Thread: A little honing clinic

Excellent post and the graphic was very informative!

As usual, establishing the bevel is the key step in honing and sometimes we have to go to the coarse, 1000 grit, hones first.
I also use the medium, 4000 grit, hones first and only go back to the 1000 grit if absolutely necessary.

I hope you dont mind a question...

I was trying something different, and not altogether insimilar on my Joseph Elliots that I just finished. Again it was a screwed edge that was not straight and pretty much all over the place.

The question - did your slurry vanish off the sides/edge all the time, and what did you do to combat that. I was turning the stone around to avoid uneven wear, which brought some of the slurry back into the "cutting zone", but what about the rest? How often did you have to refresh the slurry?

I would really love to hear back because I am really at the end of my tether with this knife - it looks great but I just can't get it REALLY sharp.

Thanks

Si

Si,

The slurry does tend to run away a little bit on me. I'm curious what other guys have found with their coticules. Trying to visualize how this works... I think I stop my stroke an inch or so shy of the end of the hone, which leaves a puddle of slurry at the end. Then I start my stroke in the puddle, which picks up some of the slurry and pushes it along with the edge.

Usually after 30-50 strokes on the coticule, the slurry is getting a bit thin. On the blue, it seems to be soft enough that I generate a little more slurry as I go.

I also tend to hold the stone in my hand when I use a heavy slurry, and I tip it slightly toward the razor. I think the slurry runs down the stone and then the stroke pushes it back up onto the stone. It slows the loss down somewhat.

Anybody else have a better solution?

Josh

An inch or so shy sounds right to me when I am using the X pattern. I use a much steeper angle than my avatar shows.
Refreshing the slurry is just a normal part of honing.

I pretty much resign myself to getting slurry all over myself when I use these hones...

Josh

One more point about the slurry: Instead of pouring water on the Belgian hones, I use a little spray bottle to mist the surface of the hone. This way the water doesn't pool as much.

I also don't use a ton of water. By the time I'm done making the slurry with the rubbing stone, it's almost pasty rather than real runny, so it stays put a little better.

Josh