Quote Originally Posted by Ostekongen View Post
Thanks to all of you guys for your replies

Ultimately I'm looking for a shaveready edge. I know it's going to take a while, but thats my long term goal. I have bought a few stones in preparation of my honing adventures: 1k naniva, 4k/8k norton and 12k naniva. I also bought a few razors of ebay, so I guess I'm just going to select one of those and give it a go. All are in good condition, no rust, no chips in the edge and minimal honewear.

My plan was to first learn how to set a bevel correctly. I read about the tomato test, where I would take a cherrytomato and see if I could cut into it; like in this video:
Another test I'l use is the shave-armhair-at-skinlevel-test, and see what I learn from it.
I also read about the "sticky" feeling of a set bevel edge, but again, that depends on how callus my hands is. I will definitly try the wet DE blade method you described sticky.
I guess I'm going to have to give it a shot and see what I learn from it.

The reason I chose the pyramid method is that it seems to be the method with the least amout of guesswork. I always have a hard time learning new things if I dont have a referencepoint, in this case, how the edge should feel, when I'm done with a given stone.
The cherry tomatoe test like any test works well if you know how to use it, I would say the best edge probing test is the thumb pad test you just get so much out of it. I gave up using magnification while honing due to the fact that I was honing for looks instead of honing for sharp shave readiness. I figured if it was shiny it would shave.. Keep that in mind.

About the pyramid method I have tried it in the past and failed miserably. It is unfortunate but I gave up on it and sold my water stones. I hope you can pull through and figure it out. It takes a lot of guess work out of honing but not all. Different blades require different things. Keep us posted on your progress and good luck!

Most importantly you should enjoy what you are doing