Originally Posted by
Derek Cohen
I do not use the Ruler Trick, but did so for a while about 20 or so years ago. In my opinion, if done correctly, it would not affect shooting and is not the cause of any issues. We are talking 1/3 of a degree here! That would not affect anything regarding performance. I stopped using it as it complicated sharpening.
Regards from Perth
Derek
To me it seems the problem with the ruler trick is its imprecision. People have different widths of stones and rulers. I'm not even sure about the correct way to do the movement of the blade. It seems side to side would be best to produce a flat bevel. If the blade were moved forward and back, it could make a convex bevel and a bit steeper. In an extreme case, honing back and forth with the length of the blade, on a 1/16" thick ruler using a narrow stone might be a problem.
Clearly I may not understand the proper steps involved with performing the ruler trick. For me it is simpler to not use it.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)