Newcomer to honing, ? for the experts
Gentlemen,
I'm new to straights and even newer to honing. Following your discussions here and poring over the various stickies, wikis, and videos has been a great help in getting me started.
To date I've honed three razors and gotten results that have been pleasing, to me at least. I can't say my results are better than the Ruprazor GD I have, but they have been encouraging. I half expected to turn my razors into butter knives and instead have made them sharp enough to shave comfortably with, much to my surprise and delight. I think I got a little taste of what the guy who discovered fire, or the wheel, or beer must have felt like... of course perusing SRP gave me a lot of help! :beer2:
I followed the suggested Norton 4/8k pyramids, followed by a Chinese 12k, followed by CrOx on a balsa bench strop, followed by linen hanging strop, followed by latigo hanging strop. My stropping is far from great but at least now it makes things sharper instead of duller, like it did when I started.
My question for the honing gurus: Would adding a very fine Naniwa, Shapton, or Japanese stone between the Chinese and CrOx deliver a smoother, better shave? I'm not sure if a new toy will help me achieve better results or if more practice is simply what's needed, not more equipment. Or perhaps the truth lies somewhere in between?
I'm not even sure I have enough experience to appreciate a finer stone than what I've got... my shaves are comfortable and close, but I have a tough beard and wonder if the "wiping off the hair with no sensation" shave is even achievable in my case. No doubt shaving technique plays a part, and I'm working diligently on that too.
i look forward to soaking up as much knowledge here as possible, and to eventually progressing into a few restores (and a lot more honing) on my growing collection of straights, old and new(ish). Thanks for your patience and any advice you can spare!