at first you shouldn't feel bad.
Razor honing is a new game and every single of us have learning curve.
100 strokes on norton 8k is way too much for your razor.
if you have done proper honing before 8k i would say between 15-35 strokes will be good enough on 8k.
Remember your blade has soft steel and shouldn't last more then 20 minutes max from scratch to finish the honing.
try less pressure and hone it again. see what happens.
if you steel have issues post the pics we can be more helpful in that case.
have patience.
Sorry welcome to SRP
Quote Originally Posted by MilesVeritatis View Post
So I've done my research, I've read pages and pages about shaving with a straight razor, how to strop, how to hone, etc. I have sharpened knives for years, and can get very good edges, but I've never tried honing something as fine as a straight razor.

I watched god knows how many videos on youtube, so when I ordered myself a factory Dovo Best Quality, I knew I'd probably have to hone it. I got the razor along with a brand new Norton 4000/8000 grit stone and a Jemico strop.

The razor showed up today, I tried the hanging hair test, which it did not pass. So I soaked the stone for 15 minutes and went to honing.

For the life of me, I cannot get the razor to pass the hanging hair test. The best I can get (and only sometimes) is for the razor to snag the hair and split it lengthwise.

I went very slowly, was very careful, put minimum pressure on the blade and made slow, deliberate strokes.

In my final attempt, I gave the razor 50 strokes on the 4000 grit, followed by 50 strokes on the 8000 grit, and finished with 20 passes on the strop. I managed to get it to cut one out of 5 hairs, but that took some fanagling and was probably a fluke.

I have absolutely no idea what I could possibly be doing wrong... and I feel like an idiot, to be honest. I've maintained blades for years, just not one this fine, and apparently the technique is completely eluding me.