Thread: Honing Training Aid

I've come across a great idea I'd like to share with everyone; the good old kitchen scale! (I have to give credit to Bart for this idea) Maybe this isn't a new idea, but I used one today for the first time. This is a great idea for us noobs!

I noticed a couple of different ways it helped. For one, I have a tendency to bear down a bit as my mind wanders (as it inevitably will) and I forget to think "keep it light", and having the scale there forced me to pay more attention.

I also noticed that my push stroke was consistently heavier than my pull stroke. The visual feed back helped me to correct this flaw in my technique. A flaw I wasn't even aware of.

Having that scale and the instant feedback it provided really helped me to fine-tune my finishing strokes by giving me a visual cue when I strayed a bit.

I hope this can help some other new guys.

Cheers,

Sounds like a really cool idea for the pressure feedback, thanks.

OK I have seen this one a few times,,,

But my question is how many ounces or pounds were you using?????

This could actually be a really good idea if we take this to a different level....

One of the biggest problems with explaining honing to Newbs is "How much pressure to use" for the low low cost of about $25-$30 this could be quantified... I know for a fact there is a difference in the pressure I use to set a bevel and what I use on the finishers...


***Picks up his scale and heads upstairs to hone****


Stay tuned

ah ha! I wondered when someone was gonna ask me how much pressure I was using

When I was setting the bevel, i used about 200 to 250 g of pressure with a fairly thick slurry. This was within the guidelines Bart recommends for initial bevel setting. My final polishing strokes were around 40 to 50 g. Any less and I seemed to lose control over the way the edge rode the hone. Since there are two contact points, I figure the edge is subject to some amount less than half that because I try to keep what pressure I have biased towards the spine.

Keep in mind, I was using a cheap crappy kitchen scale with very coarse graduations.

I'm dying to hear how much pressure a pro uses. Please keep us posted Glen.

Pressure will change during honing.
while you set bevel.
taking out chips. i use at least 500g-1 kg pressure(haven't measured but approximately) Don't have too much time to waste.
regular honing
finishing the honing
Each step i may use different pressure.
For newbies the best advice i could tell is this.
when you finishing stage of the honing use as little as pressure you can.
Good luck

You always have good advice, Sham.

I found that the 40g mark was a light as i could go and still keep the blade in control. I plan to use the scale for feedback to try to lighten that pressure even more.

My biggest problem (that I knew about) was my unconscious tendency to apply more pressure: i'd be trying to keep the blade feather light on the stone, and after a few strokes i would notice that I'd be bearing down (again!) so I'd lighten up... for a while, and then I'd be bearing down again. (roughly in the 70 to 80g range.)

The biggest advantage, as Glen pointed out, is the ability to "quantify" the appropriate pressure.

FWIW I just weighed the razor I used on a more precise and accurate digital scale and it weighs 38.5 grams, so I'm in there at "the weight of the razor only". That is somewhat encouraging.

I forsee a new type of custom scales in the future...

Originally Posted by wdwrx

Any less and I seemed to lose control over the way the edge rode the hone. Since there are two contact points, I figure the edge is subject to some amount less than half that because I try to keep what pressure I have biased towards the spine.

Favoring the spine is a common mistake. It results in honing for an extended length of time and a inconsistent bevel shape. The distribution of pressure should have more on the edge than the spine. This will also give you greater control while honing and a much better bevel much faster.

Hope this helps,

Thanks Randydance,

I was trying to keep the pressure as light as I could by any means.

What you said makes perfect sense, once I thought about it.