honing - straight or at an angle?

What is the advantage or disadvantage (or neither) of setting the bevel and the subsequent honing steps of pushing the blade straight forward on the stone (3" x 8" stones) so the striations on the edge are perpendicular to the spine as opposed to making them at a 45 degree angle. Conventional wisdom says do it at a 45 degree angle and it seems that everyone does it that way but what is the reason or benefit other than everyone else is doing it.

I am leaning honing and am making great progress but this questions popped into my head today as I was trying to get at a heel that was messed up and the only way I could get it was straight forward.

Thanks!!

I'm new as well, but I've brought about a half dozen razors "back" from the dead. (Which is a number many here will laugh at...at rightfully so. Give me time guys...I working off a college budget!:cry:)

However, I don't have some of the "nicer" equipment and stones most here have so I had to really be creative in making my own stuff and in learning how to make the equipment I DO have work for straights.

I'd say everyone does it because it's a natural solution to another problem. (Evening honing a 3.5" blade on a 2" wide stone, even if a stone is wider than that "Billy Bob" learned on a smaller stone or learned from someone else who learned on a smaller stone.)

I do most of my work on a 6" by 0.5" ceramic stone. (The triangle rods from a Spyderco Sharpmaker.) Even the fine is on the coarse side for straights so I learned that by using extremely light pressure and varying the stroke pattern every way imaginable so that all the striations overlapped I was able to get a fine enough edge to go straight to a loaded strop. I shared the process with a guy from B&B through PM's who was interested and he said it turned out fabulous! I've been told that the Spyderco "fine" rods are a little bit coarser than 2000grit sandpaper!!!!! Yet I can get a very nice edge with it and a strop loaded with SS rouge and another with Jewelers rouge. I've used one or the other....and both loaded strops and get the same results after a "naked" strop.

So I'd say the advantage is familiarity and that's it. I've played with "side-sharpening" like some do for plane blades and I think I heard that some Japenese blades are honed edge-trailing....so go figure. Just find what works.

Strokes for honing a razor - Straight Razor Place Wiki

You'll find the reasons explained in that article. I'm not really a believer when it comes to striations, but I do think many blades will pose a problem if you don't adopt a good X-stroke.

Best regards,
Bart.

I'm an X stroke guy as well. If it works for Lynn, Randydance, Bart and many others that is recommendation enough for me. Also my father taught me to hone pocket knives when i was 14 or 15 using an x pattern. I fell right into it with razors. OTOH if you are of an experimental bent then trying it both ways and letting use know your results would be beneficial too.

Some of my blades respond best to a "rolling 45 degrees X stroke" if this helps. :shrug:

I typically use a 45 degree angle when honing wedges, smiling blades or older razors that have really uneven spine wear. Other than that I find that the 90 degree angle X pattern has produced the most consistent results for me.

Have fun,

Lynn