Another sharpening question...

[Robbie Buckley]

Hi all,
I'm slowly learning how to get a passable edge, helped along by the many sharpening threads. I was lucky enough to buy a couple of boxes of old tools cheap which included some nice planes and chisels, and also picked up a Bedrock #3 for $20 in lovely condition. Included in the boxes were two Aloxite #200 razor hones. They are very dark brown and hard - according to the internet they are around 6k-8k grit and I have been using these for finishing edges. My question - does it matter which side of the hone I use? They are about 5" x 2" but the top has about a 2x2 area with the embossed name and manufacturing mark at one end which is useless for sharpening on. I ended up flipping it over and flattening the bottom with an ez-lap diamond pate, and it is cutting much smoother than the top. Which side is normally used for honing?

Also, is it worth getting a finer stone, and what would be a reasonable finer stone to purchase if I want to go to a better finish? As a beginner, will I get a noticeably better edge than just stropping off the razor hone?
Cheers, Robbie.

[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Robbie and a belated welcome to the Creek.

My razor hone mostly sits unused. With my oilstones the edge produced by a translucent Arkansas stone gets stropped and that is usually enough. Sometimes a piece of jasper is used as a polishing stone.

One way to look at your situation maybe if the edges produced are able to do what they need to do and are supposed to be able to do, then you are doing fine. If for some reason you are not able to pare end grain or use a plane to its fullest capabilities, then one has to determine the problem.

If you are in my area, we could get together to see how your edges are doing. There are many others on the site in other parts of the country and world who would also be happy to work with you.

jtk

[Mel Fulks]

Sounds like one of the many "barber's hones". An expert on the subject has written here that those hones are usually not really fine enough for razors. They were used to make the bevel thinner and the final sharpening depended on strops and abrasive pastes. No reason to not use them on wood working tools allowing them to cut to the edge,if you like the result.

[Robbie Buckley]

Thanks guys,
I can pare end grain pine with no issues. Still trying to get the smoothing plane right, but I think that's more impatience than anything else. My #6 works fine, I think I just have to get the mouth opening and cap iron to work with each other on the #3. Next is learning to sharpen saws properly.

Cheers, Robbie.