BBW Advise needed

It's my first time honing and I'm using a Belgium Blue whetstone. After honing I rinsed well with water and stropped on a leather hanging strop, first napped side then smooth side. The razor now pops off hairs from mid range my arm easily and it shaves okay. However, when I do the single hanging hair test it does not usually cut it cleanly but will slice the hair lengthwise. Should I be able to achieve a higher level of sharpness using the stone alone or would I need to use crox on balsa or something?

Interesting choice for thread title lol (google BBW if you aren't familiar with the acronym)

Hehe i was going to reply something along the lines of "if she makes you happy, that's all that matters"

Chromium oxide is very cheap to buy as a powder, so its probably worth buying some since a pasted strop is very handy to have.

I suppose the important question is: Does it shave your face well?

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Originally Posted by Christel

I suppose the important question is: Does it shave your face well?

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It's better than it was before I honed it but I still think I could get a more comfortable shave if it was sharper.

I think maybe you could consider that either you have not gone far enough or what is the level of your hone?

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Originally Posted by RezDog

I think maybe you could consider that either you have not gone far enough or what is the level of your hone?

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I was honing for quite a while. I kept at it because I was using the hanging hair test and it never seemed to be getting any sharper until finally I gave up and stropped it and then to my surprise it did somewhat pass the test. Maybe I should have been stropping it then testing it all along? What do you mean about the level of the hone? Are you talking about the grit? It's a natural stone so I am assuming it's all the same; would that be correct? The only variable I am aware of and not sure about is the consistancy of the slurry, and as I understand this is critical for this type of stone. How do I know if my slurry is too thick/thin for honing correctly?

Having very short hair, I've always struggled w

With the hanging hair test but it is important to strop once you're done with the hone and want to test in my experience. My biggest problem was as I approached a very fine edge, I used too much pressure on the razor when honing and this ruined the edge.

Yes, it can get sharper. It will take some effort, but if it cuts stubble and splits a hair it seems that you are just missing sharpness instead of a fundamental bevel problem. So you're doing something right.

If you finished on water, I would advise you to rub the slurry stone back and forth ONCE and do a fair number (30-50) of X-strokes in stropping direction (i.e. spine leading), followed by stropping on linen and leather.

By the way, did you follow the steps in the BBW study or did you dilute from a milky slurry?

I followed those extra steps and it does seem to be a bit sharper :) I'll do a proper shave test tomorrow once my beard grows, and we'll see how it goes then.

The shave test is the only test that counts IMO. Once you get everything you can out of the BBW it may be time to check out her sister the lithe and sultry yellow, and make the step up.

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Originally Posted by nun2sharp

The shave test is the only test that counts IMO. Once you get everything you can out of the BBW it may be time to check out her sister the lithe and sultry yellow, and make the step up.

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Exactly. A BBW will usually come in about the 6K - 8K range at most. To get a smoother shave then you should follow with a coticule or some other finisher. If you're getting decent shaves off a BBW then you're well on your way to having the technique to getting stellar shaves with a finisher :)

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Originally Posted by Catrentshaving

Exactly. A BBW will usually come in about the 6K - 8K range at most. To get a smoother shave then you should follow with a coticule or some other finisher. If you're getting decent shaves off a BBW then you're well on your way to having the technique to getting stellar shaves with a finisher :)

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Should I go to a 10k or a 12k? Or could I just finish with chromium oxide?

You can do anything you want, but know that you don't need to. This is the old 'is a coticule/bbw a finisher' discussion, so I don't want to say too much on it. Just that a razor honed very well on a BBW will most likely have an edge pretty much indistinguishable from the same razor honed very well on a coticule. I tried it and found it true, blind tests strongly indicate this as well.

But truth be told though, there is nothing you can do on a BBW that you cannot do on a coticule. However, if you have a BBW and no coticule, a bit of extra time and effort will yield very similar results.

I think finishing on water is for a very large part responsible for people disregarding the BBW as a finisher. A BBW on water is so slow it probably will do more damage than good i.e. will sharpen as much as a non-abrasive rock.

That being said, I've heard people I trust saying that chromium oxide (or any high grit pastes, really) will make up for a less than stellar honing job. I have tried a few synthetic 12k finishes but found them a bit harsh on my skin (which tends towards dry), so I wouldn't recommend those for a smoother shave than a BBW (or coticule, for that matter).

I just did the shave test there and I have to say I'm very well pleased, a very smooth shave, and I definitely noticed the difference.

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Originally Posted by Decco

I just did the shave test there and I have to say I'm very well pleased, a very smooth shave, and I definitely noticed the difference.

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Is this after the BBW or gig you finish with something else?