Thread: Honing?

Thanks much to all, I'll fine tune this thing yet. I just hope it doesnt take me till the next election year

Yes, you can hone it to a shave ready edge. Factory edges aren't usually shave ready. They're particularly bad around the curved toe of the blade. It won't take you long to learn how to hone if you use magnification to look at the edge before you start honing and then after around 20 strokes to see what you've done. I recommend the Radio Shack Illuminated Microscope for around $10 for this job. It goes from 60x - 100x and the light comes from above so it will show you the edge. Check my Honing How To section for other information. You'll need a finishing stone like a belgian coticule and a leather strop. Honing isn't difficult but you do have to pay attention.

So, I spent quite awhile "finetuning" and I think I got it still better. Shaved my neck for the first time today afterwards(only been doin my cheeks) but it still seemed to pull especially on the neck area. And I still cant successfully perform the hair test. Since this was new, am I just a slow learner or is this to be expected?

Don't worry, it just takes some time. A little bit of patience and practice will get that razor as good as it can be!

Thanks again everyone, I'll work at it.