Where should I go now?

I'm not sure if this is an advanced or basic question - so please move it if appropriate.

I'm wondering what you more experienced honers would do if you were me.

I have a few razors that I've been touching up. They are shaving pretty well. I fact, I can get very good shaves from them. But...I feel like they could be just a wee bit sharper. That is, I feel like they could cut through those tough areas just a bit better.

Should I go all the way back to an 8K Norton level? A coticule with just water? or just some of the chrom/ox I'm so fond of? Would the finer grits only smooth the edge as opposed to actually making it a bit sharper?.

Or should I just be happy that I'm getting good shaves and leave it alone:rolleyes:

Thanks
Jordan

Give it another 50-100 very light laps on the coticule with just water. Then, finish up on the CrO.
As far as going with finer grits, I follow the yellow coticule with a Thuringen and then follow the Thuringen with a Nakayama. Assuming I have a good bevel, the edges I get are awesome. BTW, I also finish with CrO befor stropping.

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Originally Posted by netsurfr

Give it another 50-100 very light laps on the coticule with just water. Then, finish up on the CrO.

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Sound advice. That's really the first thing you should try.
It is possible however that you end up at about the same level as before. Many coticules can be pretty slow when used with only water, and I really would advice against raising a slurry, because that will make the edge duller at this stage of honing instead of sharper.
It is possible that the very tip of your bevel still lacks a bit of keenness, and that your coticule (with water) is too slow a polisher to fix that for you. If you finish with Chromium Oxide on a strop, that could even further mask a certain lack of sharpness as you left the hones.

IF those 50-100 very light laps don't give you the improvement you expect, then I would go back to the 4K for a few very light laps. Try to aim for maximum sharpness off that 4K. You should be able to perform a HHT really well. Only then, polish 50 laps on the coticule.

I like Chromium Oxide a lot myself, but if you want to improve your honing skills, it's best to test shave once with a razor before applying the CrO. Only if a razor is already shaving very well, Chromium Oxide will unleash its full potential. Other than that, if will squeeze a few mediocre shaves out of a poorly honed razor.

best regards,

Bart.

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Originally Posted by Bart

...Only if a razor is already shaving very well, Chromium Oxide will unleash its full potential. Other than that, if will squeeze a few mediocre shaves out of a poorly honed razor....

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True words of wisdom here! The better I get at honing, the more apparent this becomes. Especially if you use a pasted hanging strop. That can make up for a LOT of sloppy honing really fast.

I agree with Bart 100%.

Go forward to the coticule. Do your honing and make the last five laps lighter and lighter. Another possibility is to go from the coticule to the Shapton 16000. You'll be very pleased. I wouldn't recommend going back to the Norton. Once you get into wanting that last 10% of performance you can wring out of a blade, you want something that can give it to you.