Thread: Scratch Patterns

Jimbo is right - the contrast that you see may not be reflective of the surface irregularity.
You are seeing light that scatters off something, but less contrast doesn't mean that the surface is smoother.

A smoother bevel surface, however, does have lower friction when the razor cuts through the hair, i.e. a razor with the objectively more polished bevel (not with the bevel that looks more polished) is sharper.

You should think about what the bevel/edge looks like as a 'test' - you need to correlate the results of such test to the goal you are trying to achieve. If you get consistent pass/fail from the test (how the bevel looks from that hone) correlating with pass/fail of the goal (how the razor shaves), then you can use that test as a guidance of whether you have achieved your goal or not.

I know this is a bit abstract, but that's because you understand the abstraction

Like OCDshaver posted before me a microscope could be a very valuable tool once you learn to use it properly. I have a very high quality one and spent quite a bit of time with it, so I can hone a razor to its optimum by only looking through the microscope and never touching the edge. But the feedback from the way the razor interacts with the hone and the water, how it interacts with hair and my thumbpad are faster than putting it in the microscope, so I primarily use these tests.