This seems to be the issue of the week

Not saying this is for sure the problem BUT it is worth testing it out

As the edge gets more and more polished the "Sharp Tests" that might work on lower grits sometimes fail miserably at the higher more polished stages.. (less toothy edge = less feedback)
I fell victim to this phenomenon when I first started using the Naniwa SS's My Bevel setting tests worked fine but as I progressed into the sharpening stages I lost the edge.. This drove me bonkers until I decided to just push through and was rewarded with a awesome shave at the end..

IF

Big if there, you are posoitive of your bevel set then do the finishing as best as possible strop, and test shave see what the outcome is

two things to remember

Tests are not the end all be all, the shave is
You should be capable of setting the bevel on the 1k, do some nice smooth strokes, then strop and shave at the 1k level, might not be a perfect smooth shave, but it should surprise you with how good it really is..

Thanks Glen,
What you have said in your above statement is pretty much what I am experiencing...after I go through my strop sequence the edge is sharp and gives me a smooth shave however my edge still not cutting arm hairs 1/2 way up and I am going through my strop sequence after shaving finishing with oiling my blade...so in your vast experiences more honing on the C12k? Thanks Gentlemen
Take care.

All the sharp tests are subject to personal interpretation, basically they only work for some of the people some of the time, people continually try and make them scientific and they just aren't.. Honestly not even the Shave Test is, what you consider a good shave on your face with your razor may or may not be the same for every Tom, Dick, and Hairy (pun intentional)


Sharp tests are just a guide no more then that...

Playing off some of Glen's comments above, I personally have real difficultly in getting repeatable, consistent results with the HHT and even the arm-hair tests, from razor to razor.
That said, some of the razors I've done that 'failed' on these tests wound up providing very comfortable and smooth shaves. I've also had razor that sliced through HHT and arm hair brilliantly, yet I found the shave rather raw feeling and not so smooth.
So I've learned to do the testing to gauge a certain level of sharpness, but in the end, the shaving on the face is the real gauge for the how 'good' of an edge I've achieved.. YMMV.

Kevin,Glen
With that being said Gentlemen mastering one stone honing and setting the bevel and brining that edge to a tacky sharp edge and polishing the edge for a smooth shave is the main objective...It it good to know that honing a blade has more depth to it than just the obvious thank you Gentlemen.
Take care.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating

The old aphorisms generally ring true, and paraphrased for razor honing this one might go
'The proof of the edge is in the shave'.

The tests are indicators that you're probably on the right road, signposts; but if you've already arrived at the destination then there's not much point to worrying over whether or not you missed one or more of those signs along the way.





​

I don't do a hair on the arm test. I just go by feel on the stone until I think I am ready to shave. I am not a pro but it works for me almost all the time. I have had two instances where I had to go back to the 4k on up

Well, my C12K has gone to the back of the shelf. My wife really came through for Christmas and got me a Chosera 1k, and Naniwa 5, 8, and 12K's. First thing I did after all my daughter's toys were cut out of those awful plastic molded packages was flatten the hones which didn't take long. Then I went to work on a Genco that's been a little stubborn. It's got a bit of a warp in the blade and I was getting nowhere on it with the C12K. Did some circles on the Chosera until it was shaving arm hair all along the edge, then worked up through the Naniwas. At each stage, I could tell it was getting sharper and after the 12K, it was treetopping arm hairs really easy. Been shaving with it the past couple days and it's doing a really nice job. Way better than the razor I thought was doing ok off the C12K. Even shaving my chin is going pretty well and that was a real struggle before.

There's a good reason so many start with the Chosera 1k…….
Using the C12k will get the job done, but it simply requires a considerable amount of time.

Yeah, I was surprised how fast that razor honed up. I spent by far most of the time on the 1k. Probably 3 or 4 sets of circles and x-strokes. Then all it took was about 20 x-strokes on each of the Naniwas and done! I'm sure I've still got a lot to learn and I could have had a nice stroke of beginner's luck on this one but it turned out nice.

I recently did my Friodur 6/8 stainless bellied hollow with the c12k. For the first year I had it, I was convinced it was a dud. The dud was me.
After watching Glen's video on one stone honing with the c12k for the 10th time, I figured it out.
Bevel set with the Chosera green brick and then it was a lot of circles and x's. Slurry first, then diluted.
Result was stellar after a few strops on the CrOx strop. Very pleased with my first natural stone honing. Smooth and sharp.

IMO - nothing gets a better edge than a Friodur on a naniwa 12k

I had my initial edge on that stone but didn't like it. Normally it's my go-to finisher though.

I don't do circles anymore. I can get a good edge very quickly with X stokes if I start with the Naniwa Pro 1k ( green) and progress upwards with the 4k,8k,12k. I have not even used the circles on new NOS razors that have not had the bevel set. Works for me

Ditto, same here.

I wanted to give an update here. I think I may have had a small breakthrough today. After lots of reading, I decided to try out a Black Arkansas stone from Dan's Whetstones and I think I'm going to be glad I did. I have been getting good sharp edges from my Naniwa 12K but have read that a good Arkie can kick even that edge up a notch so I wanted to see for myself.

Well, long story short, I wouldn't say my edge is any sharper but it is without a doubt much smoother feeling. I think I'm finally understanding something I think @gssixgun said. Something about how smoothness is what's great about a straight. Even though my straight is nowhere near as sharp feeling as a DE blade and doesn't cut through the whiskers quite as easily, I still got a great shave today. And even though a DE usually gives me a shave where the aftershave doesn't sting at all, this straight shave was somehow even a little more comfortable.

I'm going to have to hold off on my final judgement until I do this a few more times. I was coming off a few days without shaving and that's a little unusual for me so that could have had something to do with the exceptional shave. But I'm pretty excited about my next few shaves.

Maybe someday…although it's be a double-finisher after the 12k Naniwa.

Suehiro Gokumyo 20,000 grit (@ 0.5 µm). ¥27,000 ($218.)

I was thinking about one of those but I guess a couple things made me want to try an Arkie first. An oilstone appeals to me as a finisher since using water on carbon steel just seems weird to me. At least coming off the finisher, my blade is coated in oil and for some reason I like that. Also, not sure if it's true but I've read an Arkansas edge is really close to the SG20K edge and the Ark is about 1/3 the price. I may get there eventually though. I usually have to see if these things people say are true for myself.

I get what you're saying, Brian. I'm interested in hearing your impressions off the Arky.

Since I've gone to an all-Japanese synthetic regimen (1k thru 12k), the Suehiro 20k seemed like the next step up—although I'm not convinced 12k > 20k polishing is going to make a significant different to warrant the cost.

It is strange, a Naniwa 12k bevel looks like a mirror so you might think it can't get much better than that. The Arkansas bevel is not quite as shiny but feels smoother on my face. Some things I still don't understand I guess.