pulling

I have a couple razors taht are cutting arm hairs but not popping them in a sense. Should I take it to the 8k side of a norton or a swaty? The pase does not seem to be working or maybe I am using a bad progression. I am simply swiping on .5 paste about 15 times and then testing. I have 3.0 and 1.0 paste as well.

8k.
Paste shouldn't be bothered with until you get those "pops."

You say cutting arm hairs, please be more specific. Do you mean 1/8" above the skin or more like a shave? There is a difference when it comes to how sharp the razor is based on how it passes those tests. If your razor is cutting hair with less pronounced POP, that is a good thing. Try honing on the pasted strop with the toe leading or a reversed X pattern. This will replicate the hone striations and act more as a final hone, then strop leather for 30, linen 10 (light), 30 leather.
Another point that may help is to give the razor 10 on the leather or linen between grades of hone, this will straighten out any bur,ready for the next hone to take it away.

PuFF

It is cutting more like a shave and tough at that. Having a hard time getting it to sharp standards. I am looking for the razor to simply glide through hair at a little above skin level. I thought that was the way it it was supposed to pass the test. That is what I mean by popping, what should I be looking for?

Matt,

That was pretty much my understanding as well. Put the spine on your arm and maintain the edge about 1/8" above the skin and mow away the hair. Doing that is said to indicate a reasonably sharp razor. I can do that from time to time and have been able to get one reasonably sharp razor. Now if I can only do it again, I may be able to convince the neighbors that those guys in the white uniforms, who have with them those funny jackets that tie in the back, to hold off just a while longer, and then maybe the neighbors won't feel the need to call them at all.:shrug:

ps, I've tried the Thumb Pad Test, even with professionally honed razors, they all feel the same.:hmmm:

Bruce

I use the thumbpad test(after strop), except I use the pointer finger I hold the blade with, just works for me better.

Cutting armhairs (which, btw, are all so different and I'm not sure the Italians and Swedes have yet compromised on the standard for that one) is a good indicator of sharpness, but I've had some of my crap edges manage to "pass" that test.

Perhaps a better idea is personalize it by seeing how easy those same armhairs are cut between several passes of the 8k at a time, try and gauge a progression. I wouldn't bother with going to the potentially-dulling paste, until you're certain you're coming off the hone with the best edge that 8k can give you.

So the real question here is have you tried shaving with it?

No, But I will test shave it next shave. I think I am going to give them both a few laps on the 8000 side of a norton and then strop and shave. It can't hurt. Maybe after the hone I will use some paste. I just had a great shave from a W&B that was passing the arm hair test but not perfectly. I liike that razor the most and am only dreading the fact that I have never honed a wedge and want to keep it shaving nicely.