Thread: New member, another bad start...

You've got a long hill to climb. Stay away from the sandpaper. 60 grit? Is that a Typo?

Break your hones up into course and fine and never make it more complicated than that.

I would prefer some work on the course but you don't have it with you now, so . . .

Hone on the side that doesn't cut for a bit, lets say 40 strokes on your 8k, then do some circles honing on both sides, then onto regular edge leading strokes again. Stay away from the pasted strop.

To measure your bevel balance use the strop for now, not your face. When you strop both sides should feel the same. You'll probably note a big difference in the beginning. When both sides produce draw, and the draw is equal, you've arrived. Keep the strop taut.

So strop test, then hone on one side only, strop test again, repeat, circular hone, strop test. One side honing again, strop test, evaluate if things are getting better or not (if not hone only on the other side for a bit). Circular hone, strop test again. This could take a bit on 8K. But you have time while your DVD is in the mail.

Don't leap to conclusions as you do this that one side or the other needs to be honed, although start with the side that is not shaving well. After that, use the strop to read the bevel by feel, sound, etc. It sounds difficult but its not really. Well compared to ripping at your face its downright easy.

From there you might want to re-post as getting it sharp is another animal.

Sending it out to be corrected/honed is another easy approach.

One thing that I did that really helped ... find a barber that's either retired, or close to retirement, who has straight razor experience and ask him to look at your blade and hone it for you. Watching my barber hone the blade really opened my eyes.