Being a newbie, I want to pass along some of my honing experiences. In the past, I had only honed beaters and I have finally gotten to the point where I can hone good quality (and more expensive) razors. Right now I am honing a Japanese razor made of Swedish steel. I am using the progression recommended for razors on the Japan-Tool site. The recommendation is for Shapton Glass 1k, 2k, and 6k followed by a jnat. The razor is a vintage Kikuboshi in almost perfect condition. The problem was the toe. The previous owner had rolled or ham-fisted the toe such that the stone would not touch the final 1-1/2 mm. So I had to start out with a Shapton 500 to get the bevel down to the toe. Fortunately, the grind is perfect and I was able to reach a straight bevel from heel to toe. Being hard Swedish steel, this took me two honing sessions before I finally set that bevel with the 1k. (I always find it best to take a break before the sessions become tedious.) The third session was with the 2k and 6k. I was amazed at how well the Shapton 6k finishes. A few laps on linen and leather and I was getting decent HHT results with course hair. Tomorrow I will start refining with my jnat; an Oozuku Asagi.
Again, being a newbie I wanted to pass this along. I ruined plenty of beaters to get to this point. I knew I had reached an important milestone when I developed the muscle memory to smoothly slide the blade flat along the stone, flip/regrasp the blade, and then slide in the other direction. To my fellow newbies, hope this helps and don't give up.
Again, being a newbie I wanted to pass this along. I ruined plenty of beaters to get to this point. I knew I had reached an important milestone when I developed the muscle memory to smoothly slide the blade flat along the stone, flip/regrasp the blade, and then slide in the other direction. To my fellow newbies, hope this helps and don't give up.
