oh yes, its a regression day. it seems my learning goes 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

i have my 1 good razor that i had honed by one of our nice hone'ies here on the boards. this razor is fantastic. ofcourse i dulled it my first week of stropping but when i figured that out i took it back to my 12k wetstone for a couple laps, then restropped and now its back to superb sharpness. hairs just melt away.

so, as aquisition disorder kicked in and the clarity that 1 razor wasn't enough due to rotation/honing/size i picked up an ebay special. it is a smaller razor only 2 1/2 inch blade 5/8 but it feels great in the hand. as it was my first restoration razor i gave it a go and got some gunk off it, then honed it...and honed it..and honed it, trying to learn honing. after many days i got it to a point that it would shave my arm. so i stropped it up and shaved with it a couple times. it worked actually quite well. never has it been as sharp or smooth as the original razor i sent away but it worked with slight pulling. i would use this razor 2x a week as it went ok.

then my taste refined. i have seen some of the most spectacular razors/handles/mirror/satin finishes imaginable on this board. thus, looking at my first and feeble 1/2 ass attempt to restore the ebay special i decided it was time to do it right. since day 1 i have added any more steps of sandpapers, a dremel and polish to my arsenal and so i went to work on my ebay baby. after couple hours of work last night it turned out quite well. shiney, no more gunk and looks respectable now. thus i am happy. i go to bed knowing that this morning i would work some honing on the puppy. i assumed that the edge had dulled from my restoration the night before but figured it woudln't be nearly as bad as the state which i had recieved it off ebay.

so i woke up this morning. put the norton 4/8 and my chinese 12k into a bath of water. went to starbuck to get my daily galon of coffee and came back to work the hones....... its now an hour later and i need a break. my coffee has run out, my patience is in question and i definitely feel like i didn't hone very well. the edge is not even as sharp as it was prior to last nights restoration! it won't shave my arm worth a darn and just to make sure i wasn't going crazy i pulled out the original honemaster sharpend razor and well, i just felt even worse when i compared. i am sure ill try the stones again in a few hours but for now i needed to relax and de-stress.

so, i definitely thought i could hone better then i obviously can. perhaps its 2 steps forward 1 step back in the learning process. i won't give up, ill learn this technique even if i have no thumbnail left! perhaps i need a sacrifice to the shaving gods.

~J

ps. when you guys use your stones, do u make a slurry with a nagura stone before using them or no slurry during honing?