Its all about the bevel!!

I have been honing my razors for a couple of months with varying degrees of success. Mostly not good. As strange as this might sound, I had the great fortune this evening of dropping my poorly honed razor which put a divot in the edge. I took the razor to my little used 1000 grit Naniwa stone and did hundreds of circles and x-stokes to finally remove any sign of the damage. During this process, I gradually fell in love with my 1000 grit stone. After the chip was removed, I found that I had put a beautiful bevel on the edge. It would pop hairs better that my previous honing efforts. I then progressed to the Norton 4K and 8K and eventually to a Naninwa 12K following Lynn's honing technique. Wow!! I got the sharpest best shaving edge yet.
I think what I have taken away from this experience is to understand that the foundation of a great edge is a great bevel. From how on, I will make sure I have a good bevel before moving on.

Thanks to all who have posted good honing advise. I think it finally clicked!
John

You had a bingo moment. It's that stage of learning when you discover the basics and find out the rest depends on that. Good for you ! I have paid close attention to how sharp a razor is at each stage. I am getting to know which stage I need to start a razor in the honing process. ( you don't always have to start at the beginning.) Sounds like you are well on your way from spert to expert. ;)

When you get a good bevel set, the rest of the honing process is easy. I'm glad it clicked for you. Good job! :tu