Thread: Keep it flat - it's not so simple

I'm wondering what you mean by "jack up the bevel"?

As for laying flat, the blade will tend to lie flat unless you manipulate it otherwise. Generally, the cause of that manipulation is pressure. Ultimately, you'll learn to allow it to lie flat with one hand.

Originally Posted by ace

I'm wondering what you mean by "jack up the bevel"?

As for laying flat, the blade will tend to lie flat unless you manipulate it otherwise. Generally, the cause of that manipulation is pressure. Ultimately, you'll learn to allow it to lie flat with one hand.

I mean, I didn't mess it up. The blade was dull but the TNT still passed great.

I'm glad that you noted that "the blade will tend to lie flat unless you manipulate it otherwise" because this is the core of one of the questions. Isn't the weght of the handle already putting the pressure on the heel so I, you, we all (honer) actually need to offset it by lifting lightly to keep it trully flat and uniformally pressured?

My experience has been that if you keep your honing elbow up at the level of the razor and stone and not below it that the razor will tend to lie flat on the stone. Most people start with their elbow down at their side, and the weight of their own arm works against them. When I hone with the elbow "up" this way, I find that the second, third and little fingers of my (in my case, right) hand cradle the scales from underneath them and keep the blade flat on the stone. It seemed uncomfortable at the very first but soon became habitual and comfortable. Once you set your honing arm up this way, flatness becomes a non-issue. I highly recommend it as do others here.

Flat on the stone is important to a degree. But there are things that change it's importance. If you keep a razor with a smiling edge profile flat on the hone, you will only manage to hone the belly of your blade. If you keep a razor with a rounded toe flat on the hone, you won't sharpen the toe. Granted, you'll hone enough of it to shave with. But not the whole thing. The way I know my razor is effectively being sharpened, isn't determined by whether or not the blade is flat on the hone, but by the water displacement in front of the edge, the amount of swarf visibly manifesting, and where that swarf is. If I've got swarf at the heel and toe, but nothing in the middle, then the razor belly(there's a frown in the blade) is not being sharpened. If I have swarf at the heel but nowhere else, nothing else is getting sharper. In order to determine that the entire razor edge is begin sharpened, the magic marker test works well. But also the evidence on the stone is my primary clue.

There's nothing wrong with using both hands, so long as it's working for you. Do it however you like. I use what's referred to as "japanese" honing strokes for most of my bevel setting. It's apparently an old school thing, but works for me. It takes both hands. For the rest of the razor sharpening, I use one handed x strokes and circles. Which also works for me. So far, nobody has told me I'm hurting anything by doing it that way. It also helps stave off boredom, which is my secondary motive while honing.