Monday evening I honed up this razor, my first covered tang. Came out really well, smooth shave, no tugging, very pleased with myself. If any knows what it is I'd be much obliged the blade is engraved Finest India Steel, Extra Hollow Ground. Nothing on the tang obviously.
Attachment 260165
Feeling pretty pleased with myself I decided to try again the next night and managed to do 2 straights from bevel set. The first is a Hunter and says Warranted Steel on the blade, but is pretty faded. The 2nd Is a George Wostenholm celebrated IXL. That one needed some extra work on the 1K naniwa due to some slightly larger chips on the edge. Still Considering I used to need several sessions to do 1 razor this is a huge breakthrough for me. It seems I am starting to do it right :) I havent tried the Hunter yet but the Wosty was a revelation. Fantastically smooth, I dont think I have ever managed to shave as quickly before and I wasn't trying to go fast. I think Ill probably go back to the covered tang straight and see if I can bring it up to the same level
For those interested I did 1/5/8/12K naniwas and finished with Welsh slate then took to pasted strop using Dovo red and black paste, linen then leather strop.