Thread: When do you?

Just curious. When do you guys move on to the next stone? What tells you the blade is ready for the next grit?

I am am slowly figuring it out but I was just curious as to what everyone else uses.

One of the funniest quotes I have ever read on SRP came back around 2008 or 09 and I am not positive now who said it but damn it made everyone think


"Soooo I now have this honing stuff down, the only problem I seem to be having is knowing when to stop"


For myself it is a matter of feel and sight,, I look at the scratch patterns using a loupe and I feel for the edge to be even with no rougher spots as I draw it across the hone..

Honestly the best way for new honer to figure out what is really going on is to try a test shave at each level of their honing.. No really try just a simple leather stropping after the 1k and then go try a few stroke of a shave, then the next step and do the same .. This will give you a really good idea of what each hone is adding to the mix... Going to a local meet is really a good idea too if there is one in your area..

I was honing a while back and I would guess that it was maybe my 18th or 19th razor that I had honed since learning. All of a sudden I realized by feel that the blade was ready or very close to ready for the next stone. As I moved up to the next stone I could feel it getting better and better. To this day I can feel the blade on the hone and pretty much know that it is time to move up or quit. Yes, I do look at the edge with a loupe but the feel is pretty much spot on every time. I am no pro but I am getting some very nice shaves

My advice to newer guys who are trying to learn to hone but cannot sit down with someone experienced is the following:

Take a blade that you think is totally finished on (insert hone here), and test shave a tiny patch of hair (wherever you want, but one or two hairs on the upper arm is my preference). Then do 10 more X strokes on (insert hone here) and repeat. Stop when you are no longer noticing any improvement. Do whatever you need to remember what that edge is like (look under magnification, do a TPT, remember the feedback on the hone, whatever). Go up to the next hone and repeat.

Every so often, repeat your checks; you will probably find that you can get more out of each hone as you develop more honing experience.

I used to have an answer for that, but then I honed a few more razors and found it wasn't completely accurate.