Thread: New to Honing

Hi guys I have a very basic question. I'm very new to honing and want to get it right or at least attempt to get it right the first time at at least the minimum level. What is the magic marker test and how do you perform it? What is it used for? I always hear about it but I'm not quite sure what its used for I think I know what its used for but any answers would be great. Thanks in advance!
Tony

It is a bevel tool brought over from the woodworking side of things,, Want to see how is works on a larger scale watch them use it on Gouges for a lathe.. Very beginning of this Vid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX_2ddYsUdg

You color the bevel to make sure your stroke is hitting the entire bevel, just makes it easier to see, you can do the same thing by just looking at the scratch marks once you get used to it..

It's basically to gauge how much metal is being removed from the bevel area, and whether your pressure is even across the whole blade. What you do is take a MM & draw a line along the very edge of the blade (right along the bevel). Then, when you're setting the bevel, you'll want to make sure that the MM is dissapearing uniformly along the edge...This will tell you that pressure is being applied evenly, and that you're exposing new metal along the bevel..