Sorry for the :HJ but I have a similar problem with a SS Tuckmar.
(Here is the razor:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/showt...man#post129293 and here is my problem:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=14620)
I can get it (finally) to pass the HHT (not as convincingly as I would like and only after stropping) and the thumbpad test but it seems that it is not as sharp as my CS DOVO which can be easily be honed to a shave ready status.
The only hone that I have is a coticule which when used with slurry and some pressure (for the initial stages) seems to work very fast.
So I get my question boils down to this:
Can a SS be made as sharp as a CS blade?
Or will the larger grain size of stainless steels be a limiting factor to the sharpness that can be achieved? (not likely considering that blades such as Feather are SS)
Apart from buying another coarser hone (which I DO NOT want to do) I feel like I have tried all the tricks I read here.
Of course it could always be that the blade is not of a good enough quality (good thing I have another CS DOVO with bone handle in the mail :tu )