Thread: honing even

Back when Tools For Working Wood had them in stock I bought a Norton set of 1 1/2 hones. I got a 1k, 4k, and 8k. Thanks to Chris L for posting that they existed. I have used them on smiling blades and warped spines with success.

My father taught me to hone pocket knives when I was a kid. He was a carpenter and new his stuff in that area. Years of honing knives with clip blades made the rolling X easier to understand and pick up. I think there is some crossover in the technique. The narrow hones are real good for that although I find I can do the rolling X on a 3" wide hone as well.

Originally Posted by Lynn

I think there is an example of what Glen is talking about in one of the Mastro Livi vids.

That is exactly what I was thinking of when Glen was describing it. I read somewhere several months ago that this sort of stroke was useful to prevent wire edges on a norton, but I have found that I like to use it on any low grit hone as an initial bevel setting stroke

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

That is exactly what I was thinking of when Glen was describing it. I read somewhere several months ago that this sort of stroke was useful to prevent wire edges on a norton, but I have found that I like to use it on any low grit hone as an initial bevel setting stroke

I just played around with this back and forth stroke and it really helped wiht a robeson shuredge I have that was shaving pretty good but just didn't seem that sharp and now it does. I think the stroke helped here because the steel is pretty hard. But I was pleasantly surprised that it was pretty esty to pick up and much faster than the normal stroke.

Perhaps the best thing is to learn the rolling X stroke. That way you can use most any hone or razor. The narrow hones are , to me, much easier to use especially on a razor with a definite "smile" shape to the edge.
As usual, I avoid circular motion strokes and the "washboard" stroke.

Just my $.02,