I don't know what it is about these vintage Sheffield blades but you can whomp up an edge on these in at least half the time it seems to take on say a Swedish or American blade. Got a nice little Wade & Butcher 4/8 off e-bay for $20 and of course it came "e-bay sharp". Painted the edge with a black marker and did ten passes on a DMT EF to see how true the blade was and though happily the blade was pretty straight the metal loss from the DMT scared me. Took out my soft arkansas and did less than 100 passes and am popping arm hair easily. Is Sheffield softer than other steels? The DMT looked like it was going to eat the razor for breakfast but the blade seems to like a slow cutter like the arkansas. Comments? Suggestions? Amusing antidotes? (I know that's not the right word but I cant spell George, Jeorge)