Thread: Finishing Hones question

I like hand holding but I am not adept enough to do that. Meaning I tend to let my thoughts drift when I hold the stone vs on a table.

Since I only have larger hones I like using the towel on table method. If I had some small ones hand holding would work. Now that I think of it, I do have some smaller ones that I use for knives and other small sharp objects.

Thx for the replys guys,as said YMMV. Just find holding a finisher in hand works best for me.

As they say - if it works for you keep doing it.

I remember seeing a YouTube vid of a guy holding his finishing stone at the 'balance point' so as to use the lightest possible pressure

I started with the 8"x3" nortons so got in the habit of honing with the stone on a piece of the waffled rubber shelf liner on a folded paper towel, that on the counter top in front of the kitchen sink. Lapping plate in front of me in the kitchen sink. Easy to turn on the tap and lap under running water if need be.

For smaller 5x2" coticules I may sometimes hand hold. I hone with one hand so I can do it either way. Mostly on the countertop though.

far from pro and im sure you have answers your looking for but i use a holder for everything that will fit in it unless it is a narrow hone , narrow hones no matter what the length are for me i seem to always get a better edge and hone better in my hand , its strange cause i broke my left are years ago so i can only turn my hand at almost a 90 degree angle so holding a hone gives me a strange angle but feels so much natural to me then laying flat ..lol.. ive been starting to hold all of my smaller hones now though

Originally Posted by Havachat45

As they say - if it works for you keep doing it.

I remember seeing a YouTube vid of a guy holding his finishing stone at the 'balance point' so as to use the lightest possible pressure

This is what I do for the last few strokes on an esher/thuri. [/I]

Sham taught me to hand finish...still do it to this day. The larger stones like my CF I still keep on the honing table, but you get absolute feel holding the stone in your hand. You do have to keep an eye out though, I've tagged my palm a couple times too.