leveling the honing bench

just a quick question, due you guys level your honing bench ?
of course i keep all of my stones flat but i just thought what if the honing bench is not levelled?
would a tilt even of a few degrees affect anything ? or is it overkill
just a thought

If the stone is flat, and your razor is flat on the stone, you could hone on the side of a wall, upside down, floating underwater or in space. So, it might make you feel different performing the strokes on an unlevel surface, but has no effect on the honing action itself.

I hone either on the kitchen counter at home or the bathroom counter at work. I have never checked for level at work, at home my counters are level. I cannot imagine being out a little bit would make any difference. If you were out quite a bit you may have trouble with the water running off your homes and dripping down the counter and making. A mess on the floor. In an effort to control slurry loss some people hand hold their hones. I am quite happy on the counter. I like the work height.

Absolutely not. I hone on a kitchen table that was at a discount store because of manufacturing defects. A wee warped, just enough to be noticeable. This causes water to pool on the left side of my hones and slightly away from me, I usually keep them watered enough to compensate and the movement of the razor along the stone usually keeps the water well distributed.

:D thank you guys, i am always trying to remove as many variables as i can

I also hone at the kitchen sink on the counter. Mine is not dead level and what I don't like is the water tends to go to towards the side of the hone facing me. So watching it run up the blade can be annoying. One side it is up on the belly of the blade, and the other side it is harder to see. Anyway, been doing it this way for 8 years and so far so good. Level might be better though ...... couldn't say for sure.

I place a narrow board across my Kitchen sink and it is not level. FWW I do sometimes raise one end of a stone to cause a bit more abrasion when stroking in that direction. I usually hold the stone on the board or in my hand.
Have fun!
~Richard

Most of my honing is done on my lap in the recliner. Kindasorta level but not really a concern unless I have too much fluid on the hone. Then my towel gets wet :)

I and many others hold the stone in the hand. While not level per say. Honing in the hand can make up for any variance in the stroke. The hone sitting in the hand self levels with the razor. Good feedback to boot. I am just a hobbyist. Something to chew on.

I used to hone on a sink bridge, a 4-inch piece of pine, and now hone on a steel table with the stone, on a steelex rubber base, on a plastic tray to catch the water and slurry coming off the stone.

I purposely shim the tray with a piece of 6mm foam, so the water collects in the front corner, opposite of the stone. This, makes it easy to suck up the water and swarf with a sponge, without having to take the whole thing to the sink and empty it.

I do use a lot of water, a plastic squirt bottle instead of a spray bottle.

But, to answer your question, no, perfectly level is not important. What is important is that you are comfortable and you stone is sufficiently high enough off the table or bridge, so your hands are not in contact with the surface. Or that you are contorting yourself, trying to make smooth even strokes, make sure the stone face is at a comfortable height.

awesome replies thank you all

Here's another trick for adjusting the stone level. If you use naturals, not all are flat and though my bench has adjustable legs, a folded bar wipe is easy pie. The first photo shows the stone holder on the flat part of the folded wipe, the second shows the holder astride the fold, tilting the stone to me a little. The razor tends to push the slurry away, and the tilt from the folded bar wipe brings it back under the steel. But you can use a folded wipe for a tilt in any direction.

Apologies for the quick snapshots.

Cheers, Steve

great idea steve thank you