Thanks for the tip Jerry. I have a different philosophy. I know that many experienced straight razor honers use stuff like iron oxide, CBN, diamond paste and chrom-ox following their honing/finishing stone. This has always 'rubbed me the wrong way.' I have the GY20k and a couple of Escher Y/Gs.

I don't understand taking a razor finished on one of the recognized best finishing stones, that costs hundreds of dollars, to a dollars worth of powder on a piece of cardboard, leather, or felt. If that was what I was going to do I'd just stop at the 8k and go through a progression such as you describe.

Maybe the reason I am so adamant on finishing on the stones alone is because I tried and failed in the 1980s. Gave up straight razor shaving for 20 years because of that and only came back to it successfully thanks to a guy named Lynn Abrams starting a forum and sharing his expertise.

So I don't doubt your results and applaud your sharing them OTOH, if I can't get as good an edge as can be got off an Escher y/g or a GY20K I'm just going to get a pack of Gillette 'Good News' and put all of this stuff on the bay ......