Well, I talked to Lynn on Tuesday at length and I am now a expert honer .... Just kidding. He and I just hit it off. Guess the fact that we both enjoy building fly rods had something to do with it. ;-) He was very helpful and made several suggestions. I know I am new to this but my wife has made the observation that all my hobbies have a common thread..... It is all about the learning and the process. It wasn't long after I started flyfishing that I had to learn to build my own bamboo fly rods from scratch. I have accumulated several hones and pastes so I was well on my way when faced with honing my razors.

After my conversation with Lynn, I spent two sessions at the table and finally got real close on four of my blades. One is giving me fits but I will come back to that one. I am using a Norton 1K,4K,8K,Nagura?12k? ( Not sure...comes from Guangxi China) 1micron paste, 1/4 micron paste, and ChromOx on balsa.

I can get scary sharp and polished edges but they don't last long.... Now I am trying to get some durable and comfortable edges. I have a blade that is quite comfortable but just won't go ATG without some pulling.

Question is this.....What is the process of creeping up on a good edge?

Should I do 5 laps on CrOx and test shave and repeat until it comes in?

Should I get a little too aggressive and let it wear in with stropping?

What is the progression or Re-gression to fine tune?

How do I sharpen without too much polishing of the edge?

Thanks for the help...... Barry