Not sure where this question belongs, but here it goes:

Is it possible that the type of steel used in a razor could keep it from honing well? I've always heard that Indian/Pakistani razors were no good, so I've never messed with them for that reason. But is there any guarantee that just because a razor says Solingen, Germany, Sheffield, etc. on the tang, it could be considered "good" steel?

The reason that I ask is I have a cheapo Loeffler & Sykes (sp?) razor from ebay. Tang says Solingen on it and I bought it specifically to learn how to hone. I've been working on for the past couple of months on and off, trying different techniques but I've never gotten a good shave (vs. my daily shaver honed by one of the senior members here) and it's never passed a HHT. Short of describing a month's worth of work, I'll just say I've watched a lot of video's and read a bunch of threads and I can't get the razor in good shaving condition.

How long did it take you guys to learn how to hone...I fear some are you going to says years I'm just anxiously awaiting the day when I get a good shave with a razor I honed myself.

Has anybody had a razor that just wouldn't hone very well?

Thanks for the help guys!

Robert