Thread: # of Polishing Strokes

I have read a lot of information in the Wiki threads pertaining to honing, but perhaps I missed the information on the number of strokes for the polishing stone. So, after you have completed your Norton 4000/8000 pyramid, how many strokes, on average, should a person spend on a 12000 grit water stone? Thanks, guys.

Not putting words in Lynn's mouth and then quoting him but I believe he recommends starting out with 5 to 10 round trips and then test shave. If more is needed add a few more. If you go to this collection of Lynn on honing in the SRP Wiki here you will find a lot of good info.

For instance,"For those of us using the Norton 4K8K and getting a razor to the point of nice shaving, but want just a little better shave, you can use either an Escher or Coticule and obtain a really super finished edge. In these situations I will do 3-5 strokes on the Norton 8K followed by 10-15 strokes on either the Escher or Coticule. May take a couple of times, but the results are usually worth it. I do strop and test shave with each rotation to see where I'm at. Remember, this rotation is after the normal 4K/8K Pyramid.

BTW, Lynn wrote that before the Shapton and Naniwa came along as well as the Nakayama so they would have been noted if it were not an older post.

Its going to depend on the razor, your paticular hone and the way you hone. personally I find if I'm using the coticule 30 trips is the least I do and many times its closer to 60 but I have a very light touch. It's better to do them in groups of 10 and then evaluate. If you do too few you can always do a few more. If you do too many then you have problems.

Thank you, guys. I find my razor feels just fine on my cheeks, sideburns and neck, but not my chin. My chin still seems to grab/pull somewhat.

I will give your advice a try when my stone arrives on Monday or Tuesday.

the chinese stone is popular and cheap but rather slow. if that's what you are getting try at least 50, but you'll probably want 100 or so.
make sure you lap it first.

I've been doing 100 coticule+water to finish, but that might be overkill-- but no harm going too far with that rock.

-Chief