Thread: Honing on wet/dry sandpaper.

Being incredibly impatient as I am, I decided to start the coarse honing of my new crappy razor on 1200 grit sandpaper. I wasn't really expecting any sort of edge but I was really astounded with the results. Althogh obviously not shave sharp, it'll still shave hairs off my arm and even (just) pass a HHT. Is there any reason I shouldn't be doing this for very coarse, pre waterstone honing?

Nope, its all good.

The only potential problem with using sandpaper is that sandpaper has some give to it, whereas a hone doesn’t. Sometimes this can cause the bevel to become slightly rounded instead of flat. This will mean you’ll have to do a lot of work on the 4K to flatten it out again.

A lot of guys don’t seem to have this problem; unfortunately for me, I’m not one of them. I haven’t been able to overcome this rounding problem.

If you find yourself with a beautiful-looking edge that just won’t get sharp, this could be the problem.

Sandpaper does cut amazingly fast, and if it works for you it’s a great tool to keep in your arsenal.

Good luck,
Josh

The only potential problem with using sandpaper is that sandpaper has some give to it, whereas a hone doesn’t.

A marble tile or piece of glass and some spray adhesive will keep the sandpaper nice and flat while you hone. If you need to replace the piece simply peel it up and use a new one.

In theory, yes. So will wetting it and sticking it to something smooth. Neither of these have worked for me. After three months of messing around with different setups, I broke down and got a DMT diamond hone.

If it works for you, though, great--you have a super cheap 1K hone. I'm particularly inept in this area for some reason.

Josh

The primary use for a 1000 grit sandpaper or hone is to remove old oxidised (rusty/weak) steel and to remove nicks greater than 1/4 the width of the bevel. The 4k hone is for creating the bevel and the finer stones are to refine that bevel.

You really should go back to a 1000 grit and not use the 1200 because of the potential rounding problem.


Just my two cents,