Beginner honing confusion
Hi all,
I started straight razor shaving a few months ago and have just honed my blade for the first time.
I used a 4K and 8k water stone. 2 sets of 20 circles and 10 up down laps on the 4K. Then 10 up down laps on the 8k. Not sure if this is right as it's hard to find a definitive method online.
My confusion is as follows.
I felt it needed honing as the shave was felling rough on my face.
Just to gather info I did the hanging hair test on the razor prior to honing as a reference. It kept cutting the hair no issue.
I did the hone. Tried the hanging hair test and the hair slid across the edge without cutting. I was a little confused.
So I shaved a spot on my arm quickly, shaved it nicely.
I thought I'd do a neck shave to do a final test. The shave felt nice while doing it (not scratchy, not draggy) but it hasn't shaved as close as it used to. It is leaving a small amount of roughness behind.
So, within my beginner's understanding, I have a few conflicting results.
Can my shaver do a nice feeling shave but just not cut as close if it is not sharp enough?
Was my initial method not great for honing?
Is an 8k sufficiant to take the edge to the required sharpness?
Thanks for the help.
Simon.