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When I hone, I generally apply a slight torque to my razor. I am wondering past the 8k should you still apply that tiny amount of torque? Currently I am applying minimal torque and blade weight pressure on every stone except the 1k. What's everyone's opinion on the matter of finishing and torque?
Randy always said, (hope I'm not putting words in his mouth and then quoting him) that you put a wee bit of torque towards the edge, away from the spine. It is a very subtle amount. Just to make sure you're not putting more on the spine than on the edge. One thing I keep in mind is something that Lynn pointed out to me a number of years ago. A full hollow isn't much thicker than a piece of tissue paper. Doesn't take much torque to distort the edge while pulling it across that stone. So I do so with care, paying attention to what my fingertips are feeling through the process.
You keep using torque though while finishing right?
I think for most of us it's not a matter of putting too little or no torque on a razor it's putting too much on. I think if you could test it (and someone here did once) even when you think there is no torque there is and for some ham handed folks none is really too much.
The part about getting the torque off the spine is important though.
While certainly nowhere near as experienced as others here, I am consistently getting very good edges using KAI Mild Pink blades as a benchmark, and I definitely get my best results with a light bit of torque. FWIW, my full progression is Shapton Pro 1K --> 5K --> 12K --> JNat (Narutaki Asagi) --> Kanayama 80000.
I use very light torque as well - it's more like imagining that you're honing the edge and not the spine than consciously twisting the blade in your fingers. I also use quite a lot of pressure variation from slight added weight to less than the weight of the blade - depending on the stone, where I'm at in terms of strokes on the stone and how the edge feels. You can quickly trash an edge on a Shapton 16K or 30K with too much pressure/strokes/torque. I've recently been doing a lot of work with my new Zulu Grey as a finisher and quite like it - it's very slow but very forgiving and the final edges are some of the best I've shaved with.
-john