Thread: Dry honing

Is there any reason I shouldn't dry hone with my C12K? Does it make any functional difference if I use water or Smith's honing solution or glycerine instead of using it dry?

From my experimenting it seems the edge will be finer more even or call it smoother if you use some kind of lube. Clear water seems to work just fine. I can see the difference at 45x quite clearly. With lube the edge is straighter without more coarse and uneven but most importantly the smoothest shaves for me come from when I finish with water.

OP , What's your goal ?
I sometimes do a few strokes dry on my finest Jnat as a touchup a la barber hone but otherwise always use water when honing.

When Oz speaks I always listen! I've never found his counsel wrong!!

I'm just learning to hone and trying to get good edges on a few different razors. Less mess to deal with is a big plus, but I can tolerate more mess and hassle if it'll mean a better edge. I just wondered how much of a difference water or oil might actually make.

I dunno but if you're making a mess maybe you're using too much slurry or water etc.
The only mess I get is on top of the hone unless I'm ripping & tearing into a beat up old edge to find good steel. Even then the mess radius is pretty minor.

I find that dry honing produces a finer edge.

Try it and see what happens. I have an old manual on my pc that recommends dry honing on naturals over water or oil....

Originally Posted by onimaru55

I dunno but if you're making a mess maybe you're using too much slurry or water etc.
The only mess I get is on top of the hone unless I'm ripping & tearing into a beat up old edge to find good steel. Even then the mess radius is pretty minor.

I don't so much mean mess like that really. We're really cramped for space here, so just getting the stone out and onto table with a towel can be an ordeal and inconveniences a few people and causes a disruption.

But I can just sit on the bed and hone dry without putting anybody out you see.

Though I'll just bite the bullet and do it if it makes a real difference.

I've found a few spots of water on the Chinese 12k and then honing until it's dry to give a decent edge which can be done in hand without any mess or splash. I don't find the edge functionally any better, just another method that works.