Thread: Beginner here

I have been trying to learn honing for a wee while, watched the videos and honed my own razors. Last week I touched up one of my razors and shaved with it this morning, the razor is sharp, but the shave was uncomfortable. Should I go back to the 12k and give it a few more strokes?

I had this for a bit starting also some were smooth some were harsh
do you use any pastes etc after the 12k??

I would personally go back to at least the 8k if not further with about 20 or so very light x strokes on each grit size then 50+ on linen & finish with 100+ on leather & try again.
if still not good maybe go right back to bevel set with the same very light strokes only polishing not grinding as such
see how you go
others with more experience may say different we will both see then LOL

I found this on certain blades after finishing on a 16k Shapton glass, some were smooth some left my face sore. I found that if I then used a strop pasted with Cr Ox then 50linen,100 leather as normal this smoothed the edge on those blades. Many thanks to Neil Miller for that tip. Also just as an aside, someone else on here suggested keeping a record of what you do to each blade so you can repeat the process in the future. I initially thought this was a waste of time but having now acquired close to 50 straights it makes sense so I now know from bevel set to shave ready how to treat each blade, including tape or no tape. Hope this helps.

I always give the razor 50 laps rough, 100 smooth on the strop after a touch up, makes the edge more comfortable I think. That may be all it needs, but still learning myself.

Originally Posted by FrankD

I have been trying to learn honing for a wee while, watched the videos and honed my own razors. Last week I touched up one of my razors and shaved with it this morning, the razor is sharp, but the shave was uncomfortable. Should I go back to the 12k and give it a few more strokes?

After a touch-up I too strop the stuffing out of a razor like Grazor mentions to help bring it back and smooth out the edge. If it doesn't after 3 tries on the 12K, then go down to the 8K as the edge has gone too far for the 12K to get to the actual cutting edge.