Thread: norton 4000 resistance

I am having a difficult time making an even stroke on the first leg of a pass on the 4000 side of my norton combo stone. The toe of the razor always seems to meet some resistance and lift off of the hone. I have lapped the side in this manner 4 or 5 times.

I soaked the stone and the flattening stone for about 15 minutes. Then I put the stones on top of each other and rubbed until the pencil grid was gone. I held one stone in the right and one in the left. and am having the same problem. Would pressure be used in this instance? I am just beginning honing and do not know what the problem is and how I should fix it.

I use two hands to hone, with good results every time. Assuming that you're right handed, use your index on your left hand to keep the blade flat. Just use enough pressure to keep it flat, unless it's really dull. Also close the scales toward the blade about 20 degrees and curl your pinkie finger (right hand) under them. Ever so lightly lift with the pinkie to ensure universal flatness. Then try shaving one of your eyebrows entirely off. This is what works for me....ok, except for the last part, but please post a picture if you do that please.

Matt,

A couple of thoughts here: How is your stone oriented in relation to your body? Are you sitting or standing while honing?

Changing these two factors made a big difference for me early on. I was honing side to side. When I started pointing the stone away from my body and honing toward and away from me, I was able to get a much more even stroke.

Sitting down instead of standing up also helped. Keep your elbow high--don't rest it on the table. This gets the hone closer to your eyes, so you can see better. It also allows your arm to travel freely during the stroke.

Also, are you using an X pattern or going straight across the hone? You can go straight across with a 3-inch Norton, but in my book an X is still better. Although X doesn't X--go figure.

Keep at it,
Josh

Um, in addition to what has been said:

It may just be the razor - e.g. weird warp / twist, etc. One more thing to look out for

Good luck
Ivo

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

Matt,

A couple of thoughts here: How is your stone oriented in relation to your body? Are you sitting or standing while honing?

Changing these two factors made a big difference for me early on. I was honing side to side. When I started pointing the stone away from my body and honing toward and away from me, I was able to get a much more even stroke.

Sitting down instead of standing up also helped. Keep your elbow high--don't rest it on the table. This gets the hone closer to your eyes, so you can see better. It also allows your arm to travel freely during the stroke.

Also, are you using an X pattern or going straight across the hone? You can go straight across with a 3-inch Norton, but in my book an X is still better. Although X doesn't X--go figure.

Keep at it,
Josh

I am sitting with the hone away from me. I started like you but immediatley figured that honing away is easier. I have been sitting at a bar though which may not be as good as say a kitchen table or dining table. I am trying to do my x stroke and I can do it well wehn performing the return stroke, but the first stroke away from me I find that I am encountering too much resistance and am removing more metal from the tip of the blade. I can actually see a streak while moving the blade and then hitting the part where I lift the razor by accident. I note also that the water seems to just soak up in this part of the hone. Having a difficult time keeping water there for some odd reason.

Originally Posted by izlat

Um, in addition to what has been said:

It may just be the razor - e.g. weird warp / twist, etc. One more thing to look out for

Good luck
Ivo

I am almost positive this razor is fine.

In my experience the Norton Flattening stone leaves a VERY rough finish on the Norton 4K/8K stone and the 4K side almost feels like honing on rough sandpaper. I find it difficult to maintain a smooth honing stroke on the 4K side right after the stone has been lapped. On the other hand when I lap the stone with my DMT 325 grit the 4K side of the stone feels like velvet and it is very easily to slide the razor across. Using the DMT stone to lap and clean my Norton instead of the Norton flattening stone made a noticable difference in the quality of my edges. If I were you I would try to lap the Norton 4K/8K with 1000 grit wet sandpaper and see if this improves things for you. If you see improvement then you might consider purchasing a DMTC or Norton 1K to lap your Norton with instead of their extremely rough lapping stone.

really can't afford any more hones razors , soaps and such. Any other tips?

How about I ship the stone to JoshEarl, have him take a quick look at it and pay him a nominal fee??? And shipping charges

Might just be easier to have a more experienced set of eyes give it a quick eval.