I started wet shaving for a long time ago. It was not until this year that I dived for the DE again after 12 years when I badly cut myself. With the progress I had, I decided to try str8. I was reading on and off for almost 2 months until a generous member offered his shave ready Wapi at a very reasonable price. That helped me to check whether str8 is for me or not. I got the razor and started shaving. I managed to do one pass shave on both my cheeks the first time and cleaned with DE afterward. The second shave (without stropping) went well although not as smooth. I then got a Tony Miller practice strop and stropped. I was not successful in the first place. I guess I lifted the spine of the razor and dulled the blade. The fellow member suggested to strop and practice on the newspaper and then strop on the leather. I did but was not successful, partly due to few strokes. I then tried to hone on a 1200grit and 0.5 um sand papers which I guess was not bad at all. The fellow member graciously offered to hone the razor again but I thought that I will not be able to learn unless I do it myself. Now, I am thinking to jump into the honing process. I have read the threads and watched Lynn Abrams’s videos. I have read good reviews on both Norton 4K/8K and also yellow Belgian coticule. I was in doubt which one I should go for or whether there is a more affordable way to hone without the hone stones. I would love to hear your experiences, suggestions or direction to the appropriate threads.
Thanks a lot in advance.