Thread: Shapton Pressure?

Originally Posted by FreyGrimrod

Ok so I know pressure has been discussed ad infinitum but I mentioned this in one of Floorpizza's posts before..... and no I don't want to give folks new to honing the wrong idea and have them put their shoulders let alone their backs into razor honing..... that being said:

While yes I do still finish each grit with very light strokes I've been finding myself using "a whole lot" (relatively) more pressure on the Shapton's than I would on any of the natural stones I've used in the past.... am I nuts? Does my technique need work? (ok clearly my technique needs work but is this a sacriledge?) Since I've been enjoying the shaves.

This is exactly what I'm wondering, too. I know the Shaptons will be slower than the DMT's, but wow.... it just seems like I don't get *anywhere* with them unless I use slightly more pressure than the weight of the blade.

I guess every stone has it's own unique method of use to get best results from it, and the DMT's are *very* different in technique needed than the Shaptons. Just gotta learn the new instrument, I guess.

As we all know waterstones are designed so the surface erodes away exposing new cutting grit with each new stroke. This also helps prevent clogging of the surface with swarf. I sometimes suspect that with the very light pressure used for straights there is insufficent erosion of the surface to refresh the grit. After a while the stone starts to feel like it has lost its bite. Maybe this is related to the tendency to want to use more force. GlassStones wear more slowly than other waterstones, so maybe that is the reason.

Lapping will restore but in some cases the surface may still be flat. This is when a scrubbing with nagura is in order. It will clean and freshen the bite without stripping off a thick layer like when lapping.

When your honing make sure that there is more pressure on the edge than on the spine. Another way to say this is to have some torque toward the edge. That can make a big differenece.

Hope this helps,

Originally Posted by randydance062449

When your honing make sure that there is more pressure on the edge than on the spine. Another way to say this is to have some torque toward the edge. That can make a big differenece.

Hope this helps,

Keep in mind before you go pressing the edge into the stone that Randy is an expert honer, he knows exactly what he is doing and when to give a razor a little nudge... So take it slow, and easy and develop a feel for what he is saying here....

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Keep in mind before you go pressing the edge into the stone that Randy is an expert honer, he knows exactly what he is doing and when to give a razor a little nudge... So take it slow, and easy and develop a feel for what he is saying here....

yes i totally agree.

I don't think any of us who feel pressure is a necessity are meaning to say one needs to bear down.

Like Randy I give a twist
watch the water//milk//slurry

The more i do, and i don't think i can catch you guys now at my pace/ but, the more i do the more i realize how much it helps if there are specifics to general razor types at least, as you did.

Let me try to fine tune this a bit.

When using only the pressure necessary to keep the razor flat on the hone then try to have the distribution of the weight 60% on the edge and 40% on the spine. What your trying to do is to make sure that you have not transferred the weight to the spine.

Speed of honing stroke...of the people I have helped almost all have a stroke that is to fast. If you read Razor Central by Arthur Boone you will read that at the beginning of a stroke the tendency is to lift the edge.
A person must compensate for this. What I do is to watch the water flow in front of the edge and also to slow down. My rate is approx 1 second along an 8" hone. It really does help a lot. By going slow I get done faster!

Originally Posted by randydance062449

When your honing make sure that there is more pressure on the edge than on the spine. Another way to say this is to have some torque toward the edge. That can make a big differenece.

Hope this helps,

yes i totally agree.