Thread: My new honing technique and a question???

I'm following Sham's advice on holding the hone in the palm. I've taking all my hones off their bases now. It makes a HUGE difference in how efficiently I'm able to get a sharp edge.

Question: Do you prefer a 2.5" width hone or smaller? I'm beginning to prefer smaller width hones around 1.5" as I find they are more efficient.

Sham's video: hibudgl100's Channel - YouTube

For my final hone stage i quite often hold the hone in my hand as i can get a lighter and more even stroke.

I have a 1.5" hone and that get a little small for me. 2.5" - 3" seems right for me. I find the shapton stones sit nicely and i have some razor sized jnats that sit really well in my hand too.

I haven’t seen that vid so i will have to have a look. I'm glad i'm not the only one who likes to do that lol

I've always preferred to hold the hone in my hand while honing, I'm glad it's working out for you as well. As far as the width of the hone, the wider it is the easier it is to keep the blade level. So for a new honer I think a 2.5" or 3" hone is the best since it helps keep the blade flat against the stone. But if you're experienced you can really get away with any width, so it's really only a matter of what you prefer. If you're getting success with what you're doing now, stick with it!

i tend to do a bit of both. i do prefer smaller hones. still like using bigger hones, it does'nt bother me to much nower days

when I was learning, Glen recommended that I take the stone out of the holder and use my hand. It made a huge difference. Now that I have a feel for it, I find that both are equally easy for basic honing, but the holder is much better for when there's restorative techniques being used.

I do like both wide and narrow stones for finishing, but the 8X3 is nicer for the early stages.

I like to hold the hone in my hand too... It can get a little heavy though....what?

Mike

I do not see any difference between wide and narrow hone, for me it is all about a matter of getting used to what you have to work with.

Haha is that the 7 pounder in the middle of the table in the video you made with Sham?

Originally Posted by mainaman

I like to hold the hone in my hand too... It can get a little heavy though....what?

Mike

I initially learned how to hone in hand and that was preferential, but I eventually started honing on the bench because of larger hones and they did wear on the muscles.

I have found that I will now use either depending on the hone and type of work needed.

As for size I really don't have a preference, but there is such a thing as too large or too small.

Originally Posted by MODINE

I like to hold the hone in my hand too... It can get a little heavy though....what?

Mike

Are you sure that isn't a brick?