I have had this document for a long time. I admit that I’ve mostly ignored it but found it very interesting reading. One thing I’ve tried:
Using just the weight of the blade, very very lighlty pull the razor about one or two millimeters in a direction parallel to the razor’s edge [i.e. instead of edge leading or spine leading, move the razor slightly back and forth perpendicular to the stone.–JDR]. Don’t move any further than that.
There’s a video of Japanese sharpener who, I think, worked with Iwasaki doing this technique. I tried it; testing sharpness and doing microscope images before and after. I found that the edge cleaned up a little bit and became slightly keener. But I was at it for 10 minutes - well into the level of diminishing returns IMO. I made a video of this. Go to the 1hr mark (the video is far too long) and proceed from there.
I have had this document for a long time. I admit that I’ve mostly ignored it but found it very interesting reading. One thing I’ve tried:
Using just the weight of the blade, very very lighlty pull the razor about one or two millimeters in a direction parallel to the razor’s edge [i.e. instead of edge leading or spine leading, move the razor slightly back and forth perpendicular to the stone.–JDR]. Don’t move any further than that.
There’s a video of Japanese sharpener who, I think, worked with Iwasaki doing this technique. I tried it; testing sharpness and doing microscope images before and after. I found that the edge cleaned up a little bit and became slightly keener. But I was at it for 10 minutes - well into the level of diminishing returns IMO. I made a video of this. Go to the 1hr mark (the video is far too long) and proceed from there.