Honing - Pros & Cons ??

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Gordon

Gordon

Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2005
Messages
181
Location
Wichita, KS, USA.
Still trying to learn my new Wet Sharpener machine.

I've done some web searching regarding the honing process - and there appears to be some differences in opinion whether or not to "hone" after the initial "dry/wet" sharpening.

Some honing proponents feel that it is an essential step - while others do not believe that the additional honing step is that benefical or is even counter productive.

I would appreciate your comments - as always

Thanks

Gordon
 
Last edited:
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
My take is that it's a personal preference sort of thing. Honing will produce a finer finish requiring less sanding as long as your turning skills are up to snuff. But if your talking about hogging out a bowl or turning a spindle round, then it's not such a big deal. That's my observation from reading on the subject.
 
While doing woodworking with my chisels and carving tools I need a razor sharp edge and yes honing and stroping is a must but with lathe turning tools it would be a waste of time.
 
I "sharpen" my turning tools to create an edge. Then I "hone" them to touch up the edge between sharpening.
 
I find a touch up honing on a sharpening stone is a quick way to bring back the edge in less time than firing up the grinder.
A lot less wear on the tools too.
 
There have been articles published in the last two editions of the American Wood Turner authored by Alan Lacer and a specialty steel manufacturer.

The answer is that the surface quality will be different with a smoother, polished edge.

This suggests that honing is valuable for finish cuts and less important for roughing and rounding.

If you use carbide inserts -- you neither grind nor hone as a general rule (unless you have diamond sharpening gear for tooling).

I would rather hone than sand -- and that is the tradeoff according to the articles.
 
honing removes the burr. when it comes to turning tools I was told that you want the burr as the tool is designed and used to take advantage of it. on your razor blade on the other hand it is not desirable. The way I understand it the burr helps the tool dig in. not exactly what you are looking for on your face.
the hook of a band saw blade does the same thing. as each tooth enters the wood it actually pulls the wood into the saw. or that is the perfect world version of what it does. wood seems to have it's own ideas. but in that general perfect world thinking you want the burr on turning tools. in reality... suit yourself, I really don't think it makes that much of a difference. Never done any studies though.
 
When I first startyed turning, I was very picky about sharpening and honing. Then I read a book by Richard Raffin about turning. When I got to the part where he said he kept his bench grinder near by to resharpen, and then go right back to turning, I haven't honed since.
 
Daniel said:
honing removes the burr. when it comes to turning tools I was told that you want the burr as the tool is designed and used to take advantage of it.
Click to expand...
I had the privilige of learning sharpening from an old German cabinet maker who learned his trade during WW2. He worked completely with hand tools and man that little guy could sharpen a tool! He taught me to grind a curve on the bevel, hone by balancing on the top and bottom edges of the ground-curve and then a final touch-up on the leather strop.
He taught me that the burr is very important on scrapers, it is the burr that does most of the cutting on these tools.
For tools like planes and chisels, you do not want a burr. These tools work best when they are extremely sharp. He also taught me, you only need to hone and strop until you hone so deep that you loose the curve ground into the bevel.
 
There is a place or need for honing and times when it can be done without. I personally prefer honing.

There are times when turning pens in which turning without sanding is a necessity. I haven't noticed many talking about this method, but it sure works. An ordinary grinder sharpened chisel will not produce that level of smoothness on a pen.

Segments with metals and contrasting wood colors can greatly benefit from not having to sand. Honing gets me there.
 
Last edited:
Nice article in American Woodturner on honing

There's a real nice article on honing (Alan Lacer and Jeryl Wright) in the Summer 2009 issue of American Woodturner. Theres definately a difference in the finish off a honed edge--the article has a lot of high magnification photos. However, as has been mentioned here, you might not care in a roughing sitution.
 
my local wood working group had a special meeting on sharpening and there we were told Honing and stroping makes a major difference in turning. When I was at the local wood craft yesterday; I was told that using a strop on turing tools would provide no benefit. I'm going to try and see for my self and then decide.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom