I can shave armhair off, but...

I bought a 3000/8000 combo and one rougher stone for bevel setting.

I followed the videos (lynn etc)... seems I can not get it sharp when honing with the spine (one layer of tape) flat on the stone.

However, I am able to get it sharp at bit higher angle (lifting the spine higher), so that there is a nice metallic snapping sound when I shave some hair of my arm.

Is there a way to move from the higher angle (which I guess is 18 degrees) to the flat angle? So that I can hone it with the spine flat, and getting it sharp? I tried to set a bevel when holding it flat. But no such luck. Only at the approx. 18 degrees angle it will get sharp.

Maybe the spine is simply not high enough?

As you can see, I am a newbie. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Lots more bevel setting.

Any time you raise the spine off the hone, you are doing a form of bread knifing. Once all nicks, chips, and other damage is removed from the edge you can then set the bevel. It will take a good bit of honing.

Relax, get comfortable, and get back to it. Once you think the bevel is set do a 1k shave test. Have fun.

Jonathan

Have you tried doing circles? There is a good video of Lynn doing circles and I find that it really helps me get through the bevel setting part. Is the razor your trying to hone new or is it a vintage razor from Ebay?

Datsots is right on about a good bevel. However, I can attest that there will be times when you are grinding away half of razor trying to get that bevel to perform the way you want. Your razor may be trying to tell you something. In some cases, adding two or even three layers of tape increases the angle just enough to give that bevel enough strength to hold stable. I've had a Hart Steel for nearly a year now and finally figured out that it benefits from three layers of tape. When I first got it, it was promised to be shave ready right out of the box with one layer of tape. The edge was, meh. I went to resetting the bevel after touching it up failed to deliver. The bevel again was, meh. Frustrated that I had this expensive blade and only a so-so edge, I went to two layers. I had to sneak up on the edge ever so gently to get a nice shaveable edge. But it didn't hold that edge very long. Then I was reading gssixgun's post about climbing over the honing wall when he suggested mixing things up, maybe go down a grit or two, maybe add a layer of tape or take one off. Well, if two improved matters, maybe three would help even more? The logic was strong enough to hold my attention. I slapped on a third layer and went back to a 4k stone to more or less cut a fresh bevel and voila, it started to come around. From there I went to 8k and 12k, and its aggressively popping hairs and ready for a test shave. If you're sure you've done your work at the 1k level without success, try adding a layer or two more of tape. It may be what your razor is trying to tell you.

I would try a different stroke to see how to contact the edge. Heel leading or x stroke. There might be an easier way than plain laps.

If you cant shave hair at a bevel you don't have one and need to keep going. Try different strokes. X strokes may help and keep it light or youll never get there