Thread: Beginning to hone question

Hello Gents!

I'm new to both straight razor shaving as well as honing. I keep the Dovo which I shave with sharp thanks to SRD's honing service, and have a bunch of $5/$10 blades I've picked up at antique stores in order to practice honing on my own. I've picked up a Norton combo set from SRD, with the 220/1k stone, the 4k/8k stone, and the flattening stone for lapping. I've lapped all 4 grits following the incredibly helpful videos from gssixgun, Lynn, and others. Now I've started trying to set a bevel on the 1k with the Manhattan Cutlery Co. razor I picked up for $10 and I can't seem to get it to the point of shaving any hair off my arm at all. I know this is a common tale among beginners but any advice you have would be most appreciated. I've watched Lynn's 4k/8k video as well as the one where gssixgun teaches someone how to hone.

So far I've tried:
--Keeping my elbow nicely lined up
--one handed honing
--two handed honing
--the 20 circle method, plus another 20 on the other side, then the 10-20 X-strokes that Lynn uses in his honing video (albeit on the 4k norton)
--The pyramid method
--more pressure
--less pressure
--practically no pressure.

I'm really committed to learning to hone, but I've run out of ideas of what to try next. I will note that I have not been using e-tape. I've attached 2 photos of the blade as it stands, as best as I could photograph. If there happens to be any skilled members of SRP in the NYC area who are up for teaching, I'd love to set something up.

Best,

--Jim