Polishing/establishing the shaving sharp edge
Firstly, make sure if you've been honing on the 4K side of the Norton, or another hone, to wash the blade off prior moving onto the next step using the yellow, 8K side of the Norton.



With the 8K (yellow) side of the Norton, use same technique as described in Creating the initial bevel section and slide the razor across the hone back and forth (making sure to switch directions by rolling the edge off of the hone and back around the to opposite direction). The object of this part of the honing process is to remove the more aggressive/rougher scratch pattern left by the 4K side of the hone, and replace it with a lighter, smoother/tighter scratch pattern of the 8K side of the Norton.



Usually anywhere around 10-15 strokes (in both directions) is sufficient for removing all of the scratch marks from the 4K, and polishing the edge to a much finer, smoother pattern. Again, sometimes you might need more or less depending on the method, razor etc. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions on the forum. We'll gladly help!

Now make sure to wash off the razor again with running water, as whether you're going to shave with the edge right off of the 8K, or move on to a finer finishing stone. You don't want any residue from the 8K making your job more difficult as you move on to your leather strop or finer finishing hone. If you are going to shave with the razor right off of the 8K side of the Norton make SURE to carefully wipe ALL of the water off of the blade with a towel/cloth as shown below. Do not touch the cutting edge with the cloth directly - instead to make sure it is dry, do a very light "stropping" on the towel...