sharpening my first razor
I've had 3 excellent shave with a 1 week old razor doing this:
(keep in mind, I'm new at this straight razor thing)
Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Finishing Stone (very soft rocks)
3000 / 8000 - i haven't used the 3000 yet
Shapton 16k about 15 - 20 passes
El Cheapo Jemico canvas backing(i lost count after 100 passes)
then about 20 passes (back and forth equals 1 pass) on the other leather side
i check with a 16x loupe then return to the canvas
I've noticed the more passes on leather, the more visible the canvas lines.
if the canvas lines show up after 20 leather passes I know I don't need the leather, I need to remove more metal.
i repeat the last 3 steps until I can't distinguish the canvas lines then leather 100 final passes.
check loupe for canvas lines. when they are gone I put 2 drops of oil on the blade for safety
Damn that thing is sharp!
I think for tomorrow's shave I'm gonna lower the leather passes. I'm not sure how dull the razor gets after 1 shave.
All you guys in the know, tell me if there is anything else I should consider.
I'm happy with the shaves, but I'm still working on light touches while shaving against the grain