Thread: X pattern

Originally Posted by kuoytfouy

OK, I'll try to be a bit more descriptive if I can:

Say I have a 2 inch wide stone. I start with the heel very close to the right edge of the stone, and as I start to move the blade at an angle (by definition of the X pattern) the vicinity of the heel leaves the hone pretty quickly, say it stays on the hone for a fifth of the stroke duration, while the midpoint of the edge gets full time. The complement of this holds for the point of the razor.

Hope this clarifies what I'm trying to ask.

I will guess that you are concerned about getting more "hone time" in the center of your razor and getting a frowning edge as a result. As in pg. 24, fig. 20 in this pdf file: 1961 Barbering Text - Honing.pdf
File:Help Files Permanent Archive Barbering Textbooks 1961 Barbering Text - Honing.pdf - Straight Razor Place Wiki .

The pdf has the cure if that starts to happen. The "cure" is also a good way to put a smiling edge on any razor that you wish.

Changing to x pattern even on a wide hone sounds strange but I'll give it a shot next time around. After all, I think I am getting the compulsory honing disorder.

Thanks a lot.

If you pay really close attention to the shape of the razors edge you will find that most of them are not perfectly straight. Because of that it is impossible for the entire edge to lay flat on the hone. Thus the rolling X pattern stroke is necessary. Most of the people who watch the flow of either the water or slurry move from the heel to the toe will develop the "rolling" stroke as a consequence.

Hope this makes sense.