wdwrx said:
I keep going back because I haven't got the edge to the point I want it. So my reasoning is to go back to some point ahead of where i started the last step,
I take you mean before and not ahead?
wdwrx said:
and do it all over again. I can usually gain an incremental improvement. BWTH does it mean? Am I outrunning my slurry then? Or spending too long without diluting and thereby dulling the edge faster than I'm gaining?
If you spend too long without diluting the slurry, the edge will max out at that stage, all you will do then is waste steel and time, on the other hand if you are letting the slurry become even a little thicker than when you started, you will be moving backwards, and dulling the edge, if you take a razor dulled on glass, do a few sets of half strokes on milky slurry and it should shave arm hair, now if you carry on without adding water the edge will drop right back to not shaving arm hair anymore.
wdwrx said:
I guess I'm interpreting the advice I've read that suggested for more keenness to go back to a light slurry and go back up. (Forgive my paraphrasing) which seems to pan out for me as; do a dilucot, test, do another smaller dilucot, test.... do another, even smaller, so on and so forth, until I'm just kinda showing the slurry stone to the coti, and then going to straight water from there. I tend to spend a bit more time at the final lightest slurry stage thinking that I want some cutting power, but not alot, to make up for any misjudgment in my progress.
Thats bang on, what I do is what I believe is a simpler version of just that, I do a full dilocut and perform a HHT, what follows depends on the result, if it passes I strop and go, job done, if it catches here and there, or does a very very loud violin, you know the one where you can feel it wants to catch, I go a couple of sets of 30 half strokes on water and then around 60 regular X strokes on water again, that brings the whole edge up to par, if however its a dull violin, or worse still the hair just pulls over the edge like butter off a knife, then I rub the slurry stone twice on the hone, and go back to doing half strokes, dilute every set for maybe 3 or 4 sets, until I am just on water again, then its business as usual, I very very very rarely have to do that last fix, and among others the half strokes on water and then regular X strokes, is my main fix for when the edge is slightly below par.
Hope this helps even more?
HONE ON!!
Ralfson (Dr)
Damn I hate these long drawn out answers....lol
I meant what Gary just said! hahaha