The Honing Pinnacle

How would you describe knowing when you have reached your honing pinnacle?

What is it that indicates you have gone as far as you can go and you deserve a high five?

Personally, it has always been the one-pass BBS that lasts most all day with no razor burn afterwards. I know that a BBS is a combination of honing, stropping, lather, and technique but for me, those last three are pretty much constant.

At one time I thought the Feather Professional shave was out of reach but I have matched that many times over with a wide variety of steels. Still a very high standard but one that I believe that is attainable.

No right or wrong answers here as this is all very subjective.

In a word, "consistency" imo.

ATG fools pass with no resistance is my goal when I hone..

You can always learn and improve though :)

The ability to take any razor grind, form a bevel, make it enjoyable to shave with, and repeat that consistently.

Always learning and experimenting. Proficiency yes, pinnacle? Probably never.

I pretty much know after the 1K if the steel is good the bevel is correctly set and the edge is pinging hairs easily the whole length of the blade, then the rest is like sticking your car in cruise control up the gears or I should say progression until you hit whatever your finishing hone is mine happens to be the 20K I know exactly what to expect once I come off that stone.

No such thing. I would be super frustrated if I reached a point where I couldn't improve or learn new things in some way. Would suck the joy out of honing for me.

I don't know if I will ever reach the pinnacle, but having a consistent, close, comfortable shave is a goal I always strive for. The problem is, as soon as someone hands me a razor they have honed for my evaluation, I'm sometimes dumbfounded by a sharper/smoother than mine edge! This drives me to attempt to eek out just that little bit more out of my own hones and the last time this happened to me, I was able to do it. In fact, my new edges are so nice, I don't like my *old* edges anymore! :cry:

I do find it frustrating that while I produce a nicer edge than before, my consistency has dropped off.... it's likely more my inability to *test* the edge, than my honing skills, as when I find a razor doesn't behave like I want it to, after a hone job, it's a pretty safe bet that I will get it the second time around. Before, my edges were easy for me to test... I could tell exactly when they reached what I thought was, the "perfect" edge. It's most likely a "calibration" thing.... I'm one of those guys who never got much out of the HHT, but that's me.

So, as with most things in life, there is *always* something new to learn, a skill that can stand a little more polishing. Or, in other words, a razor that could use just a few more strokes on that mystical natural hone.

Regards

Kaptain "Different strokes for different folks.... make mine a SMOOTH stroke" Zero