Quote Originally Posted by MilesVeritatis View Post
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I went back to the hone and tried 15 strokes on the 4000 and 15 strokes on the 8000, it still wont pass the HHT with hair from either my badger brush or my head.
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The 4K/8K hone responds well to the
pyramid method.
Pyramid honing guide - Straight Razor Place Wiki

It is as close to a formula as you are likely to find.
It works.

Also: It can be repeated if after stropping
and a shave test the edge needs more work.

It expect that the bevel is set with a 1k hone!
Yet the time spend on the 4k side will eventually improve
a bevel that is almost set.
The pyramid method is a workhorse technique
that works well with the 4k/8k workhorse hone.

The hanging hair test is a pain in the you know what...
It does help to you a wild hair to explore the length
of the edge to look for 'differences'. A hair skates on
dull and sticks a little to enough to get sliced on sharp
depending on the hair.

The direction of the hair can matter. Hair has a top
and a bottom direction. Shampoo and conditioner
matter. Oil on a blade will also negate the HHT.
Since most honemasters lightly oil a blade when
done it is important to know that that protective oil
will kill the HHT. This is why it is such a hated
and maligned test in my opinion.