Thread: My first honing project

Originally Posted by Razorfaust

Maybe this link will help you with the visual cues. http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...ml#post1542722

Hope it helps

Great, thanks a lot

Well noted, thanks.

I just got the Norton Stones on the mail 10 min ago....

I ll do a review of all the info that you guys posted and have a go....I ll let you know

Thanks again

You got a lot of great tips here on this thread, one thing I would recommend is continue to stay active and post your pictures of ur end if u can... Pictures of the bevel and edge say ally and that's learned how to hone razors from this community and meet-ups!

Your idea about practicing on a gold dollar is exactly what I did, I bought several of the, because I ruined them one way or another learning to hone... And it would have hurt me so much more if that was my Ralf Aust... Make sure you keep at it! One thing I was doing was honing for a couple hours at a time and it would just turn into me making a mistake on a stroke just because I was not as sharp when first started... (Pun intended)

Originally Posted by Dafonz6987

You got a lot of great tips here on this thread, one thing I would recommend is continue to stay active and post your pictures of ur end if u can... Pictures of the bevel and edge say ally and that's learned how to hone razors from this community and meet-ups!

Your idea about practicing on a gold dollar is exactly what I did, I bought several of the, because I ruined them one way or another learning to hone... And it would have hurt me so much more if that was my Ralf Aust... Make sure you keep at it! One thing I was doing was honing for a couple hours at a time and it would just turn into me making a mistake on a stroke just because I was not as sharp when first started... (Pun intended)

At the moment I am gathering all the info I can. When I start I ll post before and after pictures of the SR.....

Yep! That's exactly what I did.... But I got a 100x magnification microscope on Craigslist for $10 I can get pictures with it by holding the phone in the right spot on the eye piece, it's a pain at times but for 10 bucks can't beat it, I also see ALOT of people have the veho usb microscope you can take pictures with and its $40 on eBay...

Now there are two sides to using a microscope and I'm sure someone will have more points to the anti-microscope side... It's almost like these lines we have on the thread, pro-scope anti-scope pro-GD anti-GD are almost like being republican or a democrat and ur supposed to avoid talking about politics hahaha but jokes aside im pro scope, being able to see scratch patterns is nice because I gotta see if I removed the last stones scratches before moving on. If you don't you'll be banging ur head against the wall on why it's chipping on the finisher... Keep in mind at first your ur not going to know what to look for other then not having Chips on the edge and sometimes even though it might look like s chip the size of the moon it really probably isn't... (When I'd be wondering if I should care I just throw a strand of hair down with as refrence). But once I took pictures of the same spot on the blade before i start using the next stone, that was really the game changer for me at least... Instead of speculation and taking educated guesses on what I was doing wrong, I actually had a bunch of people tell me exactly what I did wrong almost as if they were sitting right next to me the whole time... Come to think of it that was the last time I posted questions about honing, so that says something I think...

I know this wasn't part of your questions but I figured u were basically trying to get better at honing so I figured I would throw this in... I hope it helps! And good luck!

Hello all;

I have seen in honing videos that some people while doing the X pattern stroke they put some pressure on the bevel using one finger that they will slide lengthwise of the the SR as it moves across the hone.

This looks a good method to avoid lifting the toe / heel?

What is your take on this?

Thanks

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Lap your stones on a piece of 325 Wet & Dry, on a dollar store cookie sheet, it will be a lot faster and less messy than the Norton lapping stone.

Mark the grid as said and remove it 3-4 times spinning the stone 180 degrees each time. Make sure to round or bevel the edges.

Do look at the My first honing attempt thread. The Cherry Tomato test will tell you if your razor will cut tomatoes, but not much else. You need to know if the, complete edge is straight and chip free and that you are honing all the way to the edge.

A visual test is the most conclusive test, then remove the stria from the previous stone with each stone in the progression. The goal is a straight edge.

Do you mean that you have to go through the motion of erasing a grid 3 to 4 times?

Originally Posted by Icarusflies

Hello all;

I have seen in honing videos that some people while doing the X pattern stroke they put some pressure on the bevel using one finger that they will slide lengthwise of the the SR as it moves across the hone.

This looks a good method to avoid lifting the toe / heel?

What is your take on this?

Thanks

Originally Posted by Icarusflies

Do you mean that you have to go through the motion of erasing a grid 3 to 4 times?

Honestly I used a two hand stroke for some time, but when u use it according to glen ur supposed to not be applying pressure and only using ur right hand to guide he stroke... the reason I think and I'll be corrected if wrong.. The reasoning you don't apply pressure is because when using an x stroke your focus and light pressure should go from heel to toe and watching the sarf being pushed down the length of the razor....

What I think he was saying is draw a grid with pencil on your stone and lap it with some sand paper and flat surface... Then repeat the 3-4 times turning the stone 180 to ensure the the hone is perfectly flat...

Originally Posted by Dafonz6987

Honestly I used a two hand stroke for some time, but when u use it according to glen ur supposed to not be applying pressure and only using ur right hand to guide he stroke... the reason I think and I'll be corrected if wrong.. The reasoning you don't apply pressure is because when using an x stroke your focus and light pressure should go from heel to toe and watching the sarf being pushed down the length of the razor....

What I think he was saying is draw a grid with pencil on your stone and lap it with some sand paper and flat surface... Then repeat the 3-4 times turning the stone 180 to ensure the the hone is perfectly flat...

I'm thinking and it ain't written in stone. Hahah... Lame I know. That unless doing a rolling x you want pressure even across the edge.
That is what I was taught.

So they are different techniques, for different problems.

The X stroke will by its nature will cause a bit of extra pressure on the toe and is a good stroke to ensure the toe gets honed properly.

Using two hands can be done with and without pressure, and is a technique that has to be calibrated to your hands and the amount of pressure you apply.

Generally a two handed grip, is used in the lower grits and single hand in higher grits when a very lite pressure is needed and wanted.

You will have to experiment to see results for yourself, this is where magnification and looking at the bevel will show you the results of your technique. Generally new honers use either too much or too little pressure, too much the most common.

Pressure is one of those things that is impossible to translate into words, except, more or less.

On the stone lapping, yes mark and erase the grid repeatedly, to ensure that the slurry is not washing off the pencil and that you are actually abrading the stone. Once the stone is flat, a subsequent grid will come off quickly. Spine the stone 180 degrees to ensure a level and flat stone face.

Use a soft lead pencil, flat thick lead lumber pencils work great.