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I've created a discussion thread for questions and comments. If I've left out some important details, let me know so I can add them in. :)

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Josh

That's all there is to it. :) Well, that and a bit of practice. This razor is ready for a test shave.

One other technique that I wanted to mention is circular honing. If you have a razor that has...

I work my way through the rest of the pyramid:

One stroke on the 4K, flip, five on the 8K.
Three strokes on the 4K, flip, five on the 8K.
Five strokes on the 4K, flip, five strokes on the...

I flip the hone over, mist on some more water, and do five X-strokes on the yellow 8000-grit side.

You begin the pyramid by honing on the 4000-grit side of the hone, which is the white side.We're just touching up a razor that's already pretty sharp, so we'll do a conservative pyramid.

I do one...

Two critical points to remember during each stroke:

Use light, even strokes
Keep the blade flat on the hone, with both the edge and the spine touching at all times


Bearing down on the...

Repeating the diagonal on the away stroke makes an X. See? :)

Notice that I'm only using one hand. Some guys do quite well using two hands, but most find that it's easier to get consistent results using one.

I recommend using an X-pattern stroke. To do an X...

This photo shows the posture I use when honing. I struggled a lot when I was starting out until I got Lynn's DVD and copied his posture.

Position the hone so that it points away from your body. I...

Holding the razor properly is important. I find that I get the best results if I hold the shank of the razor lightly between my thumb and first two fingers. Keep your fingers on the sides of the...

After allowing the Norton to soak for 15 minutes or so, until bubbles stop coming out of it, it's time to lap it. Lapping is done to flatten and clean the hone. I've also done a lapping photo...

So let's see how this gets applied in honing. I'm going to be doing a touch-up on a vintage razor that Joe Chandler customized for me. He etched my initials on the blade and made some beautiful horn...

Few topics generate more questions from newbies than the cryptic-sounding "pyramid method" of honing. There are some good threads out there that explain it, but I thought a photo tutorial might help...