You guys have been inspiring and heard some nice suggestions and predictions from this post. I think this preliminary experiment requires a more in depth analysis.
The only two things I regret in this run are:
- Not knowing how 2 out of the 3 blades were honed (I know one of them since I honed it myself.). If I knew, I would choose 3 blades (exactly the same blades - see below) and hone them differently and then assess based on shave.
- All 3 blades were not the same. One was extra hollow, one was full hollow and the other a 1/4 hollow-ish. If all 3 were the same blade (same grind, steel, etc...), the bevel/edge differences would have been a bit more telling (I think). In this case, the were almost the same, probably due to the "compensating" variables mentioned.
I think I will continue this experiment as follows:
- pick myself 3 relatively inexpensive blades (exactly the same - suggestions welcome)
- Hone them on different media (synthetic, natural, etc)
- Assess the shave quality
- Post a poll and ask the same questions. Hopefully, we'll have less variables to deal with.
Sham: I will try to get a better photo of the actual real edge rather than the bevel...it's been a challenge but will continue until I get something. I may even solicit the help of an electron microscopist colleague where I work (who is keen on seeing the blade edges himself) and get you guys a real serious image to munch on ;)
Meanwhile, let's see what other honemeisters have to say and more suggestions for the next series of experiments.
Thanks a million guys. Every one of you. This has been very helpful for me