With all the emphasis lately on how important low-grit honing is for a good cutting edge, I find myself second-guessing my usual techniques of refreshing a razor.

I have a Filarmonica that's never been honed by a master, only by me. It shaves well, but not great. The shave is close, even around the chin and mouth, and there's no tugging or anything; it just doesn't have that effortless whispering glide of a Crowley or Lynn-razor. My strategy has been to give it 15 passes on a coticule every other shave, in the hopes of not just maintaining the edge but sort of bumping up the sharpness little by little. But the edge seems pretty much to have plateaued; I'm not seeing any real improvement.

So with all the talk about low grits, I'm wondering if it would help to take it to the blue belgian for a good workout, then go back to the yellow for polishing.

At the other end of the spectrum, Scott (honedright) might say that what this blade needs is some expert stropping...