For the first three years of my straight razor "carreer", I was very preoccupied with the shaving performance of my razors. For the edge finish I started with Dovo red paste, then Chromium oxide, then a Nakayma, next the Chosera 10K, and finally Coticules.
I owned a Coticule and BBW almost right from the start, but it took almost those three full years before I could consistently shave of that Coticule without any additional finishing with one of the aforementioned stones or pastes. The reason I kept obsessively revisiting my Coticule for finishing, were a couple of accidental "hits" that were so good that I wanted all my razors to shave that smooth.
Once I started to be able to reproduce those results, my eagerness for a "better" edge disappeared. I occasionally try other hones now, but in a much more relaxed state. The quest to seek improvement isn't there anymore. I've played with lapping film, I have a small Escher, I often fool around with a small collection of BBWs, I shaved off a natural hone called Portanigra last week. I have a barber hone for over 2 years, that I have not yet used, but one day, when I have the time and inclination, I'll try it. I've shaved off the Cretan hone. I've tried to sharpen a razor with 3M bristle discs on a jewelers lathe (not a success).
For me, it is even more fun to play around with different sharpening solutions, now that I am no longer doing it in a hunt for improvement. I am much more enjoying the total experience of a good shave: the sonorous and tactile sensations of stropping the edge, the olfactory and sensory treats of hot lather on my face, how the blade graciously scoops up whiskers and lather. In earlier times I was too focused on the performance of the edge, to truly notice and enjoy those things. It was an exciting journey, though I'm not sad it's over.
Kind regards,
Bart.