Felt blocks, felt pads and stropping

[R181]

Bob, the reason I wouldn't try this with a razor, well firstly a chisel is a hell of a robust piece of steel with a single bevel so a foil edge goes with the territory especially as you never went past a 1200 Indian oil stone, on the other hand we are going up to 12K and 20K edges I look at my razor edges regular when honing and just don't see that foil or feather edge he's talking about.

OK, that is about what I thought you would say. There really is not a lot of meat behind a straight razor's edge compared to a chef's knife was my take. So I guess we are thinking alike then. Yea, I also do not generally get a foil/feather edge when honing. Thanks for clarifying.

Bob

 

[Lord Fatboy]

Pow! Dr Matt's enthusiasm is infectious!

Seriously Robin, looks very interesting, never heard of this before. I'll order a block and add to my list of 'things to try'. Thanks for sharing.

Did you ever try it? I only really use mine to get rid of swarf embedded in the scratch pattern now, which I think might have been the origin of the "floating foil" edge in the DrMatt video.

 

[Pedigree]

I think the purpose of using one is to remove the tiny bits of floating steel or toothiness and smooth out the edge before final stropping?

 

[Lord Fatboy]

I think the purpose of using one is to remove the tiny bits of floating steel or toothiness and smooth out the edge before final stropping?

Yes. It does seem to "tighten up" an edge by a percent of a percent, but I would not bet on the stated reasons why it works being the actual reasons why it works.

You do get a lot of "I haven't tried it, I'll never try it, I've never even heard of it, but I know it won't work!" on the SR forums (not here on ATG, of course, where the small number of dedicated SR honers makes for more of a fraternal attitude) but I always find it fun to experiment.

Felt is a fun thing to experiment with, like chalk strops and other barber/old timey things, but not necessary for regular honing.

 

[Gairdner]

The ex-missus used to strop a lot and by ‘eck, her tongue was wicked sharp! Shaved me down to size a few times and I certainly ‘felt’ it…

Been making strops today actually. Paddle strops for my knives and chisels. Did the wood side of things today so on wi’ leather in morning (afternoon).