Thread: Advice on hones required

Hey, thanks Bart,
You could well be right.
If the heel drops, even slightly, on the 1000K with an x-pattern then I would get a frown. As a newbie I am guessing that I would probably lift and drop slightly on the stroke, and this could be exactly what I am seeing.
I am wondered though, even you take perfectly balanced stokes, would you get a frown with the x-pattern on a hone that does not cover the entire blade? Just from the center of the blade always being on the hone, and the heal not?
As I haven't heard much about this, I think it could be one of those things that works itself out with a bit more experience. I hope so.
Cheers,
Andrew

You could try doing a minimalistic version of the "rolling X-stroke" if you're worried about honing the tip and the middle too much in comparison with the heel. You can also start out your stroke with the blade put diagonally on the hone, so that it takes a bit longer for the heel to leave the stone.
Heavydutysg135 made a great video series about honing.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=21876
In part 8 and 9 he addresses your issues.
I think establishing a good even stroke is an important factor in successful honing. It's a good thing to worry about avoiding the development of bad habits, that once embedded in muscle memory, can be hard to unlearn. I had something like that going on in my stropping practice. Took me more time to get rid off, than it took me learning it wrong. It's actually great to see in those videos how Heavyduty's stroke has so obviously become second nature to him. But I'm sure he did his share of worrying when he started out.

Kind regards,
Bart.

Funny you should say so, but the slight rolling X was exactly what I was thinking. I figure it is better to have a slight curve at the toe than a frowning blade.
I normally use a slight diagonal approach on the hone (30 degrees from square) and have experimented with putting the blade at a steeper angle on the hone, but at the higher angles I worry about the spine wearing unevenly and changing the honing angles on subsequent hones. It feels like if you start down this road you need to carry this through to all other hones and strops. That, for me, is an added complexity I would rather avoid. I could be wrong. It has happened before...once!
Thanks for the tips on the video's. I will check them out as soon as I can.
Cheers,
AP

I just wanted to thank again everyone for their advise.

I have just ordered a DMT, yellow and blue belgians from Howard at the perfectedge. I wasn't really in the market for a blue belgian but with the shipping charges to the UK, it made sense to get one at the same time.

The razors I bought on e-bay have arrived, so once my stones are delivered I shall be able to start having a go at honing which will no doubt lead to a few more hours watching youtube and posting here.

Thanks to all.

Originally Posted by Smalleyboy

I just wanted to thank again everyone for their advise.

I have just ordered a DMT, yellow and blue belgians from Howard at the perfectedge. I wasn't really in the market for a blue belgian but with the shipping charges to the UK, it made sense to get one at the same time.

The razors I bought on e-bay have arrived, so once my stones are delivered I shall be able to start having a go at honing which will no doubt lead to a few more hours watching youtube and posting here.

Thanks to all.

Out of curiosity how much did it cost you in total including delivery?

Originally Posted by bjorn

It's correct that I only drop down to the 1200 when needed, and I rely on the yellow with a heavy slurry to do the honing before I use onley water for the polishing stage. I guess a blue after the 1200 would speed up the process, but since I never used one, I won't claim anything. I think I recall reading something about some of the members here, (poona(?) and welshwarrior(?)) who I think is located in Northern Ireland, switching to a Belgian Blue and a coticule, maybe you could send them a PM regarding the blue.

Why the natrual stones?
To me it's all about the feeling I get from the stones, it just feels more right to me.

Tis true, I am from NI indeed.

Coticule for me every time.

Ashmanq,

Have a look at the website www.theperfectedge.com for prices. Half the US$ price to crudely convert to UK£ and then add UK£20 for shipping. According to Howard at perfect edge, the first 0.5kg of shipping is the most expensive.

The exchange rate is good for those of us in the UK. I have just ordered a strop from Tony Miller and even with shipping, it works out cheaper than sourcing a Dovo strop in the UK. Based upon glowing reviews of Tony's strops on this forum, it would suggest they are much better quality than Dovo.

Warning: although buying from the US looks like a good deal, be aware that Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs will levy VAT on your purchases and this is collected by your postie. I believe anyone exporting goods out of the US has to state the value and type of goods on a label on front of the package. HMRC and the post office, due to the large quantities of parcels, don't always collect the VAT. I shall have to wait and see what happens.

Thanks for the info Smalleyboy I too have ordered a strop (Apprentice) from Tony Miller after reading good reviews of his products. Hoping I wont be hit by customs but VAT on it shouldnt be that much. Ill defo take a look at the perfect edge for honing products since taking into account the exchange rate aswell as vat it is probably still cheaper to buy from abroad!

Ashmanq

Ashmanq

I did a bit of searching on-line and there are several places in the UK sell Norton hones, but I couldn't find anyone in the UK selling belgian blues or yellow coticules. There may well be, but my brief search didn't reveal any.

Nick

Just got a coticule from Rob at Ardennes Coticules/ blues. Google it you'll find them.
You get a free rubbing/milk stone with it, but don't forget to get the box with it, it is extra but very cheap and nicely made.
I finished of the blade of my Swiss Army knife at work (on the rubbing stone), It is now very sharp!!
Took 2 days to get to me and the stone is very nice, I got a selected stone which is picked to be plain, or so I've read (The Rabbis like them that way), but get a standard as there are inclusions in them and they look pretty!