Thread: come rip my hone job, tell me why I'm getting these big scratches

Two things I would do first. Make sure you lap your stones totally flat and then tape the spine on the razor so you don't wear it out. What are the grits on the stones you are using?

Ray

One thing that comes to my mind is something on the Shapton USA website where they say that carrying coarser grit on the fingers, razor, or on the stones themselves from the coarser to the finer stones can leave random scratches. I am careful not to do that .... somewhat anal about it in fact.

To be honest I don't worry that much about scratches. I go through the pyramid/progression until the razor is sharp. Once I get to where I think I need to be I shave. If it is good it is good and if not I go back to the hones. For me it ain't a beauty contest. YMMV

About the marks not extending to the edge. On some of my hones I get marks visible at 100x, but I will lose them if I continue honing. I kind of figured they are still there, but too small to see with that magnification.