You got that right. That hone got some real character. I don't see that often.

Quote Originally Posted by Steve56 View Post
Here's an interesting HOtD, a new to me 133 6/8 Red Imp, the hollow one. It's in very good condition with little wear on it and the bluing and red paint on the tang are intact. Being a hone nerd, of course I wanted my own edge on it.

After inspecting the apex for defects which would dictate what grit I start with (there weren't any to speak of), the next step was to determine if it had been honed with tape. I don't use tape except for wedges, decorated spines, framebacks or shallow bevel angles, and when I do I use DuPont Kapton 1mil which is thinner than Scotch by about half. 20 easy strokes on a Shapton 4k HR Glass Stone and the 7x Hastings Triplet gave me the answer, the hone is cutting at the shoulder of the bevel so tape was used, and I'll have to set a new bevel

My normal progression is a 2k, 5k, 8k Shapton Pro, but I got the Glass 4k because it's fast and can be used for light bevel work especially on thinly ground razors. So after about 40 more strokes, progress is being made but I'm still a long way from the apex. I could have easily dropped down to a 1k or 2k stone, but then I'd also have coarser striae to remove. I'm not in a hurry and this is what the 4k Glass is for, so onward. After 500-600 strokes, checking the bevel every 40-50 strokes, I'm there, the apex is straight, no shiney thingys, and looks good. Why so many strokes? It's a fine hone and a thinly ground razor so you can't push very hard or you'll round the bevels, miss the apex, and hurt the razor. I give it a half stropping (10 canvas and 20 leather) and do a HHT. It always struggles a bit more at 4k than 5k, but the edge cuts hair close to the hold point, and importantly, cuts the same toe, heel, and middle. I know the bevel is perfectly set.

Easy pie from here on, my normal honing sequence of 8k and koma nagura before finishing on the 'sunrise stone', a hard and very fine jnat which yields a super smooth edge. I call it the sunrise stone because Japan is the land of the rising sun and the hones come from a mountain. If you look, you can see a silhouette of a mountain with the sunrise behind it, outlining the mountain. Pictures in stone, cool.

Super smooth butterknife edge, mission accomplished.

Cheers, Steve