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- #141
aw shucks
aw shucks
I personally have an easier time doing something I see the Germans do, which is work the edge in stages varying pressure toward that area. A few half laps leaning toward the heel, then the center, then the toe...I think this is in the 2/2 bit but if not u can definitely see the German lady do it in the 'Intentionally Convex' video opening footage.
I really like his comment where he says that according to the very literal german engineering mind, once a razor has been put into the grinding wheels, it is no longer flat.
Meaning no longer perfectly flat. The human hand holding the end is imperfect and the spinning wheels are imperfect.
And the imperfection will be to a varying degree, from razor to razor.
I had thought the advantage of the convex is that if you have a badly warped razor, or an extreme smile, the convexity is what makes contact along all of the edge.
But they're not talking about bad warps. They are just talking about minor, ordinary variations.
A flat stone will give you good contact along the edge. But a convex stone will give you perfect contact.
I think for the professional honer, this small advantage might make it worth while to go to the trouble and bother and expense of convexing your hones. I can see for the home user, flat stones are good enough. And the home user would not want to pay more money for convexing. And also the home user could not regain the convexity that would be lost with soft coticules and synthetics. Eventually the stone would return to flat and be lapped as a flat stone, so why bother?
Back then, they were convexing soft coticules, not hard arks. So the convexing had to be kept up. Not something that civilians could do.
But I think arks changed that. convexing a hard ark means the convexing remains. so even though civilians can't maintain the convexity themselves, it doesn't matter as the ark is so hard it keeps its convexity.
certainly, the dovo shops have now moved over from coticule to ark. That must be the reason.
I'm very interested in finding out what Jarrod at Superior Shave actually does and what other experts actually do when they use this stone as I'm not finding this an easy stone to learn (so far, but I have hope).
I've turned the speed on this YouTube video down to 25% to watch it.
I'm quoting here from anther linked video where Jarrod answers a question. His answer caused me to look at his two new honing videos (2/2 & 1/2) in a different light.
So, combining what he says with what I see...
Happy shaves,
Jim
P.S. I think maybe the light bulb has gone on, but the proof's in the pudding.
Is anyone shaving well off these convex stones?
Is anyone shaving well off these convex stones?
Jim, about your point on whether it is the razors themselves that are responsible for the not so great shaves.
I think that's true. To make the experiment fair, I have put into my convex ark rotation, a gd and a better razor and one excellent, top of the line razor.
All three done on the convex ark. And sure enough, the better razors came out better and shaved better.
So the razor is a factor.
Right now, of all the different razors and different systems, my two most amazing razors are the Fili second gen #14 on the convex ark and the dovo bismarck on the diamond pasted balsa.
Well Jim, they damn well should be, shouldn't they?
Jim, about your point on whether it is the razors themselves that are responsible for the not so great shaves.
I think that's true. To make the experiment fair, I have put into my convex ark rotation, a gd and a better razor and one excellent, top of the line razor.
All three done on the convex ark. And sure enough, the better razors came out better and shaved better.
So the razor is a factor.
Right now, of all the different razors and different systems, my two most amazing razors are the Fili second gen #14 on the convex ark and the dovo bismarck on the diamond pasted balsa.
Well Jim, they damn well should be, shouldn't they?