Stone Size As It Affects Honing Technique
Xman had brought out some interesting points regarding stone size affecting honing performance. Using a small hone, such as a 4 x 2, the X Pattern doesn't really have enough room to be effective. Depending on blade size, you have somewhere around 2 inches of stone length to work with without scratching the blade with either end of the stone at the beginning or end of the stroke. Is it possible that people just used a circular pattern on these small hones, and is it possible to get satisfactory results using this or some other pattern? What is everyone's experience with using small hones, and how did you get them to work well?
With hones it seems, size really does matter!
What is 1961 Honing and Stopping
What is this 1961 Honing and Stopping? A Book, a manual? Where can I find one?
jmsbcknr
Quote:
Originally Posted by Danist
I have a 2" Norton 4k/8k, and my X pattern was too tight when I was trying to fix a ding (same thread Xman posted about stone size).
The technique on page 3 of the 1961 Honing and Stropping really worked well for me.
The basic idea is that you still use the X pattern, but you change pressure so that the middle, which has more contact with the hone, doesn't cut away faster than the point and heel. In fact, the 1961 Honing and Stropping section suggests doing this to maintain a slight outward curve. It can be rather tricky, and I found that I needed to hold the hone to have the right feel.
My blade doesn't yet have a great curve, but this concept got my edge back in the right direction, and will keep me from cutting out the middle with X patterns.
Quote:
To fashion and maintain the correct "curve" on the cutting edge of a razor:
Lay the razor flat on the hone, making sure that the edge and the hell of the razor are flat on the hone surface. Take four short honing strokes with pressure exerted at the heel of the razor. Shift the position of the razor on the hone so that the edge and the point of the razor are flat on the hone surface. Take four short honing strokes with pressure exerted at the point of the razor. Shift the position of the razor on the hone so that the center portion of the razor lies flat on the hone surface. Take several light strokes with little or no pressure.