Thread: Finding the perfect edge. Yeah right.

It’s a good question, though I don’t have the 20K so cannot comment on its keenness level VS that of natural stones. However I can tell you, that edge you speak about is the edge I aim to achieve every time ONLY on natural stones. I gotta say, I’ve been buying and using only Japanese stones in the last few years, so again, no comment on the Arkies, but good Japanese stones will give you that edge. I think perhaps the first thing you should try is to strop the heck out of that blade, and see if that makes it more mellow, compared to the same edge right off the stone and a normal amount of stropping (30-40 is normal, maybe?)

I do not think that soap/lather would necessarily tell you anything solid. I think it actually gets in the way of getting the true feel of the edge against face, but that’s just me. The thing for me is, if I am satisfied with the edge only on soapy water, I know it will deliver a killer shave when used properly, i.e. on lather.