newby honing / shaving difficulty

hey gents, I tried shaving my cheeks tonight for the first time. It was pulling but I got through it ok and finished up with my DE. I honed it with norton 4k then 8k then 12k chinese water stone. My question is... If I used all stones and I didn't sharpen properly, what stone should I go back to? also my razor doesn't balance evenly on the hones. I lapped my stones with 320 sand paper to flatten them out (wiki info.) is it my technique in honing that caused the imbalance or the razor? (AOS razor)how do I fix it?

Welcome to SRP. If I was doing it I would use the Norton 4/8 and shave test before going to the Chinese 12k. This way you are sure you are sharp enough to benefit from the added polish on the 12k.

If you mean that the razor does not lay flat on the hone from end to end ....? If that is the case honing with a razor at a 45 degree angle works in many cases (with the x pattern) as recommended by SRP founder Lynn Abrams.

If that still isn't getting it you could try the rolling x seen here. If you haven't already done so the SRP Wiki honing section has a wealth of information on honing along with videos that will help a lot.

The rolling x pattern is exactly what I need to do ! my razor has a smile like the one in the pic. Thanks ! I'll let you know how it goes.
Chilly

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Welcome to SRP. If I was doing it I would use the Norton 4/8 and shave test before going to the Chinese 12k. This way you are sure you are sharp enough to benefit from the added polish on the 12k.

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Jimmy, when you test shave off the 8k, what are you looking for, no pull, a little pull?
Thanks,

Hi and welcome, it would be useful to know what sharpness tests you used during your honing, (tnt,tpt,hht, sah etc) running through a given progression doesnt mean your razor will be sharp enough. I cant comment on the stone you should return to as I only use coticule and bbw, but Jimmy knows his stuff, and I am sure others who know the synthetics well will chip in too.

Also beard prep, skin stretch, blade angle etc all play a vital role in your success.

Shaving with a straight is to me like running a finely tuned race car, if every little thing is spot on it runs like a dream, a few little things can be a tad off and it does its job but poorly, 1 or 2 things well off and its like a bag of sh!te

Hope this helps, and good luck, what helped me when I first started was this: if your shaves are off its either you or the Razor, because thats all thats involved.

Edit: hahaha I type too slow at times, yeah not using the right strokes to suit the blade you have will do it everytime....lol

hey Ralf, thanks for the advice. I used my thumb to test the sharpness but I'm so new Its going to take time for me to really learn what sharp is.

No worries bud, Check out the wiki HERE its helped me loads, the Thumb pad test is a hard one to get the hang of, and smiling blades take a bit of a "knack" with the rolling X stroke. My advice would be to consider sending it out to a honemeister then you will have, a blade you know is sharp and, a benchmark for your own honing skills
Either way take your time and enjoy, you are learning skills that will last you this lifetime, and that takes a little time

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Originally Posted by keenedge

Jimmy, when you test shave off the 8k, what are you looking for, no pull, a little pull?
Thanks,

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A smooth as silk shave. I really could live just fine with a 1k, 4/8 and maybe some paste as icing on the cake. I have all these other finishing hones and glad I do, it is my hobby and I use them but I don't need them to get a good shave. I get a better shave as I go up in grit but there is nothing wrong with an 8k shave IME.

I was sort of taught that if you're not getting a good shave at the 8k level you're not ready to move up to the polishing stages and that is the way that I practice honing razors. It's fun and I recommend it.