Thread: honing even

My razors I consider too be shave ready they past the HHT a few I cant get to pass but on omly half the blade what do I ned to do usually closest to the tang?

Here is the "rest of the story"
You obviously have the "get it sharp" part of honing down, now comes the next step getting it even....
Very few razors out there have a perfectly flat, even, bevel to sharpen, there are some, but most have a slight off spot, the X stroke and variations of that stroke are what "pulls" those spots in to line... Now in some cases you have to use small circles, or some light Japanese style strokes, to pull certain areas into line, and then go back to the X stroke to smooth that up.... All this should occur at 4k or below, the 4k stone should be the last of the "sharpening" process after that you are just smoothing and refining that nice, even, sharp edge you have created.....

Glen, what is a light Japanese style stroke?

God I hate trying to describe stuff, but I'll give it a shot...
Put the razor on the hone slide it back and forth and concentrate on the spot that is off... So you are honing and backhoning at the same time on one side of the edge, almost like a circle, but straighter...

Did that make any sense at all???

PS: on low grits this can raise a wire edge very quickly, but a few backhone strokes gets rid of it just as fast...

I wasn't going to ask...I thought I might be the only one who didn't know

Mark

I hadn't heard that referred to as Japanese strokes before. Good to know, thanks. The Topher showed me that for setting bevels. He did circles and Japanese strokes alternately. I tried to describe it more then once as a paddling motion. It is a real good method for the bevel setting.

Couldn't a narrow stone also be the answer to evening the bevel, on a razor that's possibly not perfectly flat? I had a razor that wasn't flat, and the heel was completely off the hone when I laid it on one side. I tried a sort of rolling X, and that worked a bit for me. But what I found most effective was using another very narrow stone, it allowed me to focus on smaller areas of the blade to make-up for the imperfections. I'm not saying rolling X or any of the techniques Glen mentioned don't work, just that I'm too much of a newb to pull them off well!

Dave

Originally Posted by StraightRazorDave

Couldn't a narrow stone also be the answer to evening the bevel, on a razor that's possibly not perfectly flat? I had a razor that wasn't flat, and the heel was completely off the hone when I laid it on one side. I tried a sort of rolling X, and that worked a bit for me. But what I found most effective was using another very narrow stone, it allowed me to focus on smaller areas of the blade to make-up for the imperfections. I'm not saying rolling X or any of the techniques Glen mentioned don't work, just that I'm too much of a newb to pull them off well!

Dave

Whatever the width of the hone I have read threads where some of the more experienced members have recommended working on specific areas of the blade that needed a bit more help. The toe, heel or wherever and then go back to the overall edge honing to keep things as even as possible. I have played around with this method a little bit where I found it necessary and got good results.

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

Another thing that works for me in these situations after circles to ensure an even bevel is to use a 45 degree angle with the X stroke to ensure the entire blade hits the stone. Flat, even and steady remain the staples of a repeatable stroke and success.

Have fun,

Lynn

Originally Posted by StraightRazorDave

Couldn't a narrow stone also be the answer to evening the bevel, on a razor that's possibly not perfectly flat? I had a razor that wasn't flat, and the heel was completely off the hone when I laid it on one side. I tried a sort of rolling X, and that worked a bit for me. But what I found most effective was using another very narrow stone, it allowed me to focus on smaller areas of the blade to make-up for the imperfections. I'm not saying rolling X or any of the techniques Glen mentioned don't work, just that I'm too much of a newb to pull them off well!

Dave

I sure hope so Dave because I am having a full set of Norton's cut in half just for that reason
It sounded logical to me that on those big smiling warped choppers that this might cut down on the time that I have to spend on them...

However I am not so sure this is a great idea for a honing Newb to use, as I can see a really wavy pattern developing if you don't have the smoothing X strokes down, to use after pulling that spot of the bevel straight.....

Exactly as Lynn is saying in the above post