Thread: Looking for advices on different topics (more info inside)

On my natural stones I like to do the final laps with a thin shave lather - probably about the same as using a drop of soap. Makes things slicker and they polish a bit better.

When using oil, thinner is better for finish work. Baby oil (mineral oil) is a bit thick as you discovered. You can cut it with mineral spirit to thin it up and get a slightly better result than with just the oil.

But my preference is soap because that rinses right off the hone when done.

True dat.

As an update (still no photos) I shaved today and the first pass was below acceptable. No cuts, no irritation but a lot of tug. I had to use the TurtleWax polishing compound (20 laps on my belt) and another 30 laps on the uncompounded section of the belt. That did the trick. Shave was a lot smoother (like the ones before).

I think I will stop trying to give it a mirror edge for now. Seems to me I need more tools (and money) than the one available to me at the moment.