Shaving off of the 4/8

I used to start with the bevel setting and then if using synthetics I would pyramid or if using naturals sort of a progression. Either way I would go up the ladder to the ultimate finisher and then test shave. I found that I can get a perfectly satisfactory shave off the 8k and really wouldn't need to go any further if that was all that I had.

Randy made me aware that I would be better served shaving off of the 4/8 or the equivalent and I have been doing that ever since I first tried it. The consensus among the knowledgeable honmiesters as I understood it was that the 4k is sharpening and the 8k or above will add some keenness but is primarily for polishing and refining an already sharp edge.

As the Shapton USA site says,"The most important concept when using the Shapton system is achieving consistency at a given grit level before moving up to the next finer stone. At the 2000 grit level, your tool should be perfectly shaped. It is ineffective to attempt to reshape your tool at any finer grit level. If you have built a good foundation at the coarse grit level, very little work will be required at the finer grit levels."

So by shaving with the razor at the 4/8 level of sharpness I know that I have done what I needed to do in the bevel setting and sharpening and I am truly ready to move up in the progression of the finishing hones, pastes or whatever.

My routine since then has been to go back to the 4/8 level if necessary. I'll shave test and then if the edge is satisfactory the following day I'll go up to the next highest grit in the finishing process. If the shave test following that passes I may go on to an even higher grit or decide it is good enough and start on a different razor.

I am still at the stage in my honing where each razor is a challenge. Some are easier to get there than others but it is still enjoyable for me to do this. If a person doesn't enjoy honing maybe this is more trouble than it is worth but I am having a lot of fun with it.

This seems like a sound technique, Jimmy. I wonder
if sharpness tests can truly replace the shave test at
the 8k in the hands of a gifted honemeister...

- Scott

Scott you are asking tough question.
I hate answer's like this yes or no?
Don't you?
This is my take on this .
if you are new i don't think sharpness test will replace the shaving test.
if you do have experience it can.
you will rich level of shaving sharpness and you will feel the blade. This is shave ready . then you go to shave and you are right ,next time again you right and so on , so on then times comes up you think when you will be wrong? this means you get there.Now you can replace shaving test with sharpness test.

When I started out my highest stone was the Norton 4/8k and I learned to get the edge good enough to shave off it. I still believe that a newbe should stick to the basics of getting that edge set and finished to the 8k level to really know what the edge is doing.

I have sense stopped using the 4k side (to soft on mine) but still use the 8k. Now that I know what I'm doing I'm getting goofy and replacing all my sythetic stones and going all natural with my razor hones, leaving the synthetics for the kitchen knives :p