Originally Posted by
AFDavis11
I'll agree, for the sake of consistency, :) , to go with a few 1/3. Consider that one reason people have trouble succeeding is that they go too far or they go too short on honing.
What they fail to anticipate is the finishing of the edge (which includes more honing) and the need to strop (which creates greater smoothness).
In order to create a perfected edge, it must be finished. So we have 3 very broad areas of honing.
1. Removing imperfections/Bevel setting: (usually done with circular honing and a little pressure, straight down a wide hone, or with a x pattern)
2. Basic sharpening: (usually done with a pyramid method, straight or x pattern)
3. Finishing: (usually done with a high grit hone, 8k or higher, an ultra light touch, a repetitive perfect stroke, and an x pattern (only)).
And ofcourse, test shave often. Its more important to get a good sharp smooth perfected edge that shaves well, and then do some tests with it, so you know how the tests should feel with a truely well honed blade for proper comparison.
BTW . . . it took me about 4 years to learn how to hone, so you won't get much empathy from me for atleast another year. :) If I could have achieved a decent shave by stropping on paper as new to honing as you are I would have been marching around my house yelling "Who's the man!?", "Oh Yea, I'm the man!" ;)