Thread: Why hone with light pressure?

I think that the when the edge is honed to the optimum level of sharpness that that hone can give, the blade edge vacuum sucks down onto the hone of its own accord. This suction is the optimum pressure.

When you really know your hones, you can feel the suction and at that point you should stop as the hone is adding no further value to the edge. In fact it may well be reducing the fin that you have worked so hard to create.

How do I know this? Well I have no scientific answer. Its a bit like knowing when the sugar has dissolved when you stir your coffee cup with a spoon. You just feel it.