Post your latest progression.

I, too, like the war scars on it - gives it some real character. Obtaining a bellied-hollow of some type is on my wish list. Not sure how different they feel, but I've read real good things about them. Your experience with this one reinforces this idea.

This is the third I have honed and shaved with. All of them have been pretty quick to take an edge, and they all shaved very well...

So, the last time I shaved with each of these razors, I was pretty disappointed. A few strokes on the hard Ark with mineral oil followed by chromium and iron oxides took care of that issue. 2 fantastic shaves in a row!

I purchased a set of Nani Super Stones. I skipped the 1k for the time been since all my razors have been professionally honed. I went with the 5k, 8k, and 12k, and the lapping stone.

A friend PIF me a 4/8 Norton so I think I'm ok to start buying some clunky razors to start learning.

I purchased a set of Nani Super Stones.  I skipped the 1k for the time been since all my razors have been professionally honed.  I went with the 5k, 8k, and 12k, and the lapping stone.

A friend PIF me a 4/8 Norton so I think I'm ok to start buying some clunky razors to start learning.

You can get ZY razors off the bay for about 8 bucks each. Generally, they are pretty good for learning to hone. They claim to be shave ready. They are not. If you get one that lays flat on the stones (a must for initial learning,) they are an inexpensive way to develop your skills.

I took a chance...

Lately, I have not been happy with the edges I was getting from the ILR stone. I know that once you put oil on a stone, you can't go back to water, so I knew I might potentially be "ruining" the stone. But I decided to see what I could do with oil on ILR.

I've finished 2 razors with it so far, and I am enjoying the results. It slows the cut way down, and eliminates the super-sticky velcro feel you get using this stone with water. It gives me a better feel, and seems to be producing a better edge.

This razor, was all oil. I purchased a "hard" Arkansas stone on Friday. It is not nearly as hard as the hard Arkansas I bought 25 years ago, but it put a really nice bevel on this 5/8 Gazelle extra hollow. It took some time, but it worked well. My 25 year old hard Ark cleaned and honed it really nicely. Got it slicing hairs off of that, and moved one to ILR. Finished it up with chromium oxide on balsa, iron oxide on leather, linen and smooth leather. It started popping hairs clean at that point.

All in all, the process took longer than using the Naniwa synthetic stones, and the ILR with water, but I think the end result is much better. A much keener edge...

Took two razors that I haven't used in a while back to the stones to see if I could improve the edges. Wade & Butcher Invincible 11/16 belly hollow and Geneva Cutlery 11/16 extra hollow.

Progression was Lansky Arkansas stones, soft and hard, followed by my old hard Arkansas, which is quite a bit finer than the Lansky hard. Not sure if that is due to natural density, or 25 years of use, but whatever the case is, it is definitely harder and finer than the Lansky hard Ark. I still need to get my hands on a translucent and a surgical black though...

Finished up with ChroOx on balsi, FeOx on leather, linen and smooth leather. Test shaves the Geneva Cutlery this afternoon. Very nice shave, but I think it can be further improved with one or the other of the ultra-fine Arks...

George Wostenholm IXL Celebrated 6/8 hollow. Lansky soft and hard Arkansas stones followed by translucent Arkansas.

Thought I would share a quick shot of my Arkansas set. I have Lansky soft and hard, an unknown hard and my translucent from SharpeningSupplies.com. The unknown hard is actually pretty close in feel and finesse to the translucent. It's not translucent in appearance, but research indicates that it may be a "true hard", like the translucent despite appearances. It is definitely harder than the Lansky hard...

I use the fine diamond file for pocket, hunting, and kitchen knives, and those are diaper cloths for wiping off the stones and blades. I also wrap the stones in newspaper after wiping them dry. I'd like to add a fine India stone for bevel setting and chip removal, too...

So last week I got my translucent Arkansas stone, and this week I got my Shoubudani 100, and a big Tomo nagura. I honed up the George Wostenholm 6/8 on the Arkansas stones, but I wasn't thrilled with the shave. It was my fault, not the stones. Rather than go back to the Arks and work it again to try and get a better edge, I put it off to the side, and waited for the Shoubadani to get here.

I detuned the edge on a glass, and went back to the Naniwa 5k and 10k synthetics. After working a few blades on the Arks, the synthetics were pretty brainless. They are just a lot easier, faster, and more consistent. It's no wonder synthetics are so popular. Anyhow...

I used the Tomo to bring up a good slurry, and worked the blade through multiple dilutions, until I was working with clean water and getting pretty good stick.

The test shave proved to be my most enjoyable shave to date. It isn't the closest shave I have had, but it is on par, and easily the most comfortable shave I've ever had.

I am having fun on my honing journey. I'm really enjoying the differences between stones. Synthetic, American natural, Japanese natural, and the Imperia la Roccia are all different, with different feels and finishes, and each having it's own requirements to achieve a good edge. I know people generally recommend working exclusively with a set of stones until you get really consistent with that set, but I am enjoying learning different stones and different techniques, and changing things up. It's a very enjoyable process...

A challenging project todayd, that took a lot of time, but turned out just freakin' excellent!

This Wade & Butcher Golden Concave 5/8 near wedge is warped, but only on one side. I don't know how it happens, but it happened. I was struggling so hard to get a bevel set on this razor, until I realized there was a wobble in it on one side, but it was flat on the other. So, I altered my strokes, and used a rolling X for the warped side and a flat X for the flat side. It was the secret ingredient needed to get the bevel set, so I used it through the entire progression and had one of the best shaves yet. Extremely close, extremely comfortable, and worth every minute of the 4 hours it took to hone...

Bevel was set on Lansky soft Arkansas and polished with Lansky hard Ark and translucent Ark. After the translucent Arky, I took it to the Shoubudani 100, and worked through multiple slurry dilutions until I was working it through clean water and getting strong stick.

40 strokes on horsehide, and the shave was spectacular!


The scales are original W&B scales, but not for this razor. They were from the Special that was cracked and turned into a kamisori-style razor. Unfortunately, they are cracked at the hinge, but I wanted to put the blade in something, at least temporarily. I'm going to use the scales to pattern a new set out of teak, and I'm going to try and reuse the white celluloid wedge.

This sounds to me like a microtome razor that is purposefully manufactured wth a wedge on one side and a hollow on the other side. While it is kamisori-like in this respect, it was originally designed to be used in the medical profession to cut very thin slices of tissue. At least that is my understanding about these types of blades. People sometmes don't divulge that they are microtome blades (or possibly don't know) when selling them. Glad to see you were able to work with this quirk and end up with a nice working blade.