Under the mentorship of my, well--mentor. 
I learned the ropes using a Wakasa and a 5-stage Nagura progression of Botan, Tenjyou, Mejiero, Koma and Tomo.
In the beginning I knew two things: the order of events, and "no bevel, no edge." I would set the bevel with a 1K Naniwa and then get to making that bevel as perfect as I'm able. I've had a few DFS on my own hones, but not enough. My results left me with shavable, but I am desperately seeking the next level. My results were inconsistent. As Rush says, "Changes aren't permanent, but change is."
I won't bore you with details, but along the way I learned that it is the nuances of certain actions, constantly checking the edge with a loupe, and looking at the edge face-on at lower magnification. The more I read, the more I learn. Make sure your rock is lapped. Keep lacquer chips out of your damn slurry! LOL.
So my Ralf Aust needed a hone. Having been honed months ago, I did not reset the bevel, but put it through the progression. I took notes and gave the shave a 7. Shoulda been a 6. It was tuggy and horrific. It felt like a hone performed by a primate. Normally, I would have taken it down to Koma and Tomo again and retry. Instead I gave it another Tomo session and it went up to perhaps a 7.75. Since it improved it once, I did it again. Another Tomo session with much less slurry, and it shot up to a solid 8. I looked at the bevel with a 6X loupe edge-on, and it looked like a line. No glint, delineations, or "sides" to be found. I knew my bevel was good.
I had done this before, but only as an afterthought and never gave it enough time. Well, last night I honed after Tomo under a rivulet of water for about 15 minutes. I used as little pressure as I could--thinking to myself, "you ARE removing material, just be patient!" For the first time I got consistent HHT results, but only on the lower "toe" half of the blade. That was a first. The shave was almost a 9. Zero tug. As many of you are already familiar with, it's rewarding to find new ground. Moving forward, all my hones will end on water.
I once lucked into a buttery shave, but admit I don't know how I got there. This latest shave wasn't buttery, but more importantly than striking gold once, is knowing where the vein is. Just the progression of taking a somewhat lousy edge to a pretty good one was very satisfying.
As one in particular says (but many others suggest or infer): learn. Take notes. Do. Don't continue what doesn't work, continue to do what does. Load your toolbag with stuff that works. Get rid of what doesn't. As @Steve56, taught me (along with looking straight AT the bevel) pressure management is crucial--critical--make or break stuff. I'm still learning to apply enough pressure but not too much.
There are so many millions of words on this forum because the HOW TO can not be taught. Suggestions can be given, but you must DO to evolve. Every action that is explained has 100 micro-actions inherent that if are not done properly, can hose the whole job.
Anyway, I wanted to share this. I am making progress, and the nearly DFS I had off this Aust will be a DFS soon enough. I look forward to the next breakthrough. I want to create an edge like @Doc226 or @Steve56. Maybe I'll get there, maybe I won't, but I'm getting better--and that's the most important aspect. Sorry for the dissertation. Thanks for reading, everyone.
I learned the ropes using a Wakasa and a 5-stage Nagura progression of Botan, Tenjyou, Mejiero, Koma and Tomo. In the beginning I knew two things: the order of events, and "no bevel, no edge." I would set the bevel with a 1K Naniwa and then get to making that bevel as perfect as I'm able. I've had a few DFS on my own hones, but not enough. My results left me with shavable, but I am desperately seeking the next level. My results were inconsistent. As Rush says, "Changes aren't permanent, but change is."
I won't bore you with details, but along the way I learned that it is the nuances of certain actions, constantly checking the edge with a loupe, and looking at the edge face-on at lower magnification. The more I read, the more I learn. Make sure your rock is lapped. Keep lacquer chips out of your damn slurry! LOL.
So my Ralf Aust needed a hone. Having been honed months ago, I did not reset the bevel, but put it through the progression. I took notes and gave the shave a 7. Shoulda been a 6. It was tuggy and horrific. It felt like a hone performed by a primate. Normally, I would have taken it down to Koma and Tomo again and retry. Instead I gave it another Tomo session and it went up to perhaps a 7.75. Since it improved it once, I did it again. Another Tomo session with much less slurry, and it shot up to a solid 8. I looked at the bevel with a 6X loupe edge-on, and it looked like a line. No glint, delineations, or "sides" to be found. I knew my bevel was good.
I had done this before, but only as an afterthought and never gave it enough time. Well, last night I honed after Tomo under a rivulet of water for about 15 minutes. I used as little pressure as I could--thinking to myself, "you ARE removing material, just be patient!" For the first time I got consistent HHT results, but only on the lower "toe" half of the blade. That was a first. The shave was almost a 9. Zero tug. As many of you are already familiar with, it's rewarding to find new ground. Moving forward, all my hones will end on water.
I once lucked into a buttery shave, but admit I don't know how I got there. This latest shave wasn't buttery, but more importantly than striking gold once, is knowing where the vein is. Just the progression of taking a somewhat lousy edge to a pretty good one was very satisfying.
As one in particular says (but many others suggest or infer): learn. Take notes. Do. Don't continue what doesn't work, continue to do what does. Load your toolbag with stuff that works. Get rid of what doesn't. As @Steve56, taught me (along with looking straight AT the bevel) pressure management is crucial--critical--make or break stuff. I'm still learning to apply enough pressure but not too much.
There are so many millions of words on this forum because the HOW TO can not be taught. Suggestions can be given, but you must DO to evolve. Every action that is explained has 100 micro-actions inherent that if are not done properly, can hose the whole job.
Anyway, I wanted to share this. I am making progress, and the nearly DFS I had off this Aust will be a DFS soon enough. I look forward to the next breakthrough. I want to create an edge like @Doc226 or @Steve56. Maybe I'll get there, maybe I won't, but I'm getting better--and that's the most important aspect. Sorry for the dissertation. Thanks for reading, everyone.
