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What straight did you use today? Now with PICTURES

This is my first shave with this J. A. Henckels, it had been in the drawer for a while. It was honed by Matt at Griffith. As with all new razors, I stropped out 100 laps on shell cordovan. Knot was a RazoRock Chubby Extra Silvertip Badger with Stirling Orange Chill Shave soap. Detailing my beard was very comfortable and smooth. No nicks or weepers. The razor was very good at picking off those single hairs that sprout high on the cheek. Balance was good and the razor was easy to maneuver.

Background is Solingen, Germany.

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Non-show side of the Super Doll, so we can all understand that it is FOR BARBERS' USE FIRST QUALITY.

None of those AMATEUR SECONDS for yours truly.

I'm not a barber, but I did visit mine yesterday, for the first time since early 2020.

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New-to-me Naniwa setup came in the mail yesterday. Pro (Chosera) 600 and 1000, S2 Super 3, 5, 8, and 12k. Not sure how much I'll use the 600, but I gave the Doll a refresher run through the rest of the progression to see how the hones felt. (They felt fine!) Plus the balsa progression and I remembered to visit Tony Miller's first quality linen/roughout horse.

The hanging hair didn't notice any great improvement, but I felt that the edge was smoother. I might have been predisposed to that by investing all those laps on a razor that was already shaving close and giving no irritation. The Pinaud Lime Sec test came out A++.

Now I'll see if the new bevel setter(s) can get my Robeson into trim. It has been among my most resistant un-warped wild finds.
 

OLD-TIMEY NIGHT

I have tomorrow off, so plenty of time tonight. Got out the balsa and did a little stropping.

Big, gnarly old Joseph Rodgers;
1902 Kampfe Brothers Star w/ wedge blade;
Arrow 10 brush with TOBS Sandalwood.

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Rodgers grind:

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Finally, with the Kampfe locked and loaded.

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A bit of a hodgepodge this evening:

J.A. Henckels 42 half hollow
Semogue 2015 HD 2-band finest badger
Truefitt & Hill 1805 cream
Myrsol F/Extra

My 42 is unlikely to end up in a trophy case, but it sure shaves well. Just a hair under 6/8 - probably 6/8 when new. The scales are clearly not original. I have only ever seen a few of these. I like the no stabilizer design.

First time using the F/Extra. Pleasant mild scent that fades pretty quickly. Reminds me of some food or drink, but I can't put my finger on what it is.

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Another razor used for the first time…
Wostenholm 6/8 1/4 hollow
A&E Peach & Cognac
Semogue 1250

I got this about a month ago, but it was queued up behind a few other razors waiting to be honed.
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After doubling back to remove a chip out of the toe tip, I finally got this thru the black Ark last night. Typically I have used my the black Ark for about 8-10 minutes on the counter with soapy water - 1st half edge leading 2nd half edge trailing. I switched it up a bit last night. My Ark has one side that had been rarely used until recently - original finish from Dan’s, the other side usually gets the workout, I refinish with 600 W/D but currently its getting pretty shiny, so probably due for a refresh. I did 10 minutes each side 5 minutes edge leading, the rest edge trailing, with the stone in hand and using 3-in-1 oil (which is far less messy than soapy water if you want to hold the stone in your hand). Followed by stropping on linen and leather courtesy of Messrs Miller and Kanayama. This morning’s shave was probably the best I have ever gotten off the black Ark. 3 passes, really sharp, no irritation. I will still take it through the pasted balsa progression this weekend, to date I have never failed to get an upward bump from that. But this time I think I managed to close the gap!
 
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