New to honing.Is it better to hone in hand or bench when first starting to hone?
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New to honing.Is it better to hone in hand or bench when first starting to hone?
I like the in hand method because you are less likely to use too much pressure. A lot of people will use both - smaller in hand and bench on a table or something. I use hand for everything except for sometimes a bevel set. Would probably hone on the bench/table more if I had a nice spot with everything at a height I liked.
Smaller in hand. Larger on a bench, pond etc. Try both ways. You'll see what works for you..
I hone, in hand.
Bench nearly 100% bench
Keep in mind I am honing tons of stuff that is "Off" so I have to correct it
Simple touchups doesn't really matter all that much
Only time I bench hone is with a stone that is too big to hold like my dad's old double sided honing "block."
Attachment 352368
It's in a pasteurized cheese box for storage but it has its own pond it sits in. I even hand hold it sometimes for the last set of finish laps to help control pressure. Its just too heavy and not practical to hand hold it for more than a few laps. Other than that, everything I hand hold.
I have mine on my desk pull-out on a thick paper towel. Since I use waterstones, it's less messy. I also am lazy, so I don't have to hold the thing.
Frees up the other hand to get a sip...:beer2:
On the bench for me
It’s a mix for me. My coticules easily fit my hand. My synthetics are larger and almost all came with storage boxes that double as stands so they get used on the bench.
My vermio and la Lune get used in hand or in an adjustable stand depending on my mood.
Generally, if I’m touching up an edge, it’s in hand. If I’m resetting a bevel, it’s on the bench. If it’s somewhere in between, it depends on which way the wind is blowing ; )
Pretty much sums it up I would think!Quote:
Originally Posted by gssixgun
Me? In hand, nearly 100% of the time. Two reasons. First, you can regulate and adjust pressure in very fine increments. Second, with a razor having a bit of a smile, the stone or plate rolls naturally in conformation to the curve, and never accentuates the smile. It either preserves or very very slowly straightens it, depending on how firmly you hold the stone in that axis. I think after the first razor or two, it is very natural, and you will become good at honing much more quickly than with bench honing.
That dosn't mean bench honing doesn't work. Obviously an experienced bench honer can create a very good edge, and certainly all a new honer needs to become experienced, is experience.
If you come to me as a protoge and ask me to be your mentor, then I will absolutely require you to do it my way or the highway. I do not waste my time trying to teach someone by someone else's methods or tools. I will let that other someone be the mentor, because he is expert in his style of honing and I am only expert in my own tightly defined process.
Your quickest and most certain road to success in honing is to exactly emulate one person and not mix and match techniques. Doesn't have to be mine. But pick someone and copy him exactly in both method and equipment, and if you copy well enough, you ought to have a usable edge on your first time at bat, and very good ones after only a few more razors. If you freestyle it, you MIGHT get a usable edge pretty quick but it might also take you weeks, months, or even years. Some guys like to learn that way and it's not wrong. You aren't hurting anybody.
Bottom line: I hone in hand. I recommend honing in hand. Your razor. You do it like you feel it.
If I am honing, I use both hands so it’s on the bench, a quite touch up on a barbers hone is typically done in hand.
