Some thoughts on honing and props to JimmyHAD

Jimmy is always preaching the virtues of shaving off the 8k before you go to your favorite finisher. I believe some of the vets around here still finish on a norton 8k and that is it.

Well today, I decided i was going to hone until my razor passed my tests off the 8k and the shave test.
Setup: naniwa 1k/3k/8k and my dublduck strop.

To my surprise it was actually a very smooth comfortable shave. One of the best I have had in a while and I didnt spend much time on prep. 1 wtg pass, 1 atg, 1 touch up. No burn from the alum or spash.

Some random thoughts based off this experience.

1) Pastes can be a crutch that keep you from reaching your full honing potential.

2) Anything after the 8k is a luxury. Like upgrading from from cloth to leather in a car. It is fun(and expensive) to try different finishers. It is very easy to fall into the HAD trap though in pursuit of that "perfect edge"

3) I always add this to any honing post: Do not leave your bevel setter to early. This is what killed me when I first started honing.

4) Even though the shave was good off the 8k, i will probably still go try a few strokes on some CrO just to see how much it improves.

Feel free to point out my errors,flame me,etc. May the force be with you.

Ben and Jimmy
sittin' in a tree
h-o-n-i-n-g.

First comes hones
Then comes HAD
Then comes Jimmy
Makin' us all look bad :D

Just kidding :) Congratulations on your 8k shave, Ben. Jimmy is the man

Thanks gentlemen but the credit really goes to Lynn Abrams who taught us all and Randy Tuttle, A.K.A. Randydance who taught me. :bow

I've been doing a lot of shaving off my 8k as well; I haven't shaved off anything finer for... maybe 2 or 3 weeks now? I too was very impressed at just how good the shaves were. I've gotta say, I no longer have much desire to get new finishers until I get to a point where I can tell the difference between the ones I already have (otherwise, why bother, right?).

Thanks for that Ben... I think I'll give an 8k shave a go on my next blade... Sounds like a good learning experience, and a chance to try my new styptic pencil :p

Cheers,
Jeremy

When I first started and Lynn was doing the teaching all we had was barber hones and the Norton 1/4/8 was the best at that time. The barber hones were of an unknown grit so they were a gamble but the Norton 's were a known grit so thats what we used the most. We learned to hone on them and developed a very, very good shaving edge from the 8k. Shaving off the 8K is very informative, it does tell you if you have fully developed the bevel or if you need to go back a step.

If it is not a good shave off the 8k then there's no sense on using a finer hone.

I remember 4 years ago all I had was the King 1200 and Norton 4/8k. I learned to do it all on those two stones. It was a couple years before I got anything higher stone and again a while before I figured out how to use it.

Lynn's video straightened out some of my strokes as I was still using the same style I used to sharpen kitchen knives. I still use the same old system but altered here and there to fit the razor.

I still feel the 8k is plenty to shave off of, but HAD has it's hooks in me and I'll be playing in that field till I find the next magic stone :p

Word Bart! I was shaving off an 8k for about a year and enjoyed the shaves but I do have to admit I am spoiled with my finishers and probably will always use them. While I have played with pastes and sprays they are not part of my usual honing routine. As you have noted, bevel setting is key to the quality finished edge. As most of my honing is antique shop finds my first hone is usually a 1k. Before moving to a finer hone CarrieM usually tests the edge on her baby fine red leg hair, when there is any to test with. The razor needs to send the hairs flying w/o a sound and w/o tugging or it is back to the 1k. The few times I use CrOx or diamond spray is usually just in playing or to touch up an edge I was having Jr work on. He's getting pretty good but once in a while it can go just a touch more.

I hone on a Swaty and finish on a hard paddle with Cr02. The pasted paddle doesn't really improve the smoothness of the shave, but it does reduce irritation. I agree that it's a luxury. I can shave without it & do a perfectly fine job.

2) Anything after the 8k is a luxury. Like upgrading from from cloth to leather in a car. It is fun(and expensive) to try different finishers. It is very easy to fall into the HAD trap though in pursuit of that "perfect edge"

I got to meet Randy and Lynn at the MoMeet up back in June. I picked up some good advice from all the honemeisters including Sham and Kelly, who were also in attendance. Many stones, hones (Utopian- Ron’s hone collection is ….immense), and razors were there to experiment with. I use the word experiment because that is what we do when we step up in progression to the finer grit stones, hones, pastes, sprays etc, be they natural or manufactured.

That’s the fun part trying to get finer and smoother shaving edges. I watched three honemeisters working with different steels, on different hone substrates and all three had different styles or techniques. As with anything, practice and movement repetition will improve your honing ability with time. You guys can send me all your Escher’s, J-Nats, Coticules, CFs Silk Veins and I will keep up the good work of chasing that perfect edge. I need the practice :)