Hey all. I've been reading and re-reading all the different articles in the Wiki regarding honing, hone strokes, hones, sharpness tests, etc etc... And the problem I'm having is putting together a good starting routine for me to then build on and experiment with (the information in the wikis is great, but so much of it! And I can't figure out if some of it conflicts with some of the rest of it... should I expect to be able to pop arm hairs at 1k, or 4k, for example). So I'm hoping you can give me some advice.

First off, my hones and razors... I have the Norton 220/1k, 4k/8k, the DMT 325, a Whipped-Dog balsa strop with Green .03 on one side and Red .01 on the other (have any of the rest of you used these "pastes"? Are they really that fine, and if so, should I maybe stay away from the .01?) and a leather strop. Razors: I have two razors my dad sent me, both pretty dull, one with a 1/2mm chip on the edge (I don't have them in front of me, I know the chipped one is a Novelty Cutlery Co.) and a shave-ready that was sent to me by Larry over at Whipped Dog.

Here's the kind of advice I'm looking for:

"Start off with X number of strokes on Y hone, then do (insert appropriate sharpness test here), and if it passes, move on Y2 hone and do X2 number of strokes... etc"

I know I'm going to get different answers, but really, I've been moving the blade around (mostly the chipped Novelty), trying different strokes and passes and hones, and honestly I just feel like I'm at sea . Any kind of, "Hey, try this progression and see if you notice any progress" help would at least give me the feeling of direction.

Thanks guys!