Honing Razors and Nihonkamisori: Updated.

I made a translation error, of course.


On my recent visit to Iwasaki-san, I asked him about the particularly confusing section, 3.5 Edge Finishing.

What I translated as "standing" should have been translated as "lengthwise."

Instead of honing the razor standing, you hone it flat but pull it parallel to the edge...meaning, not forward or backward, but sideways, 1mm or 2mm.

I've updated the translation, if you care to have the corrected copy, or you can just paste it in:

"Using just the weight of the blade, very very lighly 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. On the off chance that you move too much, or use too much pressure, you will remove too much steel and you'll create another false edge. In that case, you should go back and repeat step (4). This technique is very delicate, and requires a lot of practice."

Here's a translation link: Honing Razors and Nihonkamisori.