Thread: What seems to be working now...feedback

Originally Posted by gssixgun

You are obviously getting there, so I can't argue with sucess...

You are ripping steel with great abandon though, and this is a knife/tool guy approach not a razor guy approach..
As you get better you are going to find that the "Less is More" tactic is going to start working.. Right now you are pushing way, way, way past the optimum levels just to make sure you get there, then you are taking off more steel getting back to it...... You want to sneak up on a fine razor's edge you don't want to hammer it into the steel...

I can tell you this much from experience dealing with way more bad e-bay blades then I care to count I have used a DMT 325 or a Norton 220 maybe 100 times out of about 4000 and most of those were damaged/worn wedges....

Eventually, I'll get there and not have to use the "carpet bomb" method of bevel setting. I tried sneaking up on a sharp bevel with the 1k, and it saw me coming.

Goog

Originally Posted by greatgoogamooga

Eventually, I'll get there and not have to use the "carpet bomb" method of bevel setting. I tried sneaking up on a sharp bevel with the 1k, and it saw me coming.

Goog

OK now that was funny

Originally Posted by gssixgun

OK now that was funny

glenn, as long as he doesnt pull a sailor move from uncommon valor, if you remember, pull the pin on the gernade and see whats next well all be good. lolol

Glad you're getting results that work for you!

My usual method is to start with the highest possible grit stone and only move lower down if I have to. I read that when I first joined here and its been my watchword (or watchphrase in fact lol!) whenever I hone.

I might start on the 325 DMT with a totally dull wedge, just to get a bevel set fast, and definately with any razor if it had chipping. But a hollow ground with an intact but dull edge, I'll start with the 1k.

If the razor feels anywhere near pocketknife sharp (and looks reasonable under a loupe) then I'll start on the 1k regardless of grind as these seem to set reasonably fast.

So far thats working well for me, but keep experimenting and find out how you can get those elusive perfect edges...!

Whatever works for you. I have noticed that over time I have varied my approaches from one method to another with one razor/hone combination or another. The circle technique along with back and forth strokes at the 1k level has become my usual bevel setting method unless I'm starting with an really nice edge. New razor type of edge. In that case sometimes X strokes on a 4k can bring it to shaving sharpness fairly quickly and then on to finishing. OTOH, a Wosty wedge that I recently picked up needed the DMT 600 to get it to the 1k bevel setting stage.

what works for me. right from scratch 1k naniwa, or if i have to drop back to 600 duo diamond plate. I do most of the work on the 1k bevel stage. the razor has to shave arm realy well. I use normal x strokes and the odd set of back and forth and a little pressure , i mainly let the hone do the cutting to keep bevel nice and even. Once the bevel is set i work on my fastest coticule with slurry with back and forth strokes untill the bevel is smoothed out . i check with 30k loop, once all looks nice i stop . I then do dilucot on my slower coticule and finish on water. I find my slower cutter reaches keeness much easier. once i'm done i test shave and the shave is allways pritty damm good or not far of. i do add a thew laps laps on .5 .025 and cro.ox just 5 on each. this works consistantly for me. I have added escher after coticule and also nice results.

other than that i would go 4k/8k then coti paste also works . My favourite routine is my 1k followed by coticule and some kind of spray or paste but no more than 10 to 20 laps

I've been honing blades of all sorts since I was 10 or 12 years old and take a lot of things for granted when I discuss honing. When you've honed thousands and thousands of blades, you can tell quickly what you're going to have to do to get-r-done. Sometimes it's a touchup with a finishing home. Sometimes it's the nuclear option. Most times it's somewhere in between. Someone with enough time and patience could restore an Ebay special on a barber hone or Chinese 12K. I take a more results-oriented approach, though, and start with a hone that's agressive enough to get the bevel cleaned up in a couple minutes.

The way I see it, you can cut the grass with a lawnmower or a weed eater and how much grass there is to cut and how hard it will be to cut with each tool, respectively, is what drives my choice regarding which tool is right for the job.

In it's essence, honing is a very, very simple activity. Abrade both sides of the edge into a bevel that meets at clean, sharp edge. Then refine the edge.

That's it.

Keeping that in mind makes it a little easier to decide what tool to apply for what stage of the work you're doing. There comes a point where the sharpness is limited by the structure of the steel and when you've pushed that envelope, everything beyond that is just grinding away steel. The only real mystery in honing is choosing the right hone for the task and knowing how to tell when you've gotten all you can get out of it, at which point you either move up to a finer finishing technique or hone - or you stop.

That's the confession of a hone-a-holic that's been obsessed with getting steel as sharp as it can possibly get for over 40 years.

All roads lead to Rome. The problem is take road one and you get there in style and take road two and by the time you get there you need a new set of tires, wheels and shocks. I'm with Glen less is more and I would rather take a little more time and remove as little metal than I have to.

I pretty much agree with everyone else. Depending on the work that needs done I don't mind getting aggressive at the bevel setting stage but after that its just different polishing tasks at increasingly higher grits and requires a more gentle touch. Less work and steel abrasion will give you more.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I'm with Glen less is more and I would rather take a little more time and remove as little metal than I have to.

I'm with Glen on that, too. Always remove as little metal as is necessary to get the job done. Sometimes it's a little. Sometimes a lot. Know how much you've got to remove, know which stones are best to remove that much and don't overdo it. This all comes with experience. Keep at it and you'll do fine.