Thread: A wider hone

At the moment I have a rather narrow paddle strop/hone from Dovo corp. It's rather narrow so my teacher has taught me to use an X pattern. I think I would like a hone that is wider than the straight blade so i would not have to use the X pattern. My questions are this:

1) If I bought a wider hone would I still need to use the X pattern?
2) Waht hone brand would you recommend? I have been hearing a lot about the Norton Waterstones.

You always do X-patterns unless your cutting edge is entirely straight in which case there is no need. That's why I prefer narrower hones.

Norton 4/8K is good but you will most likely soon want a finer grit to polish the edge with.

Some recommend using an X pattern even on wider hones in order to create an angled scratch pattern. I believe this is supposed to help a razor cut better, but I don't really know. Hopefully someone will comment on that.

Personally, I use an X pattern because I use something of a rolling X on every blade I hone. Even though some of the blades may rest flat on the hone (and thus not require the rolling X), I find that by thinking about the rolling X I am able to put a more consistant cutting edge on the razor (by consistant, I mean from heal to toe).

Nortons are the more commonly used hones around here. I used one for the first time a couple of weeks back when a member here brought one to my house. I like the hone and would recommend it to someone who is new to honing over natural stones. I also believe that one should always use the X pattern while honing or stropping as this assures that all points of the edge will meet the hone or strop as needed.

get a 4/8k norton

Originally Posted by jbcohen

At the moment I have a rather narrow paddle strop/hone from Dovo corp. It's rather narrow so my teacher has taught me to use an X pattern. I think I would like a hone that is wider than the straight blade so i would not have to use the X pattern. My questions are this:

1) If I bought a wider hone would I still need to use the X pattern?
2) Waht hone brand would you recommend? I have been hearing a lot about the Norton Waterstones.

I have a 3" strop and I just go back and forth the blade is always evenly sharp. I also have a 4 sided pasted strop and I use the X pattern on that one and I don't mind it since the passes are few in comparison to the ones done on the 3" leather strop. It was a good decision to go with a 3" strop and well worth the extra few dollars.

Any of the on-line dealers advertising here can hook you up.

Pabster

Ah, so the wider hones would not make much of a difference.

Whatever works but early on I went by what Lynn said,"I really tend to look for repeatable results and the X pattern has always produced that for me with any stone I have used. Nothing scientific, just a lot of razors."

The excellent honing and stropping excerpt in the 1961 barber's manual in the SRP Wiki help files here also recommends the x pattern with detailed instructions and why they recommend it.

I like narrow hones too but I've gotten to the point where whether it is a barber hone or an 8x3 I can get by with it. I prefer longer than shorter though with at least an inch and a half width.

3" strop - Yes, back and forth. Keep it taut. I have a handful of very nice and sharp straights that spend time on it and will continue to keep spending time on it.

Everytime I use it, I always think to myself, "I am really happy I decided to buy the 3 inch strop!"

Pabster

You need both a wide and a narrow hone.

You probably need a progression of hones from medium to fine.

You also need both artificial and natural hones.

And some barber hones... (Stop it Py, that's the HAD talking. and you didn't even get to pastes and strops)

The nice thing about the 3 inch hones whether they be Norton, Naniwa Super, Shapton or whatever is that they actually help you keep a razor flat throughout the stroke as you hone. I still use the X stroke when I use them. With narrower hones I find that newer folks tend to put uneven pressure on the razor through out the stroke and lift up or press down at some point in the stroke as well. Once you have practiced and really have a nice, even and smooth stroke, I find it much easier to wander off into the realm of narrow hones and stones.

Have fun,

Lynn