Post your latest progression.

To be honest I set my bevel on an Atoma 1200 or King 1K and then go straight to my finisher (C12K, hard couticle, Naniwa 10K or Jnat depending on razor) and check under a loupe to make sure the scratches have been polished out. Sometimes finish on linen strop with TI white paste. This ususally results in a nice polished edge that is HHT-5 after stropping...YMMV and all that

I'm very new to this game, and I don't have all the lingo down, nor do I have a lot of fancy stones to work with, but I managed to put my first shave-ready edge on an antique store find this evening.

I took a Taylor Eye Witness 11/16 square point that had a couple of small dings in the edge, ran it on the 500grit stone to get the dings out, then on to 1k, followed by hard ceramic(approximately 10-12k). After that I took it to a leather strop with green Chromium Oxide paste, a soft leather strop, then a hard leather strop. It passes the mid-hair cut on the forearm, and the hanging hair cut, so tomorrow night I will give it a chance to mow down some head hairs, and show me what she's got...

Kind of exciting...this is the first razor that I have ever set and honed from the ground up. Gonna have to be patient and see what tomorrow brings, if it's really shave-ready, or not...

How long did that process take you? Going from 1K straight to 10-12K seems like a rather big jump.

How long did that process take you?  Going from 1K straight to 10-12K seems like a rather big jump.

It was a pretty big jump, but it worked out. Just have to work the hard stone. I'm planning on picking up an 8000 this weekend to bridge the gap and make it a little easier.

Also, This razor may not be quite as "shave ready" as I am thinking. It passed the tests, but I haven't shaved with it yet, and that's where the truth of the matter is...

Not as long as you think. Most progressions are a kind of knife thing where you are starting at very low grits to remove a lot of metal to establish a joined edge. Most factory made razors were beveled on a platten then went straight to a finishing hone. If your bevel setter is leaving such deep gouges you may consider finding a better bevel setter....as of course YMMV.

I shaved with it tonight, and I was pretty satisfied. I am still learning to use a straight efficiently, and this is my first "ground up" honing, so to be honest, I am very happy that I was able to get a clean shave with it.

Could it be better? Yes. Absolutely. Both the blade and the shave. But that's what keeps us coming back for more, isn't it?

Just placed an order for a Naniwa Super Stone set, 220, 1000, 5000, 10000 grits plus a Naniwa flattening stone. That coupled with my (approx.) 12K ceramic and my strop should make it a fairly simple task to put a real shaving edge on my razors...

By next week, I'll be sharing progression pics!

Had to touch up my favorite blade. Last shave was tugging and leaving everything behind from the get go, so I took it to the stones for some refreshing. Started with a quick few passes on a Naniwa Specialty 5k followed by a Naniwa Specialty 10k. A few laps on the 12k-ish and 50 laps on linen. She's popping arm hairs at mid height. Gonna give a test shave tonight...

Allegheny Instruments Corporation 5/8 near wedge

[Image: c22b797cbad0ebfcee3078df77fa2f82.jpg] dmt8xx, chosera 1k.

[Image: b7529dfbfcaa0cb7dcb68cb9ee8a28ad.jpg] wakasa koppa.



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Last Night, I went to use my Torrey 5/8 full hollow and it started tugging, so I put it to the side and shaved with the AIC near wedge.

After my shave, I took the Torrey through the same progression as the AIC; Naniwa 5k, Naniwa 10k, and my natural 12k-ish (I think it is actually a hard Arkansas, but I can't be certain), followed by 100 laps on the linen strop. The Torrey is now popping arm hairs mid-height with the same gusto as the AIC near wedge. Tonight, it will get a test shave.

I'm really digging the edges I've been able to get recently. I'm still having trouble with my Taylor Eye Witness that has a frown, but even that blade is starting to come along. It would probably be easier if I didn't rush the progression and move ahead too quickly, but I'm an impatient guy sometimes. I need to learn to slow down and let the stones work...

Anyhow...the blades that don;t need major work are finishing up very keen and smooth, so I'm going to take that as a sign that I am starting to get the hang of this. I still have a TON to learn, but at least with my current stones on good blades with no issues, I am able to get a good, keen edge...