Thread: Honing 4/8 blades.

If a blade is 8/8 or 4/8 with the proper geometry the bevel angles will be the same/similar. Adding a layer of tape to either will alter the bevel angle the same amount which is very little. IIRC about 1/2 a degree in either case.

Bob

Be careful with taping a 4/8 or smaller blade. If one side of the tape is further down the blade than the other, not centered on the spine, you may be riding on the bottom edge of the lower tape's side and not the spine. The heavier the grind the more careful you have to be. This has happened to me.

Bob

Ink is your friend. A Colored sharpie, is easy to see, even without magnification. I almost always, ink a bevel, before first putting it on a stone, it is just a quick, easy way to see where you are starting out.

Lightly drag the side of the sharpie tip along the edge, it will “paint” both sides of the bevels at the edge, and the “feel”, will tell you, if you have the slightest chip.

Black ink, can look like a shadow, especially under magnification, Red, Blue or Green ink jumps out at you.

There have been a lot of good points. You do live in an area with several members that have a lot of experience. Perhaps some one on one time will help you get past this. When honing I rely on my loupe quite a bit to help me see when the bevel is correctly set.

Tape kinda puts it into perspective...the size difference!



(Don't judge me on the Pokeman towel! :-) )

It is a secure man that posts a Pokemon towel on a mens forum.

I thought Lynn honed on a Sponge Bob mat, on some of the old videos.

Whatever works. I use a plastic food tray, from the dollar store.

Originally Posted by AcesandEights

Tape kinda puts it into perspective...the size difference!
(Don't judge me on the Pokeman towel! :-) )

Yup, that is what I mean about tape and 4/8 and smaller razors. It might, in some cases, be a good idea to narrow up the tape by cutting it lengthwise before applying. Especially on the near wedge stuff.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

Yup, that is what I mean about tape and 4/8 and smaller razors. It might, in some cases, be a good idea to narrow up the tape by cutting it lengthwise before applying. Especially on the near wedge stuff.

Bob

Yep. In my 1st few passes, with the tiny blade, I looked closely at the edge of the tape, to ensure I was on the blade and not the tape edge.

'Centering' the tape on the spine is more critical on the tiny blades.

Ink on the edge showed it was really 'out of whack.' Probably typical of a SR purchased from the wild. Although, 60 or so swirls on 1K evened everything out. Another 40 on 4k then pyramid down to 10/5 on the norton 4K/8K and it seemed to come back to shape.

Now to strop....which, at this size, will test my stropping ability.

I don't use tape. I went back and tried again. At 1k it cut hair. After I'm though at 4k it doesn't.

Obviously I'm doing something wrong at 4k but I'm not honing any differently than any of my other blades and they are all fine.

Originally Posted by gcbryan

I don't use tape. I went back and tried again. At 1k it cut hair. After I'm though at 4k it doesn't.

Obviously I'm doing something wrong at 4k but I'm not honing any differently than any of my other blades and they are all fine.

I can't find the thread now but that is a phenomenon that can happen with some stones. If you are cutting hair at 1k but lose that sharpness in some intermediary stage 2 things can be happening.
1 All is good. Continue on to finish
2.You miscued a stroke on 4k & mucked it up.
3. You have a false positive at 1k.

Alright, 3 things can happen..... Reminds me of the Spanish Inquisition sketch.