New to honing, Read this
Tips for New Honers
- Check to make sure your hone is flat (do a pencil grid lapping to make sure it is flat. Watch GSSixgun's video here:[1] When lapping, cleaning, or otherwise using abrasives on your stone, avoid using excessive pressure.
- Keep the shoulder off of the stone. If you put the shoulder of the blade on the hone,the heel is not touching the stone and will result in the heel of the razor not getting honed and/or the shoulder being chewed up.
- Avoid heel heavy strokes. Strokes heavy on the heel cause lifting of the toe of the razor off the hone. Work on your honing grip so that it allows you to perform a nice & even stroke. Try putting your ring finger and pinky finger under the scales and supporting them to keep the razor flat. Use the magic marker test to see where you are and aren't making contact with your stroke, this will teach you a ton and allow you to focus on fixing it.
- Choose a method before you start. Circles, pyramid, etc, but stick with it so you will be able to repeat it next time and build the muscle memory. (If you choose circles, try small tight circles vs large sweeping circles)
- Turn (spin) the stone while honing to account for variance in stroke every so often.
- Pressure for bevel setting is a good thing (moderate, not too heavy), then less pressure, then no pressure. This takes a while to get used to, however, there is NO pressure when finishing on the 4k and moving on to the 8k.
- If you develop swarf on the 8k, it means you went there too soon and need to go back to the 4k.
- Change your tape (if you choose to tape the spine). Tape is softer than steel and wears out and thereby lowers the angle of honing as it wears away. A good rule of thumb is to change tape between grits or at least between steps i.e. after bevel set, after 4k.
For a lot of great information, videos, etc on honing with the Norton 4k/8k stone please check out this thread:[2]
