Quote Originally Posted by BFMC AJ View Post
Ok, I just don't get it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have a new Dovo razor with a stainless blade. Now I thought putting a good edge on a new blade was needed but not overly difficult as only a few strokes were needed. Apparently I was WRONG!

Here is what I have done so far. Probably 150 passes on a 3000 grit stone and about the same on a Japanese 8000 grit. It also gets 30 passes on the strop before and after each shave and 20 passes on the linen twice a week. It has a pretty keen edge and does shave well.

But I just got a razor back from Straight Razor Designs that I had them hone for me to see how close I was coming to optimal. There is no comparison. When I did the HHT on theirs it worked perfect. On mine...not so much. It didn't even grab the hair much less cut it.

So what am I doing wrong?
-AJ
While an acceptable shave, by some standards, can be achieved off an 8k hone. Ideally you want a finer hone, such as a Chinese 12k, Shapton 16k or the like.

Learning to hone effectively takes time for 99.99% of people. Remember, Lynn and Don from SRP have years, if not decades of experience. Thats where the superiority comes from.