Thread: Honing advice

I tried taking a wapieinca with a chip and I did what you all think I did I made the blade worse. I tried circles and strokes but this tiny tiny chip won't come out. Also I am noticing on my first stroke that the blade seems to be catching and jumping on the 4000 grit side. Only on the stroke moving from left to right. I only mention this because I have to use pressure to keep the blade flat and think It may be messing up the edge. I lapped the stone tonight again and I worked the edges so I do not think that is the problem. I don't know if this is a chip or what. Right in the middle of the blade it looks like a curve in the edge to another curve in the edge. TNT catches my nail so I am assuming it is a chip. I must have done 10 sets of circles and no success. I followed lynns DVD and did 20 counterclockwise with the blade facing away and 20 clockwise blade facing me. I then did 5 on the 4 followed by 6 on the 8. THen 3/3 1/3 1/5/ a couple times.

Another newb question... the razor fits on the hone. Do I still need to make an x stroke or can I simply move the blade across the hone? The pyramid above is the only pyramid I am familiar with.

I know my honing must be to blame here but what kind of interpretation should I be expecting from the hone? What does it feel like to make a normal stroke? I have another TI with a microchip and was toying around with the idea of taking it to the hone but I don't want to ruin another edge.

I soaked the stone for 30 minutes and then lapped it. I then went to work on the wap. I believe I am noticing some flattening of the spine. If any of you had this situation what would you do?

Matt

Depending on the size of the chip it could take a while on the 4k and that's why you're not seeing immediate results. I've always handled chips by taping the spine (to prevent wear) and using 1K grit wet/dry... it really speeds up the process as you move to the 4k norton. I don't suggest buying another stone unless you plan on honing out a lot of chips going forward. I recently purchased a 1k grit DMT from Howard to replace the sandpaper, but with the right technique they should produce similar results.

Just to add to the consensus...

It takes ages to work out a chip. I have an ebay with a proper chip on it, one that was easily visible to the naked eye when I started. After about 200 strokes on the 4k, the chip is now barely visible without magnification, but still catches on my thumb nail.

You should tape the spine if you are going to work on a chip, if you care about spine wear.

X strokes are good, even if you have a 3" hone. My theory is that the cross motion compensates for any minor unevenness in the hone. It also allows for smiling blades.

It is entirely normal for your chip removal to appear to blunt the blade; you are working on the bevel, and any polishing you may have made on the finer hones will be removed. Improving the bevel is good, and pays off in the long run, even though you will have to go through the pyramid system to establish the edge.

Originally Posted by Gravitas

Matt

Depending on the size of the chip it could take a while on the 4k and that's why you're not seeing immediate results. I've always handled chips by taping the spine (to prevent wear) and using 1K grit wet/dry... it really speeds up the process as you move to the 4k norton. I don't suggest buying another stone unless you plan on honing out a lot of chips going forward. I recently purchased a 1k grit DMT from Howard to replace the sandpaper, but with the right technique they should produce similar results.

What kind of technique should I be using on the wet dry? And also, is it normal to encounter some resistance on the 4000 side of a norton?

Originally Posted by matt

What kind of technique should I be using on the wet dry? And also, is it normal to encounter some resistance on the 4000 side of a norton?

The technique I use is to place the 1k wet/dry on a piece of glass or comparable machined flat surface. Then use a circular honing motion on both sides of the blade, like Lynn showed on the 4k in his video. I then move to the norton and do about 30-40 passes on the 4k side, followed by a normal pyramid progression.

On your second question, resistance on the 4k should be minimal...make sure you're using no additional pressure other than the weight of the blade.

Hope this helps

JR

Thanks for all of the advice thus far. I have been a little nervous about taking another razor to the hone as I am not sure what the results may be. In the meantime though I managed to create another problem for myself. This is probably a quick fix but I thought I would bring it up. I left a wet Norton hone on the tablecloth without thinking for a good 35 minutes before moving it to a solid surface. A little red color managed to bleed through to the stone.There is ONly a little on the surface of the hone and some on the sides. Should I lap the stone until the color is removed, Or is there a better way to clean it?

Originally Posted by Gravitas

The technique I use is to place the 1k wet/dry on a piece of glass or comparable machined flat surface. Then use a circular honing motion on both sides of the blade, like Lynn showed on the 4k in his video. I then move to the norton and do about 30-40 passes on the 4k side, followed by a normal pyramid progression.

On your second question, resistance on the 4k should be minimal...make sure you're using no additional pressure other than the weight of the blade.

Hope this helps

JR

Can I do this on a counter?

I can see why the machined glass would be a little more practical. IT was hard to get the sandpaper to stay still on the counter top and I ended up holding the razor at a steep angle to grind out the chip. I know this is not the right way but I thought hell, if I screw up the edge or blade it is a wapienica and I might just learn something while I do it. I believe the chip or chips are close to gone and that I can finish up the job on the norton. I also now believe I am seeing an uneven bevel. It appears that the bevel on one side is less than the bevel on the other. What should my next plan of attack be here? An aggressive pyramid? I alrady did about 40 laps on the 4k side as well as a few circles.