Developing my Honing Technique
So yesterday I decided the Henckel 5/8 hollow ground needed a little bit of sharpening, so I brought out the Norton 4/8K and got to it. Using the "X Pattern," I pushed the razor along the 4K side of the stone, using about four to five laps before I'd rotate to the other side.
The fleshy part of my thumb is all I usually require to test an edge, and I was kind of frustrated to find that after a certain number of passes I could tell that there was definite progress, but after a couple more, that the same sensation had disappeared. It was as thought I was erasing what work I had done.
After a while I decided I'd just flip to the 8K side and "mirror" the edge's teeth a bit. I did the same length-wise X pattern and touched the blade yet again. It felt as though whatever edge I had had was lost.
So then I tried a new approach, and, using about 1/3 to 1/2 of the 8K side, I began rapidly moving the blade both forwards and backwards at the appropriate angle, not unlike one would use a washing board. After alternating to the other side, I found that I had restored some of the edge, but I wasn't overly confident about how the razor would perform during a shave. Nevertheless, I stropped it on my thick, heavy leather belt (which I've concluded is just as good as any "proper" strop), and then set it aside, it being a little too late for a shave.
So this morning I went in to the bathroom and showered, and then stropped the same razor for about 20 laps on the belt again. I wasn't expecting much, but that thing just chopped my three to four days of growth down like nothing! I was done in no time flat, the cross-grain pass doing a fantastic job.
When I thumbed the edge yet again, it still didn't even feel that sharp -- but you can't really argue with results, right?
Can any of you folks explain this phenomenon? And also, what do you think of the "wash board" honing technique? Not all that different from the circular method some use, wouldn't you say? :)