Thread: Not quite shave ready but close. What's wrong?

“That would be a big jump, no I brought it back up through to the black (200, 300, 400, 600, soft ark, then black)”

Assuming this is what you have available, these are all natural stones, except the 600 diamond plate?
Post photos of your stones.

I have never use anything courser than a 600 and that is for removing ¼ in size chips. 1K for 99 percent of all work, anything courser will leave deep stria that will have to be removed and may cause chipping down the road in the finer grits.

Unless you can grit rate the Arks and get one in the 800 -1k range, (all natural stone are different, especially Arks) your best bet is to buy a synthetic progression 1, 4 & 8k and lap you stones, on 325 wet and dry.

Tape the spine with 2 layers of tape, to protect it and set the bevel on the 1k, stay on the 1K doing circles or half laps in sets of 20, until the bevel is set and you have created a…edge, a sharp even edge.

You first have to make an edge, (hone the two bevels flat so they meet in a straight, burr free edge). And do so at 800 to 1k, anything courser will cause chipping later in the finish grits of the progression.

Anything less and you are bevel setting for hours especially, after a 200 grit honing all that stria has to be removed.

Look straight down at the edge with magnification and strong light, if you see reflections, the bevels are not meeting. Stay on the 1k until you no longer see light reflecting back. Change you tape frequently, you will burn through it and ruin the spine.

Diamond and novices are notorious for causing chipping edges, then the edge must be removed and start over.

An experienced honer can bevel set with a Washita and finish on a Surgical Black with the right stones and properly prepared for razors and several hundreds of laps.

I know it can be frustrating to have folks tell you, you’re doing it wrong, but when we say honing a razor is different than a knife or tool… it is.

Add to all that, you are going to put the edge to your face, it has to be extremely sharp and comfortable. Finishing on 8K grits or higher with a very lite touch will give you comfort if the bevel and edge have a good foundation, a properly established bevel and progression or the edge will not hold and crumble or chip.

Here is bevel that is partially set, the white line on the right is not set, the left side is. Once you no longer see white lite reflecting the bevels are meeting, you cannot see the edge, it is that thin. The red is tape.