New to straight razor honing
Hello all, firstly I must apologise if any of the questions I ask have been covered before (I’m sure they have).
I have finally taken the plunge and awaiting delivery of my first straight razor. I have gone for a 5/8 Boker King Cutter, this one Boker King Cutter in addition i have purchased a leather strop with a canvas back (one of my questions) and a 12k Naniwa Super stone.
A big part of the enjoyment of a straight razor for me will be the honing of the razor itself. I have been sharpening knives now for many years and while I don’t think you ever stop learning I believe I’m pretty competent when it comes to getting kitchen knives hair popping sharp but honing a razor is completely new to me and when all said and done I don’t take a kitchen knife to me face :D
I already had a fair selection of stones ranging from 300 Grit all the way through to 8k (mostly naniwa super stones which after trying everything from cheap pound shop type stones to expensive natural stones I find them to offer the best value for money and give consistently good results). I’ve added the 12k super stone to that set just for the razor. This brings me to my first question, is 12k for a razor the best point to stop with the hones or is there a benefit to going any higher ?
My second question is regarding the canvas side of the strop itself. I read that it is “recommended” but I don’t seem to be able to find much information as to why and when you use this side ?
On the same lines of honing, are the pastes worth going for or will a honing to 12k followed by a good stop be sufficient to provide a good shave ? Is there a noticeable difference to a blade finished with say 0.5 micron paste over a blade finished without ?
Thank you for taking the time to read my post and again a apologize if this has already been covered.
Exited 1st time straight user J