "forehead slapping" sense...