Thread: Honing Stainless

I picked up a pretty stainless steel Horstater the other day, which while a bit dirty, had zero hone wear and so looked to me to have never been really used. After polishing it up, I hit the hones, or should I say, a brick wall: despite all of my best efforts, I could do absolutely nothing to get the blade to cut beard. To wit,

- I began with a conservative pyramid, alternating on the Naniwa 5K and 8K stones and following with the 12K: couldn't even get it to chew arm hair.

- I then followed with an aggressive pyramid, this time on the Norton 4K/8K. Same results: throughout all of this, the spine continued to show zero wear.

- Increasingly irritated, I did the unthinkable: I taped up the spine and threw it on my DMT Duosharp 325. At last, the blade, with a great deal of effort, pushed through some arm hair. But after attempting to polish on the usual higher grit combination, it ran over beard like a butter knife.

All of my other blades are carbon steel, and while I wouldn't class myself a honemeister, I've never had any problems inducing them to take edge.
So I'm appealing to anyone out there with experience honing s.s. blades who could guide me through the process of taming this mean SOB.

The difference between SS and CS in sharpening is really very minimal for razors. I'm a knife hound as well as a cut throat man, and for knives there is a huge difference about which I could write chapters.

The simple fact is that I find it very hard to identify the difference between CS and SS in razors.

Some steels are harder than others, and that can be due to many factors, not just whether or not chrome is in the alloy. Carbide (crystal) formation due to tempering is another factor.

The thickness of the steel is another factor. Some razors are simply ground thinner than other razors.

I think the gap from the DMT 325 to either your 4K or 5K is too large and skips the typical bevel setting stage. The sawtooth edge from the 325 is probably what is allowing the razor to cut some hair as opposed to a proper bevel. A hone in the 1 to 2K range would be a really productive addition to your honing process. Fortunately, hones in this range tend to be on the inexpensive end of the spectrum.

Take a look here

Edit:Sorry, looks like my link doesn't work. Try an advanced search for "bevel setting" limited to the title only. Lots of good info.

I agree with Bill, a 1k would really help you here.

Something else you can try is getting a rough edge on the DMT, as you have already.

Raise a slurry on the Norton 4k and do patterns of 40 circles a side (using medium pressure) and 20 X strokes (using light pressure) until you can easily shave arm hair at skin level. Then dilute down to water and repeat the 40/20 pattern twice, once with medium pressure and once with light pressure, then go onto the 8k.

That might help!

But I've not noticed a big difference between SS and carbon. They seem to hone up fairly similarly.

Good luck and keep us posted!

How does it go? The carbon steel or rustable blades are generally a bit harder and the stainless steel or not-so-much rustable blades have a significant chromium content. So + harder = slower to hone and + chromium = more wear resistant = slower to hone.

So what you probaly have is half a horse on one hand and the other half of a horse on the other, or however that old saw cuts...

good honing

I have often recommended this ...

When you hit a brick wall quit smacking yer head into it at least change something up...

Change the stone up or down one step for 20 stokes
Change the angle of the razor on the stone
Try a few backhone strokes
Switch to a natural
Switch to a synthetic
Try slurry
Try no slurry
Try a different stroke
Try pressure
Try stropping

But try something different, right after you stop, and walk away for a coffee or a drink

Originally Posted by Pauly

Some steels are harder than others, and that can be due to many factors, not just whether or not chrome is in the alloy. Carbide (crystal) formation due to tempering is another factor.

I suspect that the steel I'm dealing with is a particularly hard alloy, thanks for making this point.

Originally Posted by Bill S

I think the gap from the DMT 325 to either your 4K or 5K is too large and skips the typical bevel setting stage. The sawtooth edge from the 325 is probably what is allowing the razor to cut some hair as opposed to a proper bevel. A hone in the 1 to 2K range would be a really productive addition to your honing process.
Take a look here

I do believe you've identified what is likely the issue... When I get back state-side I'll pick up a 1K in order to bridge the gap between DMT to the higher grits.

Originally Posted by Stubear

Something else you can try is getting a rough edge on the DMT, as you have already.

Raise a slurry on the Norton 4k and do patterns of 40 circles a side (using medium pressure) and 20 X strokes (using light pressure) until you can easily shave arm hair at skin level. Then dilute down to water and repeat the 40/20 pattern twice, once with medium pressure and once with light pressure, then go onto the 8k.



Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks for the algorithm Stu, I won't be able to pick up the 1K until I make it back state-side, so until then I'll try your technique and let you know if it works out...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I have often recommended this ...

When you hit a brick wall quit smacking yer head into it at least change something up...

Change the stone up or down one step for 20 stokes
Change the angle of the razor on the stone
Try a few backhone strokes
Switch to a natural
Switch to a synthetic
Try slurry
Try no slurry
Try a different stroke
Try pressure
Try stropping

But try something different, right after you stop, and walk away for a coffee or a drink

wise counsel, especially the last part !