Thread: The X-stroke: uneven edge wear by design?

How do you start with the toe off the hone without having the stabilizer on the hone? Pictures?

Originally Posted by brooksie967

How do you start with the toe off the hone without having the stabilizer on the hone? Pictures?

with great difficulty. I do have a problem with the heel getting less sharper than the rest of the body of the blade, I assume this is why.

Take a look at your stroke and the blade relative to the hone and think about what we are trying to do. It is removing metal to make the equal bevel. There is probably a geometric terminology for it but I don't know what the word is. So analyze whether your placement of the blade and stroke are accomplishing the goal. If not make adjustments. Have you ever done the magic marker test ? Coloring the bevel and doing a couple of strokes to make sure your blades contact with the hone is full from end to end ?

Also take another look at some of Lynn's vids and see if you are starting and finishing x strokes as he does. That would be a good indication of whether you are going in the right way. I tend to go a bit more heel leading than Lynn but we all have to do what works for us within the parameters of correct honing.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Take a look at your stroke and the blade relative to the hone and think about what we are trying to do. It is removing metal to make the equal bevel. There is probably a geometric terminology for it but I don't know what the word is. So analyze whether your placement of the blade and stroke are accomplishing the goal. If not make adjustments. Have you ever done the magic marker test ? Coloring the bevel and doing a couple of strokes to make sure your blades contact with the hone is full from end to end ?

Also take another look at some of Lynn's vids and see if you are starting and finishing x strokes as he does. That would be a good indication of whether you are going in the right way. I tend to go a bit more heel leading than Lynn but we all have to do what works for us within the parameters of correct honing.

I do use the magic marker test but I will review with you said and try everything else thanks for the advice!

Originally Posted by northwoodsrob

Anyway, on to my question. I've been dabbling in honing throughout the past year, and have been able to successfully sharpen my razors. But I've always had a question about the X-stroke that just doesn't make sense to me. I've watched a ton of videos, read all the Wikis and many threads here, and to me, it seems that the recommended X-stroke leads to uneven edge wear.

Just the opposite, this question comes up about every 6 months because it "Just doesn't make sense"

If you don't use the X stroke properly is where you have issues, uneven honing pressure will cause problems, as well as running a razor straight up and down the hones...

Understand first off, that the hone nor the razor is actually dead flat/even the X stroke eliminates those inconsistencies, that is how it works, and why it works, in a simple concise answer...