Originally Posted by
Bart
Nice razor. I'm hunting for one like that myself. :)
If it is as dull as you think it is, you 'll need to do a lot of work on your 4K Norton before you can even think of jumping to the 8K side. My opinion, it would be better to use a coarser hone to set a proper bevel on that razor. Even that would probably take a considerable amount of passes. I have very good experience with a DMT-E (1200 grit) continuous diamond hone, for such honing tasks.
The idea is to set the cutting bevel first, and then polish that bevel to shavereadiness on a finer hone, such as the 8K Norton, or the Coticule or still other ultra fine hones.
Setting a bevel means: creating two flat panes on either side of the cutting edge of the razor and make those panes meet each other in a perfect sharp angle. There are two great ways of testing for that: the "magic marker test" and the "Thumb Nail Test". They are both well documented in various threads on this forum.
After you get that bevel right, you can hone to shavereadiness with pyramids on a Norton or with a progression of increasingly finer hones. Whatever method you like best.
I may take several hundred laps to get that bevel up to par. With a wedge, you can use a bit more pressure to speed things up in the beginning, without the risk that you flex the blade (and alter honing angle by doing so). It's always best ending with light strokes.
Have fun,
Bart.