I have honed 3 razors so far. The first one was a touch up on my Naniwa 12k and it went really well. The second was my fathers vintage razor that went from a 6.5/10 in sharpness to a 9.25/10. I followed almost exactly a youtube video Lynne made sharping with Naniwa stones that used circle strokes and X strokes. Imo it was a success but I couldn't get a few micro chips out near the toe.

I just finished an Ebay razor I just bought. I follow the same progression and technique I used with my dads razor.
I did the following
1) Bester 1200: 40 circles per side with pressure followed by 25 X patterns per side with pressure
2) King Icebear 4000: 40 circles with pressure per side, 40 circles with just the weight of blade per side, and 5 X strokes per side with just the weight of blade.
3) Naniwa SS 8k: 10 X strokes per side with just the weight of blade
4) Naniwa SS 12k: 15 X strokes per side with just the weight of blade.
5) Tested the blade. The edge of the blade near the heel was really sharp 9.5/10. The toe was about a 7.5/10.
6) I stroped about 25 per side. The edge became a tad bit sharper but the heel was still much sharper.


Any tips?

I went through all the stones again trying the pigtail method. I did about 25 per side on 1200, 20 per side with 4k, 20 per side with 8k, 20 per side with 12k. It helped a little but still not near perfect.



I also noticed that on my 1200 grit Bester, I do not get any black metal particles but I try and press pretty hard. The stone is white so I would hope to see some. I soaked it for about 25 minutes. I did get a little metal particles on the other stones but still not much. Maybe I am not pressing hard enough?