Thread: Half Stroke?

Originally Posted by decraew

With or without a finger on the spine/blade, I like half-strokes when setting a bevel because they allow for greater speed. Of course you need to be very careful that your stroke remains even. Which is why I start out slowly, then pick up speed.

Hmmmm, I am not so sure of that at all, in fact I would have to say I disagree, that not only are they not faster, but they are also way more likely to cause an uneven bevel than either Circles or X strokes... Again I am not referring to just one system , but saying this in general... If you are referring to only Bart's system then I would have to say I have no opinion, as I don't find that system to be consistent enough for me...
But referring to many bevel setting systems on multiple stones I haven't found anything that is even near as fast or as accurate as Lynn's 20 circles to sharp...
Now if we are going back to what I use Japanese honing for, which is Restoration of damaged blades then I would agree that the Japanese honing is very fast and allows for selective pressure to be applied for correction of bad areas in the pre-bevel..
Perhaps you could explain a bit more in detail what system you are referring to????

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Hmmmm, I am not so sure of that at all, in fact I would have to say I disagree, that not only are they not faster, but they are also way more likely to cause an uneven bevel than either Circles or X strokes... Again I am not referring to just one system , but saying this in general... If you are referring to only Bart's system then I would have to say I have no opinion, as I don't find that system to be consistent enough for me...
But referring to many bevel setting systems on multiple stones I haven't found anything that is even near as fast or as accurate as Lynn's 20 circles to sharp...
Now if we are going back to what I use Japanese honing for, which is Restoration of damaged blades then I would agree that the Japanese honing is very fast and allows for selective pressure to be applied for correction of bad areas in the pre-bevel..
Perhaps you could explain a bit more in detail what system you are referring to????

Sure. I am effectively thinking about dilucot. I'm not certain whether it would work on other stones. I sometimes use naniwas and with those I don't use it. When compared to the regular X-strokes, they are faster in my experience because you simply do more iterations in a given time period. I don't know whether circles would be better. If you do the circles at the same speed and don't see why there could be a great difference between the two.

I fully agree that the danger is having uneven bevels. That's why I start out slooooowly until I have the path in my fingers, then only I will speed up. I have had uneven bevels but mainly with razors already in a bad condition. Yesterday I honed a NOS razor using fast half-strokes: perfect bevels :-D

Hungry
Gonna grab a bit now
Cheers

Another consideration:

Most of my coticule using friends use smaller stones (30-45mm wide). Doing circles on a stone that narrow doesn't come as easily for me, so I prefer the half-strokes with finger placed /moved strategically in order to prevent developing an uneven bevel. Yes you have to pay more attention to do this, but it's not particularly challenging, IME.

On a 3" wide stone, circles are so easy and fast that I would prefer them to half-strokes in that application

Originally Posted by richmondesi

On a 3" wide stone, circles are so easy and fast that I would prefer them to half-strokes in that application

Or bouts. I have a Les Latneuses coticule bout which is useless except when doing circles.

I prefer circles in general to the back and forth. I do the b & f for metal removal but I feel the circles create a symbiotic relationship between the spine and the edge that back and forth strokes cannot do as efficiently. I think that relationship is important , just IMO.

No doubt that circles are more easily done on a 2 1/2 to 3" wide stone. I always follow my circles with X strokes. I believe the striations/scratches are better at an angle to the bevel for more efficient cutting of the whiskers and that is better achieved with the X. Again, just IMHO.

Thanks Paul and decraew that makes sense now, I would have to give way to both of your experiences using Bart's methods on the smaller Coticules... Different ideas on different systems.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

No doubt that circles are more easily done on a 2 1/2 to 3" wide stone. I always follow my circles with X strokes. I believe the striations/scratches are better at an angle to the bevel for more efficient cutting of the whiskers and that is better achieved with the X. Again, just IMHO.

And mine +1,,
heel forward or X IMHO

Back to the OP...

I am one who does not use half strokes or circles when honing. I only use a rolling X stroke. It does take longer but it is very consistent. If I want rapid stock removal I use a coarser grit.

Just my $.02,

So correct me if Im wrong but as someone very new to honing I should forget about half strokes and work on mastering the X-stroke. I am using the Norton 220/1k, 4k/8k and a Naniwa 12k. On the few razors I have honed I test shave off the 8k and do not move on to the 12k till the shave is comfortable off the 8k. Any other advice is more than welcome.

P.S. I hoped to get a couple of responses on this thread and it has turned into a great discussion. Learning alot. Thanks men,

IMHO, master the rolling X stroke first then move on to the other strokes to see where they fit in the honing progression.

Hope this helps,