Thread: Would a Norton 4/8K and 0.5 chromium be enough?

Another vote for it being enough. Matter of fact when I first started honing my own I had the 4/8 and a Swaty. At that time the word on the forum was that the Swaty was equal to a 12k grit and I would do the 4/8 and finish on the Swaty with water as if it were a regular hone. This was working well.

Shortly thereafter I got quite a bit of help from Randydance through PMs and over the phone. He advised me to shave test after the 4/8 for a more accurate assessement of my razor's sharpness and my honing skills. I began to do that and I was surprised at what a smooth and comfortable shave can be got from the 4/8 and the strop all by themselves. The chrom ox came later for me and was icing on the cake.

I still shave off of the 4/8 before moving up the ladder to assess the edge. Randy also said,"Do not be surprised if the razor is not quite perfect. Just go back and perform a conservative pyramid then strop and test shave again. It is not unusual for me to take 2-3-4 honing sessions to dial in an edge".So as my Mom used to say, if at first you don't succeed try and try again.