Quote Originally Posted by regularjoe View Post
1. Choose a hard stone, and only use it for finishing, while you learn to sharpen your razor with synths.
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6. Recognize that if your slurry feels gritty, the stone is a paperweight...Get rid of it now...Preferably make it into dust, so that nobody else has to deal with it again.
1. I wouldn't recommend a hard stone as a beginners stone, they can be very hard to use, a softer jnat can give a very nice edge without all the trouble.

6. Most people I've helped that gets "gritty" slurry just don't take the time to raise it slowly, on a hard stone it can take several minutes
and they can be picky when it comes to tomo naguras, some combinations just don't work.
Even with a stone I know and have used for years it happens I get something "bad" in the slurry, rinse and repeat.
If you still feel it's a "paperweight" send me a PM, lots off papers flying around here when the cats are racing around!