Thread: Screeching: Bad?

Sometimes when I'm honing, the blade makes a shrill screeching sound as it scrapes along the stone. Is this bad? Does it mean I'm doing something wrong?

Thanks,

Jack

what type of stone are you using and lubrication?

I get some screeching sometimes, and it has no ill effect. But there are bad kinds of noises, too. After a while, you'll be able to tell them apart, and doing some sort of edge test/inspection after the noise in question will help you learn the difference.

I think I may have heard somewhere along the line that it's more common with hard steel, but I may have never heard that, or it may not be correct.

I've never had screeching. I've had a wail once, and a moan. And there was this one time where I swear I heard a giggle.

Make sure you keep the water clean - sometimes tiny bits of whatever can get between the blade and the hone and often you can feel it. If you get screeching again, try flushing the hone surface with some clean, fresh water and giving the razor a quick wipe as well, and see if it returns. As Dylan said, it could just be a normal interaction between your hone and a particular type of steel or grind, but you should try to eliminate any other possibilities before you come to that conclusion, and the most likely other possibility is some kind of contaminant causing the noise.

James.

Im pretty sure I know the sound you mean. I get that sometimes on my Naniwas' when I'm making some fast/heavy bevel setting strokes.

I even had it happen a few times on an 8k, that's when I realized that despite being a very light stroke I was making a very fast one. The razor was telling me to slow down, so I did.

I have never noticed any ill effect from this noise, perhaps some of the senior honers around will have a touch more insight.



Cheers

Yea, you get all kinds of sounds. You've heard of a singing razor? Well you have a singing razor and hone. Maybe a chorus too. As long as the sound isn't accompanied by marks left on the hone or defects being produced on the blade. Then you got trouble.

You'll be able to feel something bad before you hear it. If something feels gritty even the smallest grain particle landing on a hard finisher will feel like you dragged the blade over a rock. The sound made seems to have more to do with what kind of whetstone being used, least in my experience. As long as edge inspection looks ok I wouldn't worry about it, if it doesn't more lubricant less pressure.

I know exactly the sound you are talking about (at least I THINK I do) and it happens most often to me when I have allowed the lubrication to dry out while using one of my noviculite type stones Slow down the stroke as Ironside suggested, and add a bit more oil/water/soap whatnot. If it still makes that noise when your well lubed, you are using too much pressure!

Are you using tape or no? Once when I didn't use tape I was SHOCKED; yes, SHOCKED at the audio!!!

Originally Posted by jackslimpson

Sometimes when I'm honing, the blade makes a shrill screeching sound as it scrapes along the stone. Is this bad? Does it mean I'm doing something wrong?

Thanks,

Jack

Prolly just hard steel not getting cut by the stone for whatever reason.