Thread: Honing with Lather???

Anyone that has tried honing with lather, I would like to know your results.

It's supposedly supposed to cushion the abrasive particles and give a finer finish yet slower in theory.

I've used lather on my coti for finishing a couple times, works very well IME.

You'll put your eye out!

Sometimes water alone will bead up on the stone. Lather prevents that.

I prefer using lather over water-only on my Swaty barber hone. It seems to help me maintain a smoother honing stroke

If the old timers did it then its worth trying. It works well on coticules and barber hones.

Hi friends,
Many of us will be able to tell you that lather works great. The oils in the lather act as lubricants. Honing oil has the disadvantage of leaving a film of oil, successive films tend to clog up the pores of you hone. That's why lather is preferable if you feel you need more lubrication than water alone gives you.

Cheers
Andrea

Lather also keeps swarf from glazing stone, as mentioned the old timers knew some good strokes.

I think it just breaks the surface tension so the razor glides over the hone more readily.
A more technical understanding can be gained here:
Surface Tension and Detergent

When finishing on my coti, after the water only phase I rub a bar of soap on the hone and it creates a kind of soap slurry. I add a few drops of water after every twenty or so strokes until it's almost clear.

Originally Posted by xMackx

Anyone that has tried honing with lather, I would like to know your results.

It's supposedly supposed to cushion the abrasive particles and give a finer finish yet slower in theory.

I'm in no way an expert, but I use lather with a Swaty (synthetic stone). My choices are lather and oil and I don't want to use oil.

I use water with waterstones (Norton 4/8K and Chinese 12K). I soak these in water 30 minutes before using and periodically add water to make the honing as smooth as possible.