Thread: Backhoning?

Yes, I would agree with that post. Simple eh?

It is one approach to honing. Now tell me how you will know when a wire edge is formed? No matter which approach a person uses to honing they will have to develop "markers" of some type that indicate when to move on to the next hone and when to stop honing and test shave. David developed his method and for him it works.

There would be no harm done if a person gave Davids method a try and developed the process for themselves.

Thanks for the replies gentleman.

After reading this it got me thinking that while this isn't the less is more approach, and should only be used for blades that need a bevel set it seemed like an alternative for a guy with a microscope and a lack of experience.

By taking the blade to a wire edge (easily seen with a microscope) with a coarser stone the honer is sure that both bevels meet at the edge along the entire blade, by progressing through the finer stones following David's instructions remove the remaining wire on the finishing stone followed by a few regular strokes would leave the edge as David describes "about as sharp as that razor will ever be before moving to the plain-leather strop". This procedure seems like it would take away allot of guesswork and knock down on the amount of test shaves and indecision a new guy faces.

I am not in any position to recommend this as an alternative but I found this point of view interesting. I think I will test this method on my next eBay acquisition.

Miles

Miles,

Please do experiment and let us know how it goes.

I personally do not agree with the post you quoted. From what I've seen, the edge is damaged when a wire edge breaks away. I've created a wire on some of the coarser stones that left my blade looking like a crosscut saw when I finally got it off...

When the wire forms and then breaks off, you have to do more work on the next grit to get the edge back into shape. It's hard to get even small irregularities out with the higher grits.

I would think that the degree of damage lessens each time you move up to a higher grit, but it seems like it makes more sense to just avoid damaging the edge in the first place.

So, I don't mean to come across harshly, but I think that this approach will double or triple the amount of work it takes to get an edge ready.

I could be wrong; the author of that post probably has a lot more experience than I do.

Good luck,
Josh

Miles, Thank you for posting this method. I was finally able to get a very comfortable shave from one of my razors using this approach However, I only used my Norton 8k not any lower grits. 50 round trips on the 8k with the light back honing and a few light forward.

You know something that really sucks? Digging bits of former wire-edge out of your $$ 15k shapton with tweezers and a microscope... One guess how I know...

You something else that really sucks? Re-lapping your $$ translucent arkansas stone because the wire edge sheared off and gouged the stone... Ask me how I know...

YMMV, however. Do whatever works for you.

Originally Posted by mparker762

You know something that really sucks? Digging bits of former wire-edge out of your $$ 15k shapton with tweezers and a microscope... One guess how I know...

You something else that really sucks? Re-lapping your $$ translucent arkansas stone because the wire edge sheared off and gouged the stone... Ask me how I know...

YMMV, however. Do whatever works for you.

I never realised the translucent Arkansas was that soft. My white Arkansas is not that soft and honing woodworking tools till the wire edge comes off has never damaged the stone. Are the stones different? I'm not sure but I think my stone is a German quarried equivalent to the Arkansas though labeled as an Arkansas. Possibly the same makeup as the US stone but formed 150million yrs ago in Germany. Anyone here know if this is possible?

PuFF

Originally Posted by mparker762

You know something that really sucks? Digging bits of former wire-edge out of your $$ 15k shapton with tweezers and a microscope... One guess how I know...

You something else that really sucks? Re-lapping your $$ translucent arkansas stone because the wire edge sheared off and gouged the stone... Ask me how I know...

YMMV, however. Do whatever works for you.

Yikes!! I would not want to have to do that. But I'm curious now; how do YOU deal with an overhoned razor? I believe Lynn recommends backhoning. My honing skills aren't developed to the point where I won't get an overhoned edge now and then.

Mike