Excellent Afternoon With a Honing Mentor!

As some of you may have seen in another thread, I thought I wasn't getting consistent bevels, and went looking for a mentor to spend a couple of hours with.

I sent an email to a mentor here, AFDavid11, and he responded with a "happy to help".

I spent 3 hours with him this afternoon, and gained quite a bit from the experience! First, found I wasn't so bad at making a bevel after all (I had brought along two blades I had honed). This was a definite confidence builder.

He pointed out my two main issues were: pressure on my stroke (who knew I had pressure on my strokes?), and not spending enough time on the finishing stones. In fact, we took one of the blades I had done before hand, and ran it over the 8K for 40 or so strokes and then the 12K for another 40 or so strokes, and my not-so-nice edge looked silky smooth and had a nice mirrored edge.

He also had me try a new angle for the stone in front of me, which I had never thought about before.

On top of that, simply watching someone hone in front of my eyes, explaining the whats and whys was invaluable.

To anyone in the area who feels they could benefit from a honing workshop, I would encourage you to contact Alan. A generous, upstanding gent who I have no doubt will help you get your groove.

Thanks for a most excellent afternoon, Alan, and once again for the generosity of your time and passing on of your knowledge!

- Aldwyn

Aldwyn,

It was great having you out. You made the long trek; I hope it'll be worth it. Either way, it was a lot of fun.

Having a mentor for honing must be priceless. Learning on your own is a painstaking process.

The long trip was absolutely worth it. And indeed a lot of fun!

Sounds like a great experience. I need to seek out someone locally too. I'm working on my first honing, and asking a lot of questions, but just spending hands on time would be invaluable.

Really awesome people on here to pass on their knowledge and skills!
As most on here, I could use some guidance also. While I can get a satisfactory edge on a few of my blades, I have some that are a real challenge to get a good bevel and/or shave ready edge on.
Been watching the meetings and get together thread hoping something would be happening nearby but haven't seen anything yet. Come on Chicago, we're do for a meet up!!!

Highly recommended!

Its nice to be able to have an experienced person watch what you do and point out where you could change your technique for the better. That's something no video can do! :D