Well, I am hitting the Veg pretty hard this week.
Well, I am hitting the Veg pretty hard this week.
Glad your enjoying your shaves. I found I went through a period of trying to max my edges when I was younger. My dad had some sage advice. He said “do you get the results you want on most parts of your face?” Of course I said yes. His answer was “forget the hones and work on your angles and technique. It’s already shaving well. “
That was a paradigm shift for me in how I approached straights decades ago. It’s like your face is a puzzle and you have to figure out the angles, grips, stretches and directions to get the same result everywhere on your face. I’m still refining on a daily basis to reduce the number of strokes, passes and extra attention to get that perfect pass.
You can keep trying to compensate with keenness but more times than not with daily use your razor will not be at it’s peak fresh off a hone.
No I get your point completely. I remember when first honing that “wow” when I created an edge I had not before. It felt like everything was easier with that edge. It kept me trying to max the edge even more. Looking for the next “wow”. I got to the point I could put an an edge on a razor that even my grandfather and dad respected.
My dad was old school and taught by a family of grinders.
I guess in a way I am turning into him. No intent to harsh your mood so my apologies.
An interesting story both my grandfather and his brothers used convex arks and coticules to hone their razors. All were grinders before moving on to become machinists when the market for straights crashed. My one uncle had a 18”x 5” beautiful convexed hard ark, a 14” x 4” coti and a couple thuri that were probably about 2”+ thick. All huge bench stones that you’ll probably never see the likes of again. And the ones mentioned were just a sample. His son inherited them and ended using them as general stones to sharpen anything. They all ended up cracked, dished and completely trashed from abuse and neglect. Every time we visited you could see the stress in my dad’s face whenever he saw them and it was always a bone of contention in the family how he ended up with them.
I guess in a way I am turning into him. No intent to harsh your mood so my apologies.
Were the coticules convexed as well or just the arks?No I get your point completely. I remember when first honing that “wow” when I created an edge I had not before. It felt like everything was easier with that edge. It kept me trying to max the edge even more. Looking for the next “wow”. I got to the point I could put an an edge on a razor that even my grandfather and dad respected.
My dad was old school and taught by a family of grinders.
I guess in a way I am turning into him. No intent to harsh your mood so my apologies.
An interesting story both my grandfather and his brothers used convex arks and coticules to hone their razors. All were grinders before moving on to become machinists when the market for straights crashed. My one uncle had a 18”x 5” beautiful convexed hard ark, a 14” x 4” coti and a couple thuri that were probably about 2”+ thick. All huge bench stones that you’ll probably never see the likes of again. And the ones mentioned were just a sample. His son inherited them and ended using them as general stones to sharpen anything. They all ended up cracked, dished and completely trashed from abuse and neglect. Every time we visited you could see the stress in my dad’s face whenever he saw them and it was always a bone of contention in the family how he ended up with them.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Were the coticules convexed as well or just the arks?
.I enjoy your journey thru this thread. Here is my main setup. It has 1400+ shaves on it. I’m trying to be minimalist in shaving how straight shaving was done in the 60’s after the heyday. I maintain it with fine India’s, C12k and paste you would find in a hardware store. Similar to what type of abrasives a normal guy would have. No big arks, cotis. Thuris , high grit waterstones or $$$ honing setups. Strop is a basic cheap Illinois. Basic soap, AS and simple cheap brush. I’ve been very successful and am enjoying the journey.
The slight upturn at the point is not hone wear but how the grinder ground it.
That's a great find in the wild!Thanks Jim. I still pull out the beauty queens and nice stones once a week. It all started 6 years ago when a friend I talked to on a regular basis at the barbershop wanted to learn. He kept balking at all the gear, perceived elitism, cost and maintenance behind straight shaving. So I bought and shaved with the same kit he could afford. Maintained the razors with what he thought was affordable too. He didn’t want anything for free or as a handout. Didn’t want to deal with eBay or online forums. He did well and stuck with it for daily 3-4 years with me mentoring him occasionally on honing, repairs and techniques. He became quite proficient and was the most ecstatic when he honed out a chip on his razor from a faucet ding on his own one Saturday at my place. He kept at it until he had a series of more debilitating strokes over the last 6 months of his life. I keep doing it from fondness and to keep myself rooted.
His son picked up his kit and started shaving too. We keep in touch at the barbershop and the Agway. He stops by now and again to hone up his razor, pick up some pointers and chat about his dad. His wife bought him a 6/8 BQ Dovo for his birthday at a 2nd hand shop last year and she also found a Scotch dual hone at a farm sale for $10 a couple months ago. It’s funny that I had to convince her it was worth the $10. A labeled near mint boxed hone. It must have taken near 100 text messages and photos over an hour. At the end I was tempted to leave work sick and buy it myself is she wasn’t going to.
I still buy or trade for the nice NOS SRs or something unique. Always on the hunt.
Have great shaves.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks Jim. I still pull out the beauty queens and nice stones once a week. It all started 6 years ago when a friend I talked to on a regular basis at the barbershop wanted to learn. He kept balking at all the gear, perceived elitism, cost and maintenance behind straight shaving. So I bought and shaved with the same kit he could afford. Maintained the razors with what he thought was affordable too. He didn’t want anything for free or as a handout. Didn’t want to deal with eBay or online forums. He did well and stuck with it for daily 3-4 years with me mentoring him occasionally on honing, repairs and techniques. He became quite proficient and was the most ecstatic when he honed out a chip on his razor from a faucet ding on his own one Saturday at my place. He kept at it until he had a series of more debilitating strokes over the last 6 months of his life. I keep doing it from fondness and to keep myself rooted.
His son picked up his kit and started shaving too. We keep in touch at the barbershop and the Agway. He stops by now and again to hone up his razor, pick up some pointers and chat about his dad. His wife bought him a 6/8 BQ Dovo for his birthday at a 2nd hand shop last year and she also found a Scotch dual hone at a farm sale for $10 a couple months ago. It’s funny that I had to convince her it was worth the $10. A labeled near mint boxed hone. It must have taken near 100 text messages and photos over an hour. At the end I was tempted to leave work sick and buy it myself is she wasn’t going to.
I still buy or trade for the nice NOS SRs or something unique. Always on the hunt.
Have great shaves.