I hope my shaves progress as quickly as yours have.
Did you use anything other than Brasso on that razor? It looks great!
Did you use anything other than Brasso on that razor? It looks great!
global_dev straight journal
- Thread starter global_dev
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #62
I feel like i still have a couple of hurdles to go. I think going back to the the videos once in a while helps. i know the rasupur videos were interesting to watch and refresh my memory.
I only used brasso, some q-tips and a old toothbrush. I was thinking about using some auto detailing compound but the brasso seemed good enough for now.
Good stuff man! Good stuff...touch ups on a coti and a mad Russian wife to boot 
Glad to hear its coming together for you!
Glad to hear its coming together for you!
don't get me wrong... I don't get off scott-free for the things I say and do... I got a Russian wife and you don't cross a Russian without paying for it somehow, someplace... especially with a bunch of straight razors in reach...
again with the Joe Elliot Rattler.. i went back to the Ardennes coticule i have and watched a rasupur video and tried to emulate his method... edge came off pretty good and then i remembered i bought this ridiculously large & heavy granite surface plate (on sale for 1/2 price) and some lapping film at woodcraft last month when i got the seraphim straight in anticipation that i might need more film than he was going to send me... i got a 15u, 5u and .3u. combo pack so after a some time on the coticule i did some lapping on the 5u and .3u.
cuts arm hair nicely, the edge looks really polished so I prepared to shave using a sample of EJ cream sea buckthorne and and a best badger brush, face lathered and put blade to face... wow, smooth as can be. 1st pass best yet, 2nd pass, even nicer.. already at DFSno cuts, slices, pressure was good.. i figured i go for a third to see if I could get BBS. ALMOST! damn smooth, but i can feel some micro-stubble. I am happy... no cuts, no slices, but i think i applied a bit of too much pressure on the ATG since my face looks great, but even WH gave me a some feedback...
finished up with some Thayers CUCUMBER (avoiding my slang) and followed up with some Weleda Calendula Oil.
i am getting there, not 100% and i look at my DEs and wonder when i am going to get a chance to use them...
I was also hoping that no one was going to bid on that 'bay "large" filarmonica with the crack at the back of the blade, but once it hit $40 in the afternoon (sold for $90?) i forgot about it. Thought if it was cheap enough I could have tried to put a thumb notch in there....
all in all a good shave!
- Thread starter
- #64
Joe Elliot Rattler again,
leather stropped only. made a super lather of col conk lime and KMF key lime. did 2 wtg shaves and got DFS.
first pass didn't tug or pull. but the blade moved slowly, not so smooth, but resulted in satisfactory reduction. 2nd pass was very smooth and i figured i would finish while i was ahead.
i took a red hot pin to the inside of the scales and nothing happened. i am guessing that it's horn but i don't have camera with manual focus to show that part well with enough detail in a photo, maybe when i get my usb scope next week.
leather stropped only. made a super lather of col conk lime and KMF key lime. did 2 wtg shaves and got DFS.
first pass didn't tug or pull. but the blade moved slowly, not so smooth, but resulted in satisfactory reduction. 2nd pass was very smooth and i figured i would finish while i was ahead.
i took a red hot pin to the inside of the scales and nothing happened. i am guessing that it's horn but i don't have camera with manual focus to show that part well with enough detail in a photo, maybe when i get my usb scope next week.
- Thread starter
- #65
i decided to shave this morn with the seraphim 6/8 GD. That thing is sweet. I also decided to break out a EJ canvas/leather strop that looks surprisingly similar to the DOVO strop at AOS. It says Germany Ringlender or something like that. I did about 20 laps on the canvas followed by 40 on the leather.
What a difference in draw feel. wow it was way smoother than the ShavingStar big momma and much smaller. makes me want to try out some more strops soon...
the shave was excellent, no nicks, but still some barely visible razor burn, especially on my neck... i am pretty sure it's looking more about the angle than presuure. 2 WTG passes and i was ready to get on with the rest of my day. I'd love to shave in the morning, but i just don't have the time nor do i feel awake enough at pre-5AM to do a good job... I did pick up Weleda baby calendula cream and it's nice and soothing and moisturizing. it absorbs nicely and feels great.
I am absolutely enjoying shaving with straights and I'd love to try one of these Pumas ( i saw a NOS 4/8 go for ~40 bucks on the bay this morning) or filarmonica's but i don't know if i really want to commit such funds right now.
Are most people even really using them more than 2x before flipping them?
What a difference in draw feel. wow it was way smoother than the ShavingStar big momma and much smaller. makes me want to try out some more strops soon...
the shave was excellent, no nicks, but still some barely visible razor burn, especially on my neck... i am pretty sure it's looking more about the angle than presuure. 2 WTG passes and i was ready to get on with the rest of my day. I'd love to shave in the morning, but i just don't have the time nor do i feel awake enough at pre-5AM to do a good job... I did pick up Weleda baby calendula cream and it's nice and soothing and moisturizing. it absorbs nicely and feels great.
I am absolutely enjoying shaving with straights and I'd love to try one of these Pumas ( i saw a NOS 4/8 go for ~40 bucks on the bay this morning) or filarmonica's but i don't know if i really want to commit such funds right now.
Are most people even really using them more than 2x before flipping them?
I got both, Puma and Filarmonica (not Philarmonica
) and I wouldn't sell them. I recently got the Puma and it works very well. The Filarmonica is not in a great shape (lot of pitting). I had to refresh the hone lately and it took me all day to hone out the chips with my finisher stone...Anyways, all this to say I have a Filarmonica 13 and when shave ready, it's a great shaver. I was thinking of selling it while I was honing it or just recycle it but then, I shaved with it again!!
Those Philharmonicas are super rare!
- Thread starter
- #68
I have an engagement on this Saturday that I think i cant show up with some odd slices in my face, so i decided yesterday that i would either use a DE or a hydro 5 until Sunday. I decided on a NEW with wal-mart wilkinson blade. with one pass it was DFS, with 2 it was BBS and I was done....simply amazing... fast forward to today...
so i have been trying to win some "overlooked" straights on the 'bay and came away with this Freddie Reynolds. It showed up today.. It has an interesting blade profile to me, the spine and edge aren't exactly parallel and the point juts out a bit past the spine.. there is minimal hone wear, still has grind marks on the blade and looks like a half to quarter hollow. looks like plastic scales and I just had to try it out...
after being cleaned up... it wasn't too bad to begin with, some tarnish and overall dulled finish.
I dulled edge on some glass, polished it with Brasso, honed on my DMT C/F and finished on the coticule and tried to shave some arm hair off. It cut so fine that i ran up stairs, stropped it, on canvas and this prima rindleder leather (my stropping seems to be much better) and went to town...
i was a bit nervous as the edge looked straight, but one side of the upper bevel wasn't exactly straight, I tried to hone it straight but it kinda stayed the way it wanted to.. blade to face and focused, but not too much concentration F'n Magnificent. . I could not believe again how smooth it cut. I think my technique is vastly improving concurrently and I only went with 2 WTG passes and the face is DFS smooth and irritation free.
I could get used to this...
so i have been trying to win some "overlooked" straights on the 'bay and came away with this Freddie Reynolds. It showed up today.. It has an interesting blade profile to me, the spine and edge aren't exactly parallel and the point juts out a bit past the spine.. there is minimal hone wear, still has grind marks on the blade and looks like a half to quarter hollow. looks like plastic scales and I just had to try it out...
after being cleaned up... it wasn't too bad to begin with, some tarnish and overall dulled finish.
I dulled edge on some glass, polished it with Brasso, honed on my DMT C/F and finished on the coticule and tried to shave some arm hair off. It cut so fine that i ran up stairs, stropped it, on canvas and this prima rindleder leather (my stropping seems to be much better) and went to town...
i was a bit nervous as the edge looked straight, but one side of the upper bevel wasn't exactly straight, I tried to hone it straight but it kinda stayed the way it wanted to.. blade to face and focused, but not too much concentration F'n Magnificent. . I could not believe again how smooth it cut. I think my technique is vastly improving concurrently and I only went with 2 WTG passes and the face is DFS smooth and irritation free.
I could get used to this...
I have an engagement on this Saturday that I think i cant show up with some odd slices in my face, so i decided yesterday that i would either use a DE or a hydro 5 until Sunday. I decided on a NEW with wal-mart wilkinson blade. with one pass it was DFS, with 2 it was BBS and I was done....simply amazing... fast forward to today...
so i have been trying to win some "overlooked" straights on the 'bay and came away with this Freddie Reynolds. It showed up today.. It has an interesting blade profile to me, the spine and edge aren't exactly parallel and the point juts out a bit past the spine.. there is minimal hone wear, still has grind marks on the blade and looks like a half to quarter hollow. looks like plastic scales and I just had to try it out...
after being cleaned up... it wasn't too bad to begin with, some tarnish and overall dulled finish.
I dulled edge on some glass, polished it with Brasso, honed on my DMT C/F and finished on the coticule and tried to shave some arm hair off. It cut so fine that i ran up stairs, stropped it, on canvas and this prima rindleder leather (my stropping seems to be much better) and went to town...
i was a bit nervous as the edge looked straight, but one side of the upper bevel wasn't exactly straight, I tried to hone it straight but it kinda stayed the way it wanted to.. blade to face and focused, but not too much concentration F'n Magnificent. . I could not believe again how smooth it cut. I think my technique is vastly improving concurrently and I only went with 2 WTG passes and the face is DFS smooth and irritation free.
I could get used to this...
Beautiful blade
. And, congrats on getting it nice and sharp. Sounds like fun- Thread starter
- #70
i was just thinking about how i would better clean up my straights and I was looking at the bottom part of the shank, noting yesterday how i thought the texture was very conducive to grip, but now i think it might be some oxidation/rust type of thing going on... what do you all think?
- Thread starter
- #71
24 was last night. i have been focusing on my col conk lime lathering as well as trying to work on straight technique... my wife watched the first half and i was nervous i was going to slice something good... 2 wtg passes and a CCS a bunch of stubble on the neck, but no irritation...
25 was about an hour ago and i went for one pass wtg and 2nd pass xtg. excellent results better than a DFS, but not a BBS... little to no irritation... if i do have irritation it's 99% located on my right side of neck... i have been mainly using my dominant hand for all of the shave...
I also just finished the first draft of my box. it needs plenty of work, but i am happy with how it turned out so far... any suggestions welcome...
25 was about an hour ago and i went for one pass wtg and 2nd pass xtg. excellent results better than a DFS, but not a BBS... little to no irritation... if i do have irritation it's 99% located on my right side of neck... i have been mainly using my dominant hand for all of the shave...
I also just finished the first draft of my box. it needs plenty of work, but i am happy with how it turned out so far... any suggestions welcome...
That's a nice storage box!
Interesting read on how you've progressed using a straight. After 25 shaves, your technique has improved, while moving from a Gold Dollar razor to Sheffield steel can only help as well.
When I was starting out, the biggest leap was shaving with an older razor honed by an expert. The difference was startling, and you'll find a well honed razor needs nothing but a plain leather strop to keep it sharp for six months to a year - perhaps a few passes on a barber's hone, but no more. Frequent honing is needed for lesser quality steel, if it will take an edge at all. But the better steel, such as your Frederick Reynolds, will keep an edge for a long time when honed correctly. Having a good razor honed by a professional also educates you as to what a properly sharpened razor feels like, giving you a target to shoot for when you hone your own.
Keep at it... after 10 years using a straight, I still learn something new from every shave.
p.s. that appears to be a little oxidation on the tang - if it seems to help your grip, go with it!
When I was starting out, the biggest leap was shaving with an older razor honed by an expert. The difference was startling, and you'll find a well honed razor needs nothing but a plain leather strop to keep it sharp for six months to a year - perhaps a few passes on a barber's hone, but no more. Frequent honing is needed for lesser quality steel, if it will take an edge at all. But the better steel, such as your Frederick Reynolds, will keep an edge for a long time when honed correctly. Having a good razor honed by a professional also educates you as to what a properly sharpened razor feels like, giving you a target to shoot for when you hone your own.
Keep at it... after 10 years using a straight, I still learn something new from every shave.
p.s. that appears to be a little oxidation on the tang - if it seems to help your grip, go with it!
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #74
4 more shaves, 3 more straights procured...
2 johan engstroms... one frameback and one super skinny spine extra/full hollow, both around 5/8s squares. the frameback had a minor chip, heavy wood? scales and the skinny spine had really light plastic?micarta scales maybe to look like yellowed ivory? honed both using my dmt c/f and coticule and films and actually tried to wet-sand the skinny spine into mirror shine and almost got there. i think my mistake was not enough sanding at the 500-1000 grits. my set only has like 220, 500, 1000, 1200.
i also have a pre-filamornica jose monserrat 14 on it's way... I also have a set of naniwas coming and I think it's time to take a acquisition break... except i would really like to try a boar brush.
the shaves have been coming along nicely, they are super close, but I am getting some irritation... and a cut line here and there. I have been using a DB 1.5 scuttle from a PIF but I don't think it's for me...
i think my honing is good enough to keep me shaving, my stropping is coming along. i feel a lot of stiction in some of my shaves especially when i try to use a superlather mix... i opened up the blade a bit and i think that may be the culprit in closeness and irritation.
i may give my face a rest for a while, even though my skin feels smooth, i can feel the slight irritation. I finished off this XTG/ATG DFS afternoon shave with some alcohol based AS and it was rough.... though last evening i did only 1 WTG pass that felt great CCS, so i thought it would be okay 12 hours later to finish off the other passes.
I really want to rescale (or have someone do it) some, if not all, of these blades.
2 johan engstroms... one frameback and one super skinny spine extra/full hollow, both around 5/8s squares. the frameback had a minor chip, heavy wood? scales and the skinny spine had really light plastic?micarta scales maybe to look like yellowed ivory? honed both using my dmt c/f and coticule and films and actually tried to wet-sand the skinny spine into mirror shine and almost got there. i think my mistake was not enough sanding at the 500-1000 grits. my set only has like 220, 500, 1000, 1200.
i also have a pre-filamornica jose monserrat 14 on it's way... I also have a set of naniwas coming and I think it's time to take a acquisition break... except i would really like to try a boar brush.
the shaves have been coming along nicely, they are super close, but I am getting some irritation... and a cut line here and there. I have been using a DB 1.5 scuttle from a PIF but I don't think it's for me...
i think my honing is good enough to keep me shaving, my stropping is coming along. i feel a lot of stiction in some of my shaves especially when i try to use a superlather mix... i opened up the blade a bit and i think that may be the culprit in closeness and irritation.
i may give my face a rest for a while, even though my skin feels smooth, i can feel the slight irritation. I finished off this XTG/ATG DFS afternoon shave with some alcohol based AS and it was rough.... though last evening i did only 1 WTG pass that felt great CCS, so i thought it would be okay 12 hours later to finish off the other passes.
I really want to rescale (or have someone do it) some, if not all, of these blades.
If you want to rescale and have the tools and time, I would recommend doing it yourself. If not, contact a honemeister, some also make scales. There are a few threads on this forum showing some work that a few are doing, quite nice!
- Thread starter
- #76
I'd love to do it myself, just taking some time to make sure I have the right tools. I have read a bunch and watched some videos, but I need to go back and take some better notes.
Suggestions for the box:
More slots!!!!
C'mon, you know you'll be buying more!
More slots!!!!
C'mon, you know you'll be buying more!
- Thread starter
- #78
i realized i didn't optimize the space in my box well, especially when i saw the 7 day sets. i have some better ideas..
i also just watched the SRP "from start to finish" video series and have a much better idea of whats going on with a full restore.
i also just watched the SRP "from start to finish" video series and have a much better idea of whats going on with a full restore.
Now that you have a stable of razors, it would be a great time to send one or two of them off for professional honing. I can't emphasize enough how even the most talented do-it-yourselfer with the best tools still needs to have a measuring stick. It will be the best $20 you spend in this hobby, and your face will thank you!
- Thread starter
- #80
so i have taken a couple days off from straights, used my Feather AS for a while, especially whenever i see some say it's too mild, i break it out and give it a go. it shave's pretty darn close that I am pretty much at 99% BBS each time...
back to straights though. with O.glenn's suggestion i took out my GD blade honed by craig/seraphim, stropped some and swirled up some of the razorock cream i got the other day on a cobigelow best badger. smells like marzipan. 2 passes, some WH, followed by some weleda calendula baby cream.
i decided no touch-up (regardless if needed). It was a nice smooth shave. Since i started with some pictures, here is one to show the progress so far. a little bit of stragglers i didn't get, but overall you'd be hard-pressed to see them if you were more than 2 feet away from me. This is a DFS for me as i categorize it, it feels like less than a 3u grit lapping film, except for those stragglers
linked to larger size, if you really think you need to see me that close.
back to straights though. with O.glenn's suggestion i took out my GD blade honed by craig/seraphim, stropped some and swirled up some of the razorock cream i got the other day on a cobigelow best badger. smells like marzipan. 2 passes, some WH, followed by some weleda calendula baby cream.
i decided no touch-up (regardless if needed). It was a nice smooth shave. Since i started with some pictures, here is one to show the progress so far. a little bit of stragglers i didn't get, but overall you'd be hard-pressed to see them if you were more than 2 feet away from me. This is a DFS for me as i categorize it, it feels like less than a 3u grit lapping film, except for those stragglers
linked to larger size, if you really think you need to see me that close.
