All straight razors that leave snailforge have been honed in the same way. There are many different ways to hone razors, and literally hundreds of different types of stone that can be used. They all have their merit and I am not saying that what I do is ‘better’. My process is just what works for me and is consistent along different types of steel.
The first stage after making it is setting the bevel. I start by taping the spine. Then I use a Norton 1K stone for this. I raise a slurry on the stone with a diamond plate, and hone the razor until the edge passes the thumbnail test. This is the most important stage in the process.
When the razor is thumbnail sharp, I remove the tape, clean the razor, and apply new tape. I then hone on a 4K Norton, using only water. I do this for only 20 passes or so, using very light pressure. Then I switch the the 8K Norton, and do about 20 water passes.
Then I go back to the 4K side, do 3 passes on water, go back to the 8K, do another 20 passes, and finally do 3 passes on a shapton 16K hone.
The 16K is not strictly necessary. It’s just a cherry on the cake, as they say. Stopping at 8K would suffice for good shaves.
Note that I just use this process because it works consistently for me. If you have your own method of honing, then for maintaining your razors I suggest you use whatever method you are most comfortable with. However I do advise you to use tape on the spine. This will protect the spine against hone wear. Otherwise you will get shiny lines or spots on the spine, which detract from the visual aspect of the razor.
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