Thread: Pyramid Honing: A Photo Tutorial

I work my way through the rest of the pyramid:

• One stroke on the 4K, flip, five on the 8K.
• Three strokes on the 4K, flip, five on the 8K.
• Five strokes on the 4K, flip, five strokes on the 8K.
• Three strokes on the 4K, flip, five on the 8K.
• One stroke on the 4K, flip, five on the 8K.
• One stroke on the 4K, flip, five on the 8K.

The last 1-5 steps require paying close attention to keeping the pressure light and the blade flat on the hone. The edge is very delicate at this stage, and you can damage it if you're not careful.

One good clue to watch is the way the water responds to the razor. When the blade is flat, the edge will push a ripple of water in front of it.

That's all there is to it. Well, that and a bit of practice. This razor is ready for a test shave.

One other technique that I wanted to mention is circular honing. If you have a razor that has some bad damage to the edge, like a chip or ding, circular honing on the 4K can help you work out the damage quickly.

Do do a circular honing stroke, lay the blade flat on the hone. Press down firmly and move the blade in small circles. Do maybe 10 or 20, then flip the blade over and repeat on the other side. The extra pressure and circular motions remove steel much faster than an X-pattern stroke.

I've created a discussion thread for questions and comments. If I've left out some important details, let me know so I can add them in.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Josh