better results for me

[jimmyman]

i was looking after the kids today in the house and they was playing so i had to move from my office to the other rooms so i started honing a ebay dog with my new 64 from the vault i normaly have the stone on the table but this time i put the stone in my hand as i was moving around watching the kids now i have just stropped 60 on linen and 60 on leather and wow
hht3 nearly 4 the only difference was the coti was in my hand now i did find there was more control so thats it the hand from now on

 

[RicTic]

I've tried honing with the stone flat on a table, but I can't seem to get the angle of attack in a position that feels comfortable for me.
Holding the stone in my hand feels natural and allows me more control with the strokes. Less cack handed.
I've tried both methods with more success using the latter approach, as opposed to the former.
It could even explain why I had trouble with the set of naniwa's I used before trying a coticule.

 

[Smythe]

indeed, when the stone is in the hand it will "rock" side to side, and so it's easy to keep the blade flat on the hone during the stroke.

 

[Bart]

I too prefer hand-held honing.
I started out honing with the whetstone on the table, and on a given day, without really thinking about it, I picked up the stone and put it on my hand. It came spontaneously. I've never looked back. Even a thick heavy 8"X2.5" Coticule, I still keep on my hand. I usually rest my arm on the rim of the table, so the weight of a stone doesn't bother me.

But I do believe that any honing method can be put to work with the hone resting on a stable surface as well.

Kind regards,
Bart.