Thread: Functional difference between X strokes and heel-leading

I am curious about the functional difference between x-strokes and heel-leading strokes. The latter is a lot easier for me to maintain consistency of pressure, and I've never liked the fact that x's hone the toe more than the heel amd try to minimize their use. What is your experience with the two, and do any of you forsake the highly praised x-stroke?

The heel leading, for me, is usually reserved to create even bevel and fix spines. After the fix I go for regular x-stroke and circles mix. I do not agree that the x- stroke hones the toe more than the heel, it should hone the razor evenly.

Heel first when honing helps with smiley razors

I do x strokes with the heel leading slightly. There have been threads.... debates on whether the point is honed more with the x stroke than the heel. IIRC the consensus was that they are about equal when the strokes are properly executed.

Let's make sure I say this correctly

Properly excecuted X strokes hone evenly, just the same as properly excecuted Heel forward strokes or Circle strokes or Japanese Honing, or Side honing, or Spine forward, or, or, or

The point being here, that proper honing of any type moves the steel evenly and equally across the stone to bring out a smooth, sharp, an most importantly even edge ...

Each style of stroke has it's own purpose, the trick/skill is using each to it best advantage...

Originally Posted by apvonkanel

I am curious about the functional difference between x-strokes and heel-leading strokes.

There is none. You are orienting scratches that terminate at the edge of the razor either way, and with fine abrasives, or even abrasives that aren't fine, there will be no functional difference in the edge.

If you can execute one better than the other evenly across the bevel, then you should use the one that you can do better.

This is interesting. It seems most all old barber's hone with the instructions still intact suggest a heel-leading stroke. Nothing wrong with it, IMO.
Some blades tend to require it!

A guy who used to be around here, TheTopher, taught me how to hone razors early on. I mean in person one on one. He honed with the blade at a 90 degree angle to the hone. Very fast stroke. Very methodical. He got 'em sharp.

I don't know if it was my father teaching me to hone heel leading with pocket knives or what but I gravitated to that style right from jump street in spite of TheTopher's tutelage. ( say that fast 3 times) .

Heel leading slightly works well for me though I've picked up on Lynn's circle technique for a lot of the earlier work. Like Glen said, (paraphrasing) whatever you do, do it right and it'll come out right.

I was actually thinking about this exact topic yesterday. Thanks for the advise also.

I have been using a combo of circles for rough work and heel leading. I guess maybe I don't execute the x-store properly, nor do I understand how it can hone evenly. Most of my hones are wide (2.5" or greater), and starting with the blade perpendicular, heel touching, as I move the blade forward and start moving to the right the heel come off and the toe comes on rather quickly. The middle of the blade gets more space/time (continuum) on the hone, then the toe, followed by the heel getting the least action as it is slid off the hone pretty quickly.

Ultimately, I have always gravitated towards a heel leading stroke because, like Jimmy I was used to sharpening knives as taught by my dad. The only difference is I don't swing te blade like I would on a curved-edge pocket knife. So I pretty much phased out x-strokes a couple years ago, but occasionally wonder if my blades are missing out.