Thread: Honing speed

Some interesting answers, especially JoeD's that raises some questions in my mind...

To the OP forget about speed, speed is not important, the blade has to stay flat from edge to spine on the hone, the stroke MUST be smooth, consistent, and in contact with the hone evenly.. If all that doesn't happen first, it really doesn't matter how fast you go...

I thonght that 100 laps in 1.5 minutes would generate some interest. If I read this form someone ele's post I would have some questions also, like 'How do you keep the blade flat during thise strokes?', Is he slapping the blade on the hones?' or 'Gees, I wouldn't shave with one of his blades. What kind of edge is he getting?'.

I don't really think about what I am doing while I hone at this speed. If I do, I screw up. No multi tasking as far as thingking. What I can say is when done right the blade never comes off the hone. I don't keep the blade flat on the hone, I do a rolling x patern. When I flip the blade, coming back down to put the bevel back on the hone the toe is up and I come down just off the bevel on the heel.

It's really a blurr when I watch it but I do start off slow to perfect my stroke. I lock my wrist and control the glade angle on the hone with my elboe and I hone standing up so all of my muscles help stabalise my position. as for pressure on the blade, I really don't know but it is very light from what I can feel.

As for the results, they fit my preference. There have been a bunch of people that have shaved off my razors and a few of them that have seen me hone. Hopefully some of them will give their perspective of my honing and their shaves with a razor I honed.

I know this style of honing is questionable based on our peradines. I started this method when the only finisher I had was a CK12 and I really didn't like the duration of honing on it. I liked the results and followed it into my finishing routine which is 100 laps on a coti and then 100 on either an Escher or the CK12. Do note that I have only been finishing on natural hones at fine grit shere producing a wire edge is greatly reduced. Also that I have been honing just for myself with an occasional razor for other. Lastly I only hone 8 razors at most in one sitting.

I do welcome questions and or comments on this technique.

Originally Posted by Joed

I
I don't really think about what I am doing while I hone ... If I do, I screw up. No multi tasking as far as thingking.
....I watch it

Please forgive me for cutting up your sentences. I found these words in particular to be the wisest and least appreciated- as they are not repeated often while the rest, the mechanical aspects often are.

Originally Posted by Joed

The advice above is good. The closer your technique is to perfect and changing hones at the appropriate time will have more of an effect on your edge than speed does. I have shaved off of razors honed by numerous people that hone at different speeds and use slightly different techniques. When they get it right they all shave fine.

When cutting metal with any technique there is always an optimum cutting speed based on the steels hardness, it's metallurgical properties and the cutting tools properties. With grinding and honing it is a factor of the grit hardness and binders used. The properties if our synthetic hones can be obtained from the manufacturer but natural hones would probably need to be analyzed for their properties, which will vary more than synthetics. The steel used in the razors would be the greatest variable as to composition and hardness as they vary greatly. In the end the value gained would be minimal for the effort as the proper technique has a greater effect on edge quality.

For me personally my speed on courser hones is slower than on finer hones due to the volume of metal removed on each pass and damage that can be caused w/ an errant stroke. Depending on the day I average 100 laps in less than 1.5 minutes on my finishers be it an Escher, Coti or CK12 depending on my interpretation of the steel on previous hones. I do not recommend this speed for others as the possibility of injury and/or damage to the razor is high.

I wish I had shot some video of Joe's finishing strokes at the latest WNY Meet. Honest, it's hard to follow his hand. I was too amazed to switch the camera over to video, but I'm not sure 30 frames/second would have done it justice anyway. There's always something new to learn at Joe's.

Yup, there are very different strokes for different folks. What's important is going at a speed where you are confident with your ability to hone properly. I think I am "fastest" on my 1k and 5k's because those are the hones I spend the most time on, and because I've done so many circles now that I am very comfortable with them. Little can go wrong with circles, provided you use even pressure; you don't flip the razor and you don't work near the edges of the hone. My pace on my finisher is much slower because that hone is my baby (an Asagi - if water even drips down the side I stop what I'm doing and dry her off - yes, I'm paranoid).

I'm quite glad that Joe posted about how he hones on his finishers. It really is something to behold. There are three important things there to really focus on. One is how he has a very particular technique he uses to minimize errors. Two is Joe is an outside the box thinker with years of experience with his hands; don't knock it till you try it, but don't try it with a nice razor :-). Three is Joe's edges are awesome, so there is really no way you can disagree with the success of his technique; it may not work for you but it sure works for Joe.

In all the time I have spent at Joe's place watching him hone, I can only think of one time I saw Joe make a mis-stroke, and it was late and we were tired.
In all the time I have spent at Joe's place shaving with his razors, I cannot think of one time I didn't say "wow" when I took a razor of his to my face.