Love these Naniwa's!

I just recently bought three Naniwa's a 1k,5k and an 8k.I already have a C12k. I also got a loom strop which I am finding easier to use than the hanging kind.I thought I'd have a go at honing the Flic razor I got off the bay. I was going to send it out to be sharpened at first but this morning I thought I'd have another go at it myself now that I got a 1k.I was expecting to fail but am very chuffed to say the least! I don't know how many laps I gave it on the 1k since I didn't expect good enough results due to my inexperience.I had every confidence in the stone, just not in myself.After a few laps on the 1k,I gave it the thumb nail test and it seemed ok so I moved on to the 5k and gave it a few more than I did on the 1k.tested once more and was not sure if I had made any progress but remembering about the pyramid method,I gave it two strokes on the 1k (they are the only ones I remember the number of). I then moved on to the 8k and increased the number of strokes accordingly. I tested the edge and it didn't seem to be quite as sticky so I thought I had messed it up.I moved on to the C12k and I think I gave it about 55 -60 strokes before stropping.I usually do an arm hair test but I couldn't face the dissapointment of it not wanting to even look at the hairs so I just lathered up my two day old stubble and did the real test, the shave test. I was expecting the razor to drag and tug like mad but it went through the hairs easily and I knew it was cutting to some extent snce I could hear it.When I stroked my right cheek,I felt clean shaven skin.Yahoooo!!:y:y:y I've done it at last but I wish I'd counted the number of laps.On the other hand,since different razors cut at different rates,it would just be a rough guide? I think my George Johnson is going to take a bit longer.Oh one thing I nearly forgot to say is this mornings shave was one of the closest and most comfortable shaves yet so... :y :mexwave::y

Well done!

That sounds like a very successful first attempt at honing! It will only get better from here with practice.

What I do on the 1k is make sure I can shave arm hair at all points along the blade before I move up to any higher grits. The TNT is useful in gauging how a bevel is developing, and once the TNT is passed you have a bevel forming. But you still need to stick to the 1k stone until you can easily shave arm hairs, and only then move on.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks for the advice (I tried to use the thanks button but it said I don't have enough privilages). It probably does cut arm hairs but I was too chicken to try it :o I used my new blade as a reference point for sharpness. It's funny but I didn't fear cutting myself even though I got as good a shave as I did with my new Dovo Bismark. I used to wonder why y'all were so exited about hones but after the sense of achievement I have I now know why.
What do you do if the middle of the blade is not sharp? I think I'll have a go with another blade tonight as well as my rolls razor blade.