Thread: How open should the razor be?

At what angle do you open the razor for honing?

Do you open it so that the handle and razor are in a straight line and is in balance? Or do you over open it or not quite fully open it so that gravity pulls on the handle and torques the edge lighter/harder against the stone?

Or should you be holding the razor firmly enough that it doesn't matter?

I used to open them not quite to 180, so that they'd want to torque a bit towards the edge, like you said. Once I'd gotten a little more honing under my belt, I preferred it balanced at 180 (and still do).

depending on the razor I open it so its comfortable and gives me the proper balance as I hone. Its pretty close to 180 though. Slight differences between razors.

I typically open them 180 when honing with the razor perpendicular to the hone. When I hone with a heal leading stroke, I often open the razor such that the scales remain perpendicular to the hone (so the scales are open 180 + honing angle). I find this gives be a better balance, makes it easier for me to hold/maneuver the razor, and helps me keep my honing angle consistent.

I've never really thought about it to be honest, but I suppose the handle is open to about 180 degree when honing. Sometimes I open or close the handle a little when honing if the balance feels a little wrong. I really don't think it matters, as long as you're comfortable while honing.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

When I hone with a heal leading stroke, I often open the razor such that the scales remain perpendicular to the hone (so the scales are open 180 + honing angle). I find this gives be a better balance, makes it easier for me to hold/maneuver the razor, and helps me keep my honing angle consistent.

Bingo !!! Meeeeeee Tooooooo


The most important thing is that the razor stays level on the hone though, but as you can read we all adjust to basically do that...

Take a look at a couple of the honing video's on the SRP home page and see if that helps any.

Lynn