Originally Posted by
Russel Baldridge
Well, each time you hone a blade is going to be slightly different from every other time.
The way that I hone is to keep making passes until I've set a bevel on whichever grit is suitable for the blade in question (1k to 8k depending) at which point the blade should pass the tpt, then I move on to higher grits doing the various tests along the way.
Wet skin will also tend to give a false negative, the blade doesn't grip wet skin like it does dry, so try to keep one thumb dry while you hone.