Thread: Second try at honing...seeking opinions/suggestions...

Ok. Did more with 1K X strokes and two layers of tape - very light touch - one hand. Looks really nice to me:

Looks good move up and remove the 1k stria. Start with new tape.

Very nice progress! I lived in the Lebanon, NH and WRJ area up until 3 years ago, I would have been happy to work with you in person. However, you have been getting excellent mentoring here from Euclid440 and seem to be learning quickly - keep up the good work!

I did a bunch of X strokes on the 4K:



Then, did some more on 4K and then 8K:



And, finally did a pyramid of 15/15, 10/10, 5/5, 3/3, 1/3, 1/5 (just for grins):



I can't tell the grit corresponding to the depth of the stria in these shot. Should I drop back to the 1K some, do more on the 4K, or just give it a test shave and see? I also have 12K SS that I can use.

No don’t drop back to 1k now. The edge looks a little rough and you have some deep stria, perhaps from the pyramid.

As you move up the progression the goal, after the bevel is set, is to polish the bevel and straighten the edge. Going backwards just adds deep stria and we are trying to polish out all the deep stria.

At this point I am more concerned with the edge in last photo at the toe.

I would reset the bevel on the 4k, (it should only take 20-40 laps) get a nice even stria pattern going with a heel forward X stroke, you should end up with angular stria about 45 degrees. Look straight down on the edge and make sure your bevels are meeting completely. If not do more laps.

When you move up to 8K do you final 10 laps at 90 degree to the edge. any angular stria will be 4k stria and you will just have to do more 8k laps until all the angular (4K) stria is gone.

You can finish on the 12k but make sure all the other stria is gone and the bevels are still meeting. Keep alternating the final laps so you can tell if you are removing the previous stria. The 8k should do the bulk of the polishing and the edge will become noticeably straighter after the 8K.

Did 4K X strokes at a 45 degree angle, till it seemed to get better, and then 8K at a 45, and finally 20 strokes with it at a 90 degree angle.

Here's what it looks like at the lower resolution:


There are few deeper stria, but not very many. Here is the edge:


Here are some at maximum resolution, the bevel is about 1mm wide:

Looks good, move up to the 12k. Use lite pressure doing X laps. The toe on the right side I believe, (photo 5) looks like it could use more attention, more laps or a finger of pressure when honing that side. Just put your index finger of one hand on the toe to add just a bit of pressure, weight of the finger. Use the 12K.

A 12k Super Stone is very versatile and can cut quickly, use lite pressure and do sets of 20, we are looking for a high polished bevel and a straight chip free edge.

Slide a QTip along the edge to check for microchips, the slightest chip will snag the cotton. The 12 K will remove microchip.

If after 40 laps you are good, strop on leather and test shave.

I'll try the 12k as you suggest Euclid440. For the Q-tip, are you saying to run it along the side of the edge on each side?

BTW, I was anxious to try it out, so this morning, I had stropped it with the webbed stop that has CR-Ox, then with linen, and finally with leather, and did a test shave. It was a very close shave, no pulling (with my normal 2 day growth - a tougher test would be to wait an extra day, but I usually shave every other day), and very little irritation. I use my time tested method of assessing irritation via the application on alum block. If I have irritation, it stings.

In full disclosure, embarrassingly, I did get one cut, on the cheek never the less. Something I haven't done in months (I've been straight razor shaving for almost a year, and have only done this about 3 times). Not a little nick, mind you, but a good 1/2-5/8" cut. I don't think it was the blade, but instead, technique. I think I had too high of an angle, and was using my non-dominant hand on a second pass that was XTG/ATG in that area. Had a odd orientation, and was try to adjust. 5 am in the morning...oh well. Gotta have some battle scars.

Very pleased, even at this level of honing, though. It does need to have work done on the toe, and I'll do the 12K with pressure on the one side.

I'm a happy camper! Thanks so much on the guidance!

Good work. Yes an easy, nondestructive way to test an edge for micro-chips is to lightly run a Q-tip along the edge from heel to toe. Any chip will snag the cotton.

A 12k super stone will hone out any microchips with a few laps.

If the toe need a bit more work some X strokes, where you add just a bit of torque into and towards the toe will add just an extra bit of pressure on the toe.

Good work, see it was easy piece of cake, anybody can do it…

Did 40 X strokes, with light pressure on the toe, when honing toward me (the left side on stone, as seen when looking at the edge, and where there was a smaller bevel). I checked with the q-tip and didn't notice any pulling. Here are high rez shots of the toe on each side, and along points of the edge. I can see some deeper stria, in a few places (included them in the shot), but for the most part it is very smooth.



Thoughts/suggestions?
Suggestions for future honing to mitigate the deeper stria?

If ready for testing, should I stop with Cr-Ox that I have on webbed strop and then go to linen and leather? # of passes on Cr-OX?

Thanks so much for the help on this!