I always dull the toe on a spike or square razor. So, after honing up a vintage Genco, I ran the tip down the side of a Norton at 45degrees five or six times.

A few minutes into the shave I was getting tiny nicks here and there where the point was passing. I looked at it, and the spike was not rounded. I realized I had dulled it on the side of a 4k norton, not my 1k, which is the usual practice, and the point was still sharp. Used the 1k, no further problems.

Except, I was getting tiny cuts, this time from the heel. Then I remembered I had noticed an unusual squared off heel to this razor when I first examined it. I had meant to round this off as well, but had forgotten. Back to the 1k.

This was my first time rounding a heel. A little awkward, given the tang and scales, and I ended up running about a quarter inch of the bevel on the heel across the stone, enough to dull it as well. So I'll need to start from scratch.

Five or six tiny cuts and a half hour of honing down the tubes. All because I was not paying attention. Losing focus can mess you up before the shave just as surely as during it.