Do you have a photo of the razor?While sharpening, if the blade curves up at the toe and heel, do you leave those areas dull if they do not come in contact with the stone?
I am familiar with sharpening clip points on a knife, but with a straight razor, it would be very tough to use the same technique. The videos I have been watching do not touch on that, I have learned to keep the blade flat and even at all times. Thanks for an easy answer to this without getting into too much detail. much appreciated.
My first razor was a 1/4 hollow 7/8. I had no experience honing razors, but I had allot of experience with knifes.
All I needed to do was to roll with the curvature, like you hone a knife. The spine acts like a angle guide. Quite simple in principle.
You just need to use much lighter pressure, and minimize burr formation and avoid flexing the blade.
It really isn't much more complicated then honing a knife, just a different technique.
I was shaving just fine long before I discovered all the madness you see on YouTube.
I think your time is best spent with your razor on the stone. If you are proficient at knife sharpening you will pick it up quite fast.
If you run into issues there are plenty of experienced people who can help here.
I would not bread knife the edge.
If you need to speed things up for reprofiling ,you can lift the spine to allow for more pressure without increasing your bevel width.
Then you do your final correction with the spine on the stone.
I would not do that if the blade had a smile. It is quite effective if you are correcting a frawn.