Hone noob, need help!

[Hineas]

I have been trying to hone for a few months now with little success. I started off trying to hone a 5/8 Primble that I bought from another user, but could never get it sharp so sent it to somebody to hone it for me. Instead of wearing this razor to a snub, I decided to buy me some gold dollars so I can hone to my hearts content and not worry about too much wear on the spine or blade because hey, it cost me $4. I did grid off the shoulder and a little from the shank until the whole blade rested even on the hone.

Here is my set-up and technique. I'm going to try to list everything so you guys can give me tips.

1) I bought the quarter hones from Whipped Dog because money was an issue so I couldn't buy a full sized hone.
2) I soak them for about 15 minutes
3) While honing I use a spray bottle to keep the stones moist
4) I used the flattening stone to make sure they are flat (and I re-flatten them every now and then)
5) I have tried both small circular strokes so the whole blade is on the stone at a time
6) I have tried small x-strokes as best as the small hones will allow

For a few more details of 5 and 6. When I am doing the circular strokes I have tried anywhere from 10 strokes per side before changing sides up to 50 per side before switching. When I hone I pick a number and stick with it, unless I am doing higher numbers then I will slowly go down (for example, do 50 circular strokes per side, then 40, then 30, then 20, all in an attempt to make sure I don't get a big lip forming on one side).

When I do X-strokes, I do anywhere from about 25-50 before checking the edge and re-wetting the stone depending on how dry it feels and sounds. I usually do a heel leading stroke or just straight. I usually stick with one style of stroke (heel leading was most common, but now I feel straight on gives me more consistent strokes) for one session.

Here are my results so far. I have yet to get it shave ready.
I initially only did circular strokes. A LOT of circular strokes. I found I could get the bevel set to a certain stage then never get further. It could only cut hair on my arm with heavy pressure on the skin (never mid-shaft cutting of hair).
I then switched to mostly x-strokes. I'm doing better, but still not great. Still not cutting arm hair at mid shaft, but it only takes moderate pressure on the skin to cut hair. Also, with no pressure I am starting to feel the blade digging into my thumb on the thumb pad test. Once I got to this point I decided to try a shave. I finished polishing the edge up to the 8000 stone and the stropped the blade. It took 5 passes to get a SAS (2 WTG, 2 XTG, and one attempt at ATG), but it did have mild to moderate razor burn.

And one last thing. I have been trying to set the bevel on the 220 stone, which some people don't suggest on this forum. The reason I chose that stone was because the gold dollar had ZERO bevel. I could run my thumb down the entire blade with significant pressure without any cut. It is now sharp enough that it will EASILY cut my thumb with minimal pressure. Now that I am here, I have tried finishing the bevel setting on the 1000 stone. I bought a loupe and the bevel looks consistent on both sides of the edge. Coloring the blade with a sharpie shows I am also getting pretty consistent wear all along the edge. I may need to grind down a touch more of the shank because the last 1/8" of the heel isn't getting as good of wear with the sharpie test, but I don't typically use that part of the blade when I shave so I wasn't worried.

Here are some pictures of my blade:



And some closer pics of the bevel.

 

[Hineas]

Here is the sharpie test after 3 x-strokes. I did 3 strokes instead of just one because the camera wasn't picking up where the marker was taken quite as well. The area of wear was identical between 3 strokes and 1. As you can see, part of the heel isn't wearing quite as well, so I should probably grind down the part of the shoulder and shank that is wearing the most (more apparent on that area in the 25 stroke sharpie pictures).



And here is the blade 25 x-strokes later.




Like I said, I have yet to set the bevel sharp enough, I think. I can't cut arm hair mid shaft, despite HOURS of honing on this blade. I initially made a lot of progress the first hour, but now I am not making any progress. Any suggestions?

 

[global_dev]

These gds require a lot of removal to get a good bevel. Make sure on the 1k you are using enough pressure.

 

[Brooksie967]

Honestly looks like you're getting there. The blade has a nice thin little bevel. Have you reduced pressure? What grit are you honing on?
To get the heel of the blade, put a finger on the spine right by the stabilizer while doing your x stroke.

 

[Doc226]

GD shave very well but need a lot of help on the initial honing.

The shoulders tend to be large and lift the heel off the stone, this needs to be resolved, most commonly with a dremel and some thinning

Here is a new GD as it sits on the table

Here is one after the shoulders have been ground


Also not sure what your lowest grit is but on a 1K stone it takes some time to submit them

 

[buca3152]

The gold dollars ive done need the stabiliser ground. I havent had to work the shoulders. And none of the edges were flat. 600 dmt to start and even the 325 to get em started. I think a 1k like a norton would take a while. And in the process your hone would dish out on the heel side, thats another reason I like the dmts.

 

[Gamma]

Pressure on the spine (wear) seems uneven, like you're using pressure in spots.
Shinogi isn't crisp/clearly defined, almost looks like you're hitting the bevel more toward the edge, and not cleanly. Hard to tell without holding it in my hand.
Does the blade have a smile? Can't tell - could be distorition or my ipad, but it doesn't look straight.
If it does - that'll be another hurdle to overcome.

Nortons are soft - I'd rather use a DMT for that kind of work. It's much easier to get a clean line on a harder stone (plate) I think.