Hey guys. I've got this Tosuke that did not come shave ready and I've decided to make it my project to get it there myself. Now, before anyone starts telling me to get it honed by a pro, please accept that I am set on learning to hone this one for myself. It has a bevel, it just needs shave-readiness, and if I don't start some time, I will never learn.

So, because I am not ready to invest in a Japanese natural, I went ahead and gave my bbw/coticule combo a shot. I started with simple polishing, giving it about 10 laps on coticule with just water, then CrO pasted strop, and stropping, but it wasn't there. Tugged and skipped. So I decided to go more extreme, and followed Bart's progression--Coticlue with slurry, BBW with slurry, Coticule with water. Ended with 10 laps on CrO2 then 50 on linen and 100 on leather.

My goodness me, this is a sharp razor. Swipes through hair a half inch above my arm, and on the TPT I can actually see the blade sink into my thumb with 0 pressure. Sharp sharp sharp. But it doesn't shave well. It feels rough as heck on my face, not the smooth "velvet squeegee" I was hoping for. The hair goes, but I don't like the shave; I'

My question is, should I give it more time on the coticule with water, more stropping, or what?
I have a 12000 Shapton on the way, should I give that a try?

Thanks, as always.
Jim