Getting most out of 8K hone?

[binder]

I have a few honing questions. Would appreciate some advice.

I was wondering what I could do to get the most out of an 8K hone. Are there any techniques that would help?

Do striations matter as far as honing:
Can I lesson the depth by changing the angle as I hone; will this give a better shave?
Does the direction of striations matter?

Thanks

 

[jpcwon]

Well I don't have my Norton 4/8 anymore (sold it), but I can tell you that i got the best results when I went really light on the pressure. I also didn't use too much water on the stone. You want enough so that the blade can undercut it, but not too much as it would create too much of a "Cushion" between the stone & the blade. I would then push the water right off the edge of the stone (versus honing with slurry, where you want to keep it on the stone) in each direction as I went. YMMV though; that's just what worked for me...

 

[global_dev]

What's a striation in this context? Scratch marks?

 

[sychodelix]

Yeah...changing angles other than what is natural is not a good idea. Hone normally first, then maybe add a drop of dish soap and very light strokes.

 

[global_dev]

Color me confused in this thread. What's an unnatural angle. We talking lifting the spine?

 

[sychodelix]

Yeah, I think so. And yeah, the striations are the scratches.

Although to the OP, the angle CAN change if you use more of less tape. Really it just reduces the width of the bevel. So I guess it could affect the shave somewhat, but there are drawbacks to tape as well.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I thought he meant spine lifting at first too, but in the context of the question, he may mean changing the angle of his x stroke pattern (in other words not using the full length of the stone to maximum effect).

If that is your question, then there are two answers. Neither of them will make you want to do what you are considering. The first answer is simply that the idea that abrasive particles will follow their tracks in effect isn't really how it works at this level of refinement. On much coarser grits it is possible, but with the depth high grit stones cut at and the consistency of particle distribution in these stones, it isn't really how high grit abrasion works. The second answer is that doing what you want to do to an extent where it is in your control (and not simply happening because your strokes are not all exact replica's of their predecessor) is actually a bad thing because of how steel abrades. You will in effect be creating a more jagged edge by cutting more perpendicular to the scratch pattern, rather than parallel to it. This will remove larger portions of metal with every cut. This is why honing in circles is faster than x-strokes.

For a cutting edge, you typically want the scratch pattern perpendicular or nearly so to the direction the blade will be driven to cut. For instance with knives you use with a drawing motion, the ideal scratch pattern will be made by honing the blade edge to spine with a slight heal to tip angle. On razors, this is much less important as they are used so sharp that there really isn't much of a draw (at least with how I shave), so anywhere close to perpendicular to the length of the blade is fine, just don't start honing with direct heel to toe drawing, as the results will be unimpressive.

 

[Legion]

I suppose unicot and adding tape at the end is basically changing the angle you hone on. If it works with coticules it should work just as well on an 8k.

 

[Disburden]

I love my norton and get super nice shaves from it without pastes or finishers. It takes practice to know when to keep going or to stop.

You need to know when to be on the 8k side before you start. A lot of people move from 4000 to 8000 too early, which leads to problems later. I only stop on the 8side when I can shave leg hair, half length, where the hair just falls silently. If I hear pops or pings and feel the edge grip the hair then I will make ten more laps and test again.

 

[Gamma]

Best way to get the most out of your 8k is to learn how to max out on 1k and 4k first.
If - when you get to the 8k and you start honing on it you see a fair amount of swarf - you're probably not done with the 4k and it's entirely possible that you didn't max out on 1k.

Striations - or scratch patterns - are normal. What's important is that the ones you see are from the last stone you used. Each stage should wipe the scratches from the previous stone.

 

[binder]

Thanks for the replies. SliceOfLife you were right about what I meant of changing the angles. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. If I understand what you mean about the scratches being perpendicular than short x strokes would be the best?

 

[jred]

On lower grits I'll work heel to toe, then lightly toe to heel, which I think is what you're talking about. If you're lightening up on your pressure, it should result in less deep scratch marks/smoother edge.