Thread: Pressure

Okay, I'm trying to hone my first razor with my new, and freshly lapped, Norton 4/8. My question is how much "pressure" do you start out with on the 4000 when setting the bevel? On the videos I have watched it seems like the water turns grey on the stone as they are circling, or whatever method they are using, and I'm not getting that. Should I press a bit more or just stick with it longer on my current pressure? Thanks for any help!

What kind of razor are you honing and what condition is it in?

It's a Joseph Allen NON XLL medium size hollow ground in, what I believe, is good, or better, condition. Has a few spots on spine that need cleaned up, but I was eager to try out the Norton. I can't get pics to load right now. I'll put them up as soon as I can.
Thanks

I would start off with medium to firm pressure until the razor feels pocket knife sharp on your thumb pad and wants to grab or not let go. Once there, go with no pressure but the weight of the blade on the 4K and 8K until finished.

Thanks Lynn, I'll try a bit more pressure. I kept looking for that grab, but couldn't seem to get it.

I need to read the WIKI on photography!

I learned to gauge my start-point pressure by approximating the amount of pressure I'd use with a pencil eraser to wipe out a #2 pencil mark on white paper. I judge the results from that effort - with a thumb-pad test, and increase gradually if I have to.
Medium to firm pressure pretty much sums it up in words just fine, but the pencil eraser analogy made it easier for me to understand in the beginning.

Originally Posted by Gamma

I learned to gauge my start-point pressure by approximating the amount of pressure I'd use with a pencil eraser to wipe out a #2 pencil mark on white paper.

That sounds like a lot to me, especially on a full hollow. I dont think i even use that much pressure on my knives at work.

The pressure you need to use is going to vary depending on the flexibility of the blade, how dull it is, how even the wear is, and a couple things I'll think of later. The fact is, if you don't use enough pressure, you're not going to get a bevel. But -- but --when your bevel is evenly developed, you need to steadily decrease the pressure. Then, stick with your bevel-setter until you've gotten everything out of it that you can before moving up to the 8k. Make believe that 4k is the only stone you own.

then.....go get yourself a 1k. Really, you're going to need it.

Originally Posted by justinA

That sounds like a lot to me, especially on a full hollow. I dont think i even use that much pressure on my knives at work.

Maybe you press harder on an eraser than I do.
It's just a starting point though, and one would expect all the other checks and balances are in place; visual inspection, sharpie on bevel, etc. I was afraid to use any pressure at all in the beginning - now, sometimes, With some stone/blade combos- I use a good bit of pressure out of the gate and I back off just the way Stimpy52 describes.

As Lynn said you can start with medium pressure and see how it goes, a scope/loupe would help a lot to follow the progress.
If you do not have a scope then TPT or TNT can give idea how fast things go. You can also add slurry to the honing process which will increase the speed of the honing process.