Thread: Hone sizes... ugh...

Definitely prefer a more narrow hone. I cut my norton in half for exactly that reason! The best width I've found is between 1"-2", 1.5" being the preferrable width for me. I does take a little more practice using a narrower hone as it's more difficult keeping the blade flat, but it's well worth it for me. Look at this picture of my stones, the 2" coticule is the widest of all my naturals (the 6 on the left) and the norton 4k/8k is now only about 1.5" wide.

So I'm right there with you when it comes to preferring thinner hones.