Thread: Beginning to get why honemeisters charge extra for wedges...

So I have been honing my two hollow grounds for a while on a barbers hone, but I received my King 1k/6k a while back and finally had enough time to reset the bevel on my J.R. Shuyler and Co near wedge...I thought. First of all I realized how many of the things I read on here seemed like gobbledygook and gibberish had a love child when I started, apparently the part about bevels most of all because this bevel was far worse than I thought it was. And so I started to work, and two hours later I was closer. Now at two and a half I have stopped for the night, but im thinking there is still much more to go before I get this bad boy really set.

Check out gssixgun's honing a smiling wedge video on this site, it will help you a ton;

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I've had some that if I was getting $25.00 I wouldn't end up near minimum wage figuring the hours worked . Become a pro honer and you'll never get rich, you may get carpel tunnel though.

Wow thanks for the heads up on the gssixgun video, that will help me out on tomorrows episode of set this F&*(@# bevel. Hopefully I will get faster at this otherwise my developing RAD will turn this into a full time job.

Originally Posted by backtobasics

Wow thanks for the heads up on the gssixgun video, that will help me out on tomorrows episode of set this F&*(@# bevel. Hopefully I will get faster at this otherwise my developing RAD will turn this into a full time job.

Don't worry about speed! It will come. If it's the first wedge-y blade you have honed, be ready to have to go back to the stones a couple of times. You may think you have it only to have a ho-hum shave. If that happens, don't give up, but go back to getting the bevel right. It will take patience and potentially quite a bit of time, but as long as you have good steel there, it will all be worth the effort.

And if you find yourself getting frustrated, set it down, take a break, and come back to it later.

Above all, be patient!

Are drop dead perfect pro honers on this site that charge $15 a blade,most take 15 mins to do,JMO,granted some may take a bit more.

Originally Posted by backtobasics

So I have been honing my two hollow grounds for a while on a barbers hone, but I received my King 1k/6k a while back and finally had enough time to reset the bevel on my J.R. Shuyler and Co near wedge...I thought. First of all I realized how many of the things I read on here seemed like gobbledygook and gibberish had a love child when I started, apparently the part about bevels most of all because this bevel was far worse than I thought it was. And so I started to work, and two hours later I was closer. Now at two and a half I have stopped for the night, but im thinking there is still much more to go before I get this bad boy really set.

Welcome to the world of edge restoration. 15 minute jobs, not likely, but a 320 grit hone can save some time.

I've yet to deal with a true wedge that only takes me 15mins...God I wish...lol.

Yeah, 15 minutes is probably a bit on the optimistic side for a big old wedge, though obviously it depends on where the bevel is at when you start.

I'm with Oz on this one - when I have an edge restoration to do on a wedgey grind I crack out my Atoma 400 grit diamond plate and tape (as long as the spine doesn't need correction) - often 2 or 3 layers of tape helps mitigate the time a bit. It's a serious job requiring either serious tools or serious patience, or more often than not both.

Good luck to you and keep at it - you'll get there.

James.

Not to mention there is more to honing someone else's blade than just honing it. There is also time in the communication with that person, often some time giving the blade a light cleaning (cause why not?), shave testing, stropping after the shave test, packing it up, taking it to the PO, etc.