Thread: X pattern honing on a 3 inch - inefficient?

http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...tone-hmmm.html

Check that out. Not EXACTLY answering your question, but I think there's discussion of it there. Anyway, I love my narrow Norton!

Originally Posted by ProfessorShak

Thank you for that answer. I dunno how the thread got out off the topic. All I wanted to know was whether a 3" hone removed more metal on the toe than the heel using an X stroke, the shape of the blade is irrelevant. It either does or doesn't.

I suppose I am the guilty party in altering the direction of your original question. The reason I did so is completely due to the fact that I believe the shape of the blade IS relevant. For lots of razors, a straight stroke will not uniformly remove metal from the entire length of the blade.

My intention was legitimate but I apologize if I diverted attention from the original question. I believe my horse is dead now.

Yes, you're generally better off using the entire width of the stone. That is why I like the 3" wide stones! You can do a plow (into the blade) stroke down the entire length. On a shorter fatter stone like a coticule bout, you can do oval patterns which, when you think about it, is an x pattern with a back hone. It's the way my father taught me to sharpen things and it still works well.