I have been SR shaving for about 2 years now. I typically shave every other day and have learned that I can go about 3 months before I have to send my razor off to be honed again. By that point it gets to where I am using paste, stropping more and more but get tugging and irritation. It sneaks up on you and you don't realize how bad the blade got until you get it back freshly honed.

So I finally decided to give honing a try and maintain the blades for longer and keep up the better shaves. Last week I got a Naniwa 12K. My stainless steel razor was too far gone and the 12K did not help at all. However, my backup razor only has about 2 weeks of shaves on it. After lapping that razor the shaves are way better even after only 2 weeks of use.

Most of the time when you get a razor back from a professional hone is it almost too sharp if that makes any sense. After a couple of shaves the blade settles down and is smooth. The 12K finishes the blade like it was already on the 3rd shave. Like I said, I wish I would have done this a long time ago.

I already have a Naniwa 3/8K on the way so I can bring my main razor back to shape. With luck I will be able to keep that one smooth on the 12K with regular touch ups too.