Hi,

Most of my honing has been with razors that were sold to me with an excellent sharp edge. All I've used is the 8K side and a pasted strop. I've been able to keep them sharp and comfortable for shaving using primarily the HHT. I've de-rustified a bunch of ebay razors and have had no luck at getting them shave ready using a 1K and 4k/8k Nortons. I'm often impatient and I'm trying to run along this learning curve fast. I do take my time honing and want to be good at it. I'm trying the thumb and the thumbnail tests and read many descriptions of what to look for in the sensations, but I'm just not "feeling it". Yes, I do have feeling in my hands :-) I have a nice new TI that's in great shaving shape and I can't tell that it's sharp from either thumb test. It will do the HHT, but I think a thumb test will allow me to tell where I am more quickly? so I'm calling out for some help on these tests.

Thanks much,
Steve