Thread: Lynn's "New" Circle/X Stroke Honing Technique

I'm not sure how new it is but I first saw a bit of it in Lynn's razorcon '09 honing video here. I had already learned to use circles and following with the x pattern in setting bevels but never had used them beyond that.

About a month ago I was reading a thread on doing pyramids with Naniwas and holli4pirating posted on sitting down with Lynn real time and watching him hone with the circle and x stroke method here. Using 40 circles and following with 10 x strokes up through the 1k, 3k, and 5k grit levels and repeating if necessary. Then 10x strokes on the 8 and 12k.

I gave it a try on one razor, I really don't recall which, and it worked for me but I went back to the pyramid I'm familiar with afterwards on whatever I've honed since until yesterday. Then i read forum member ShavedZombie's experience of going over to visit Lynn here and the same honing technique was described.

So with my memory refreshed I took an old Hermes I recently acquired and set the bevel with the circles and x pattern. I am not sure how many circles and x strokes I had to do to get the bevel. I wasn't really paying attention to counting but that old HC Hermes was butter knife dull when I started. I got it to where it was shaving leg hair easily (touching the skin) all along the length of the blade.

Then I did as holli described in the fore mentioned thread and did 40 circles and 10 x pattern strokes on the 3k and 5k Naniwa superstones and then 10 X pattern on the 8k and the 12k without the circles. The blade was popping arm hair (without touching the skin) all along the length so I took it to the strop and did the 50 linen and 50 leather.

Tried the HHT and it was doing it out 1/3 the length of the blade from the heel to point but not for the other 2/3. So going by the hair popping on the arm I figured it was going to give a good shave anyhow and I was not disappointed. Smooth, irritation free and bbs close.

I like honing by numbers as in the pyramids so this circle/x pattern technique suits me well. I am going to hone a few more with this method and see if it doesn't shoot the pyramid method out of the saddle for me. So if you haven't tried it yet give it a whirl it is a very efficient method to get a razor up to speed.

If you're going to try this watch the Razorcon '09 video linked above. It is a great honing video of the master in action using this method and explaining it as he works.

I was wondering why you thanked me in that one thread... :P I need to start saving, I'm going to pick up the full line of Naniwas and a DMT for lapping, all in one go... in a few months >.< Crox and Diamond spray will do until then...

However, I have got to say, watching Lynn do this, then having him show me how to do a proper TPT made a WORLD of difference... And, I'll stick with this logic as long as I'm shaving, if Lynn's doing it, it has to work. Meeting the man was a blast, and extremely educational!

Thanks for posting this, I've been trying to nail down the specifics of this technique/pattern!

Cheers,
Jeremy

I've spoken to Lynn on the phone and gotten a lot to go with on honing but never had the pleasure of meeting him in person. When I was starting out trying to learn to hone there was a forum member who lived about 30 miles from me and he was kind enough to let me go over his house to watch him hone. He was expert at honing and showed me a lot. You can pick it up reading and watching videos but standing next to someone doing it is even better.

Good post Jimmy. I've been using the circles and x stroke technique for quite a while now and it works great. I meet Lynn at our last WNY meet and he enhanced my style and saved me some hone time. On the 1k Chosera and 4k Norton Lynn tough me to use much more pressure doing the circles followed by light circles, then the x-strokes. Circles for 20 rounds/strokes. 8 and 12k hones x strokes only. It was a great learning experience. I hope you get a chance to meet Lynn some day. He is a great person to meet with a wealth of knowledge he is happy to share.

At the 2009 Razorcon was when Lynn showed me the 40 circles to sharp technique..
I still use it but I guess he has expanded it's use to higher grits...

I still do 20 circles per side on the 1k grit level, using pressure, then 20 per sides using light pressure.... At that moment in time the bevel is cut and ready for sharpening, I do usually 10-30 alternating X laps and I am popping arm hair at the 1k level from toe to heel DONE.... and off to the sharpening, polishing, and finishing races... (do not go just by numbers the razor still has to be sharp)

Some things to mention though, although this technique is about as foolproof as they come, because it eliminates much of the razor flipping and therefore helps new honers immensely, you still have to get the bevel set and right first, there is no real shortcut around that first step...

I stumbled across this honing method a few months ago by watching a japanese barber sharpening a western straight razor on youtube (wasnt aware that Lynn was also recommending it at that stage). Using this method I was able to get blades shave ready off a set of nortons, whereas previously I had been unable to do this using any kind of pyramid techniques.

The one thing I do that might be a little different, is a couple circles followed by normal stroke (without removing blade from hone), then flip blade and repeat (instead of doing 40 circles then flip as in Lynns demo). This is done for as long as it takes to set the bevel, and then at each grit level up to 8K. I started doing that mainly to help improve my X pattern stroke technique (because I was setting bevel etc, then my technique on 8K and above wasnt there yet), but it seems to be working well for me so far.

Good post on your experience and progress.

Just honed two razors using this method earlier and I have to say that they seem extremely sharp

I've been using circles for a while, and meeting Lynn and honing with him taught me some new tricks. It's been a huge time saver, because once I have a bevel set, I have a very reliable method to get to shave ready, and rather quickly too. A big part of my decision to purchase some Naniwas myself is that I can now apply this method (previously, the only synthetics I'd owned were bevel setters).

One thing I really love about Lynn is that he is totally open with everything he does, from restoration to honing to stropping - if you ask, he'll tell you; if you visit, he'll show you. I wouldn't have believed it till I did it - seriously a first class gent.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

One thing I really love about Lynn is that he is totally open with everything he does, from restoration to honing to stropping - if you ask, he'll tell you; if you visit, he'll show you. I wouldn't have believed it till I did it - seriously a first class gent.

Visiting the man is a treat, no doubt about that. Cordial, educational, and you can leave with some free goodies and a ton of knowledge! I've seen all of these Restoration pictures, and was a little skeptical, Lynn took a rusted out Wade & Butcher to his buffers while I was there, 10 minutes later, this thing shone like a mirror. It was amazing to watch, and the honing tutorial really started me off on the right foot... I'm saving up for the 1, 5, 8, and 12k Naniwas, along with a bottle of .5 Micron SRD Diamond spray... Those will be my first honing accessories, and, with luck, all I need for a while... That, and the Crox crayon Lynn gave me