Thread: Are x-strokes necessary?

Is it really necessary to use x-strokes when your hone is wider than your razor is long? I just got a Norton 4k/8k and gave it my first shot (seemed easier than all the hullaballoo on this site made me think it would be. Maybe i'm doing it wrong, idk). Anyways, my razor is about half a centimeter shorter than the hone is wide, so I can maintain contact all the way across if I just went straight. In such a case, is there any advantage to still using x-strokes?

I think there might have been only 391 threads containing X strokes prior to this one..........

Let me read through them and get back to you...........

I'll look for hullaballoo...........

Have fun.

IMO yes there definitely is. For one thing the hone, if it is absolutely flat, won't stay that way as you continue to use it. The edge and spine of the razor may not be absolutely perfect in symmetry, so the razor may appear to be in contact with the stone all of the way across but at the micro level it may not be. The X stroke compensates for any of these anomalies. There is also a difference in the direction of the scratch pattern that I think has something to do with the effectiveness of the edge in shearing whiskers. Just IMHO, YMMV.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

IMO yes there definitely is. For one thing the hone, if it is absolutely flat, won't stay that way as you continue to use it. The edge and spine of the razor may not be absolutely perfect in symmetry, so the razor may appear to be in contact with the stone all of the way across but at the micro level it may not be. The X stroke compensates for any of these anomalies. There is also a difference in the direction of the scratch pattern that I think has something to do with the effectiveness of the edge in shearing whiskers. Just IMHO, YMMV.

Answers my question, thanks

When I started out I made sure all my hones were wide enough so the entire blade would fit so I wouldn't have to do X strokes.

yea, I learned my lesson quick enough.