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So you're new and you want to start honing? Here's what you need to know.

I felt like writing a brief guide on what is needed with some explanations would be of help to other newbies. When I first started I was extremely confused and overwhelmed, and I made a bunch of threads asking a ton of questions. I tried to think of everything that I wanted to know when I first started and put it into a guide for others. If something like this already exists, let me know, but I remember having a bit of trouble finding info like this easily and in one place. If you have any suggestions or corrections, please PM me so I can make changes. So, here goes nothing:

A newbie's guide to honing: How to start


So, you want to hone but have NO idea where to begin. Listen closely, because there are many, many ways to skin a cat. The good thing about this is that they all work, and they all have their advantages and disadvantages. Just like shaving, you need to figure out what works for you and what you like best.

The first thing you want to do is figure out what you’re going to work with. At a minimum, you’re going to need two items, something to set a bevel and then another hone to finish the edge on.

Bevel Setter – This isn’t completely necessary if you only plan on touching up or fixing razors that were shave ready. On occasion though, you may want to go back and make sure your bevel is set. You may find a razor on ebay that hasn’t had an edge in decades. In this case, you will go to your bevel setter. Bevel setting is one of the first steps of honing and is the most important step. You will be removing the most steel here and will probably spend the most given time on this stone. There are several options for bevel setting: DMT 1200, King 1k, Naniwa 1k, Chosera 1k…etc. Some people use as low as 600 grit stones for removing steel from edges that have chips in them. Some people set bevels at a higher grit, like 2-3k. Regardless, having a stone in your tool box for completing such a task, in my opinion, is necessary.

Once you have chosen a stone for setting your bevel you must decide where to go from here. There are many ways to progress up to a finished edge. The two main categories here are Natural and Synthetic.

A natural hone would be something like a Coticule or JNAT (Japanese Natural Stone), or in other words, a stone that was mined from the earth. The advantage to using a natural stone is that many of them are very versatile. For example, on a Coticule, you can build up a slurry and slowly dilute it while honing. What this does is very similar to using a bunch of different stones and slowly progressing into higher and higher grits. In other words, once your bevel is set, you can use one of these from start to finish. Not everyone does this, but many do with great success. Natural hones are usually more challenging, as it takes time to learn the methods required for the stone you chose. Results, at first, are going to be hard to duplicate.

Synthetics are offered in many forms. There are synthetic stones like the Naniwa Super Stones, as well as diamond sharpening plates like the DMT line of products. Another unique but effective form of synthetic honing is done with lapping film. When using a synthetic method, common practice is to start out at a lower grit and slowly move up to the higher grits. This requires more than one stone, a combination stone (or two), or several different sheets of lapping film. On synthetic stones there is a slightly easier learning curve to face, and the results are generally more consistent.

Now that you’ve done your research and have purchased the hone of choice, it’s time to get started! But before you start, there’s one more thing you should know about – Lapping. Before using any kind of stone, standard practice is to lap it flat. When you first purchase a hone, chances are it isn’t going to be flat. It might be pretty close, but you never know for sure. If you are going to use lapping film, this doesn’t apply. There are several ways to lap a stone. Some people purchase a DMT plate and use it specifically for lapping. Personally, I use 400 or 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper. I wet down a flat granite plate I got from Home Depot, stick the sandpaper to it, and under running water start sanding the stone flat. It is a good idea to draw gridlines in pencil across the honing face so you can see which parts still haven’t been sanded down yet. There are videos on how to lap on youtube if you need further instruction. Just remember, make sure your stones are flat before you use them.

One last thing, though not required, it’s nice to have. Magnification. I use a cheap microscope from RadioShack, I think it was 10-15 dollars and it magnifies up to 100x. This allows me to look at the scratch patterns on my edge so I can check on my honing progress. Many honers use a jeweler’s loupe, which can be found on Amazon or other online vendors. I wouldn’t want to hone without some type of magnification, but it isn’t completely necessary.

I hope now you have more of an understanding on what honing is and what is required to do it. It can be relatively cheap and fairly simple if you use something like lapping film, or it could be a bit more pricey and complicated if you decide to use a JNAT or Coticule. There is no set way to hone either, so do what you like. Some people use a combination of synthetic stones and naturals. Some start on naturals and end with films. It doesn't matter what you do, or how you get there. It matters that the end result is a good, smooth edge to shave with. I don’t have a ton of experience with a lot of this stuff, so I’m not going to go into how to use each hone. There are a lot of threads in here and videos on youtube that will help you.

Here are links to some websites that sell various hone-related products to get you started:


Japanese Natural Stones Toishi (JNATS, Naguras, Razors & Strops)

Japanese chef knife. Sharpening stone. Razor strop. Japanese Razor (JNATS, Naguras, Razors, Strops & Knives)

The Superior Shave (Coticules and BBWs)

Sharpening Stones

Lee Valley Tools

Reed Knife, Leather Knife Roll, Diamond Stone, Butcher Knife - JendeIndustries.com

Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more (King stones, DMTs...etc)

Thorlabs, Inc. - Your Source for Fiber Optics, Laser Diodes, Optical Instrumentation and Polarization Measurement & Control (Lapping film)

Cable Tools | Test Equipment | Tool Kits | Cases, Specialized Products (Lapping film)

These are good threads on lapping film, if you would like more information:

Lapping film, try it.
Seraphim's Synthetic Progression

Again, if you disagree with something, find something to be inaccurate, or have suggestions please PM me so I can fix this.
 
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Thanks guys. Like I said, this write up consisted mostly of questions I had when I began my honing journey, so hopefully it helps some other new guys out as well.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
I suggest throwing a few links in there, so a newb reading it will have more stuff to explore deeper into honing. But good. You have now graduated from the Grasshopper stage. Except you forgot to mention that film rules and is totally more awesome than a bunch of lame old rocks.
 
I suggest throwing a few links in there, so a newb reading it will have more stuff to explore deeper into honing. But good. You have now graduated from the Grasshopper stage. Except you forgot to mention that film rules and is totally more awesome than a bunch of lame old rocks.


Yeah I threw in the links I could find for right now, I'll have to do some digging when I get home from work to add more. Aside from the lapping film threads that are already linked, I can't think of any other threads for any other honing that are really in depth how to's. If you know of any threads, send me the links and I will add them to the main post.

I wouldn't say film is more awesome than my trusty rocks though :thumbdown BUT - I did just order some 3 and 1 micron to play around with.
 
Excellent introductory tutorial. The only omission was the importance of MOJO in order to obtain a truly fine edge.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Excellent introductory tutorial. The only omission was the importance of MOJO in order to obtain a truly fine edge.

$mojo.jpg
There ya go.
 
Only drawback is you will scare em off when they see how much they need. They told me all i needed was a norton 4/8.(Lol) and some wet dry to'lap it.
 
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