Thread: Narrow hone vs Wide hone

Originally Posted by gssixgun

You learn to use the hone that is in front of you, Period end of story...

Doing this professionally for a few years now, trust me when I say this "If something is easier, more cost effective or more consistent I and every other Honemeister would be using it exclusively"

I even went so far as to cut down a set of Norton's because I believed some BS hype that it was easier to hone heavy smiling wedges on thinner hones, it isn't...

Really it doesn't matter the size of the stone, all that really matter is the evenness of the honing stroke...

Go ahead don't take my word for it spend your hard earned cash on all the different sizes and go find out

BTW go ahead and try the Magic Marker test on a wide hone compared to a thin hone on any razor you want, what you are going to find is what some of us keep saying over and over "The magic is in the hands not the stone"

You mean when I got my new Belgian Coticule, hand cut from the heart of the mine, as big as my dining room table I wasted my money? You know how much it cost to ship the thing? Why it's so heavy it almost sunk the ship.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

You mean when I got my new Belgian Coticule, hand cut from the heart of the mine, as big as my dining room table I wasted my money? You know how much it cost to ship the thing? Why it's so heavy it almost sunk the ship.

You didn't waste your money, now you have bragging rights on the badest coticule known to man. You can get a car to pass the HHT now.

Originally Posted by Glenn24

You didn't waste your money, now you have bragging rights on the badest coticule known to man. You can get a car to pass the HHT now.

...but will it shave?

Taking Applicants Now:
!!SHAVE WITH A CAR!!
Honed by our very own thebigspendur on the Colossal Coticule!

$19.95 Application fee, no refunds.

I think the only advantage to a narrow hone is when you have a warped blade, it is a little easier to manuever.

Cost can be a factor, and if you like to hand hold that can be another one. Beyond that, here are my thoughts -

With a narrow hone, even if you don't try to, you are forced to follow any curves or irregularities the razor has, because you are always focused on keeping the razor flat on a narrow surface. Having a narrow surface also makes any curves or irregularities seem smaller, because, as with any arc, the smaller the arc length the straighter the arc appears.

Combined, these things mean that if you razor smiles or is warped, honing it on a narrow hone will a) make the warp or smile seem less significant and b) make you adjust your stroke to compensate.

However, those same compensations can be made on a wider hone using the exact same alterations to a honing stroke. You just won't necessarily make those compensations on your own/without thinking about it, because you aren't forced to by the stone. You have to know what the compensations are and then consciously apply them (unless you are to the point where the compensations are made automatically out of habit, and then the width doesn't matter).

In short, if you hand a guy who has never honed before a smiling or warped razor, I would bet he would be more likely to be successful in honing it on a narrow hone, but once you know what you are doing, the hone width does not matter at all.

What is interesting about this, IMO, is that in a way, saying "It is easier to hone a smiling or warped razor on a narrow hone" is not an incorrect statement, but it's not the whole truth.

At least, that's my opinion, having done this professionally for a couple years now.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

...what Holli4 wrote above...

I definitely agree with that. When I was first starting the only stone that worked reliably for me was a narrow coticule. Some of you may remember some of the threads and chat discussions about it. It was what led to my short-lived obsession with coticules.

I do not find narrow stones more useful. Full size hone can produce the same result as a narrow hone when used correctly.
I also find narrow stones somewhat inconvenient to hold when hand honing.

Originally Posted by Soilarch

...but will it shave?

Taking Applicants Now:
!!SHAVE WITH A CAR!!
Honed by our very own thebigspendur on the Colossal Coticule!

$19.95 Application fee, no refunds.

The car would be a chevy "Chavette"

Hmm, Colossal Coticule eh? That gives me an idea.

Sounds like a Japanese Monster Movie. Godzilla vs The Colossal Coticule.