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Damn Comfortable Shave

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
My new favorite song.


Read the comments, too.

My daughter is 20. She and her friends all attended competitive schools growing up, the kinds of schools that kick you out for discipline or academic failures. Most of them participated in activities which didn't give participation trophies and rewarded talent and merit and hard work. Almost all of them earned excellent college scholarships, work hard to keep them, and make great grades in academically demanding universities.

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She attends the University of Georgia. I graduated from UGA as did my father. Because of a number of factors - particularly Georgia's Hope Scholarship and Zell Miller Scholarship, coupled with the extreme cost of college these days - the university has become extremely competitive in its admission standards. I'm not at all sure I would have been admitted competing against my daughter and her cohort; I'm pretty sure I could have transferred in, but freshman admission is no piece of cake these days.

I'm pretty proud of all my children but particularly her at this moment. She's doing well.

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However that doesn't mean a touch of what this parody song says doesn't apply to her. Shoot me, but a touch of it applied to me when I was that age. If the truth be known, a touch of it applies to me now, too. Are we ever fully grown?

Happy shaves,

Jim
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
New brush.

Everybody might already know my favorite brush is my Zenith copper handled Manchurian. I've been wanting another Manchurian in a different handle. Now I have one...

Manchurian.From.Rave.Gift.640.1-5-19.JPG


My new brush was given to me by an extremely generous member.

I can hardly believe my good fortune in receiving this great Zenith Manchurian! What makes it even better (and also kinda bittersweet) is knowing the brush was given to me by someone who also loved the brush. It's not like they gave me something they didn't like.

I gave someone a puck of Tabac to make sure it was as far away from me as possible. This was not that sort of gift. The member who sent this to me appreciated the Manchurian. It was a sacrifice.

I'm in the process of cleaning the brush (which undoubtedly doesn't need cleaning, but I have my process to go through). I'll probably use it today.

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This is so cool. What a wonderful gift. I'm telling you it couldn't have come at a better time. It has warmed my heart.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Today I smoothed my newest stone and then used it to hone a razor. I used the burr method to set the bevel and went through the progressions through the new stone.

1-5-19.J.R.TorreyArtist.NewlyHoned.640.JPG


Today's victim was my 5/8” round point J.R. Torrey Artist razor which was made In Worcester Massachusetts. Good USA steel. I bought this nice razor with its pretty nice Bakelite scales for $15.99 + $5 shipping "shave ready" from johnloc on eBay.

I wasn't entirely happy with the edge I received. To be fair to the vendor, none of the razors I purchased "shave ready" impressed me as being as sharp or comfortable as the recent edges which have come off my stones.

Maybe today's effort won't measure up when I shave with it, but I gave it my best shot.

Arkansas.1-4-19.HTB.480.JPG


The new stone I added today is my 8x3x1/2" Hard Translucent Arkansas. My kit now includes several stones and such.
  • Double-Time Flattening Stone
  • 1K (Naniwa New Chosera)
  • 3K (Naniwa S2 Super Stone)
  • 5K (Shapton Kuromaku Ceramic Waterstone)
  • 8K (Steelex Deluxe Japanese Ceramic Waterstone)
  • 12K (Shapton Kuromaku Ceramic Waterstone)
  • Arkansas Hard Black finishing stone
  • Hard Translucent Arkansas (HTA) finishing stone
  • Zulu Grey finishing stone
  • Universal Stone Holder
I flattened the 1K stone only.

I did not use the Hard Black Arkansas, the Zulu Grey, or the Universal Stone Holder. I used on the Translucent Ark WD40 + four drops of Norton Honing Oil.

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I suppose I'll find out soon enough as my next "chore" will be to shave.

Happy shaves to everyone,

Jim
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Saturday's shave was okay. Also interesting. Not stellar.

1-5=19.Torrey.Kit.NewManchurian.Lisa'sSample..640JPG.JPG


No doubt about it. I very much like this brush. It's not entirely dry in the photo above. I like it as much as I expected to and that's a lot.

Something really unusual happened today as I was face lathering. I will change some variables before I comment on it. Was it the soap? Was it the brush? Was it the combination? I have no idea but I know how to figure it out.

Today I used a new soap, Lisa’s Somali Rose (her new tallow base), from a sample a generous member sent me. I've used the previous version of Lisa's premium soap before. The new stuff is much, much better I think, but one use isn't enough to be 100% sure. The new stuff is also way more expensive. I liked the scent. It's not overpowering. It's strong enough and nuanced. I can detect the faintest hint of chocolate if I try. I'm not sure if I smell rose though. However, the overall scent is quite nice. It would be easy to live with I think.

The blade's edge was comfortable enough and my shave went pretty well, but I doubt this was my sharpest edge. I'm a bit disappointed frankly, but I'll live.

Since I changed more than one variable (and also since I really know very little about honing) it's rather not possible to determine what's what as I compare this edge to others. This is a different razor. The Translucent Ark is a different stone. The honing lubricant was also different. And, of course, my technique is not totally dialed in so it could be the huge and main factor.

Not a problem. It's not like I can't shave with this razor. It's also not like my stones went on vacation.

Two.Zenith.Manchurians.1-5-19.640.JPG


Did I mention how much I like this Zenith Manchurian brush? The knot is really quite great. Very soft, but not too soft (although that makes it sound like it should be softer which it shouldn't). It's soft, soft, soft, but it also has a ton of scrub. It doesn't have the density or the jackhammer backbone of my copper handled Manchurian, but it's not lacking in any respect. It also doesn't have the same knot. Both knots are great. Both handles are great. I might prefer the new brush's handle, but one use isn't enough to tell for sure.

I'll say this. I like this brush as much as I think Rave @Raven Koenes likes his Fatips, or Mike @Esox likes his synthetics, and that's saying something.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
Today I smoothed my newest stone and then used it to hone a razor. I used the burr method to set the bevel and went through the progressions through the new stone.

View attachment 941012

Today's victim was my 5/8” round point J.R. Torrey Artist razor which was made In Worcester Massachusetts. Good USA steel. I bought this nice razor with its pretty nice Bakelite scales for $15.99 + $5 shipping "shave ready" from johnloc on eBay.

I wasn't entirely happy with the edge I received. To be fair to the vendor, none of the razors I purchased "shave ready" impressed me as being as sharp or comfortable as the recent edges which have come off my stones.

Maybe today's effort won't measure up when I shave with it, but I gave it my best shot.

View attachment 941013

The new stone I added today is my 8x3x1/2" Hard Translucent Arkansas. My kit now includes several stones and such.
  • Double-Time Flattening Stone
  • 1K (Naniwa New Chosera)
  • 3K (Naniwa S2 Super Stone)
  • 5K (Shapton Kuromaku Ceramic Waterstone)
  • 8K (Steelex Deluxe Japanese Ceramic Waterstone)
  • 12K (Shapton Kuromaku Ceramic Waterstone)
  • Arkansas Hard Black finishing stone
  • Hard Translucent Arkansas (HTA) finishing stone
  • Zulu Grey finishing stone
  • Universal Stone Holder
I flattened the 1K stone only.

I did not use the Hard Black Arkansas, the Zulu Grey, or the Universal Stone Holder. I used on the Translucent Ark WD40 + four drops of Norton Honing Oil.

View attachment 941015

I suppose I'll find out soon enough as my next "chore" will be to shave.

Happy shaves to everyone,

Jim

Today I smoothed my newest stone and then used it to hone a razor. I used the burr method to set the bevel and went through the progressions through the new stone.

View attachment 941012

Today's victim was my 5/8” round point J.R. Torrey Artist razor which was made In Worcester Massachusetts. Good USA steel. I bought this nice razor with its pretty nice Bakelite scales for $15.99 + $5 shipping "shave ready" from johnloc on eBay.

I wasn't entirely happy with the edge I received. To be fair to the vendor, none of the razors I purchased "shave ready" impressed me as being as sharp or comfortable as the recent edges which have come off my stones.

Maybe today's effort won't measure up when I shave with it, but I gave it my best shot.

View attachment 941013

The new stone I added today is my 8x3x1/2" Hard Translucent Arkansas. My kit now includes several stones and such.
  • Double-Time Flattening Stone
  • 1K (Naniwa New Chosera)
  • 3K (Naniwa S2 Super Stone)
  • 5K (Shapton Kuromaku Ceramic Waterstone)
  • 8K (Steelex Deluxe Japanese Ceramic Waterstone)
  • 12K (Shapton Kuromaku Ceramic Waterstone)
  • Arkansas Hard Black finishing stone
  • Hard Translucent Arkansas (HTA) finishing stone
  • Zulu Grey finishing stone
  • Universal Stone Holder
I flattened the 1K stone only.

I did not use the Hard Black Arkansas, the Zulu Grey, or the Universal Stone Holder. I used on the Translucent Ark WD40 + four drops of Norton Honing Oil.

View attachment 941015

I suppose I'll find out soon enough as my next "chore" will be to shave.

Happy shaves to everyone,

Jim

What progression are you running? All the stones in sequence to the 12k and then a finisher?

You know that the Shaptons are a lower grit than the Naniwas (different rating system)? I don't know anything about the Steelex.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
What progression are you running? All the stones in sequence to the 12k and then a finisher?

I'm running the sequence as you said.

I know Keith @Gamma (and others elsewhere; here, link, for example) have reported that the Japanese Shapton Pro I have is the same as the American Shapton Pro 15K.

I don't find a huge amount about the Steelex (rating system), but at Classic Edge the honemeister there says you can get a 16K edge with it (although it's an 8K stone).

You know that the Shaptons are a lower grit than the Naniwas (different rating system)? I don't know anything about the Steelex.

Well, actually I know just about nothing.

If there's a system that correlates and compares the various stones by the various manufacturers I'd love to know about it.

I've gotten some good edges following the progression I've used but that doesn't mean I have a clue or that I know anything about comparing the grits of stones on an objective scale (if one exists).

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
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Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
There are some published comparison tables. One is linked here. How to read it is linked here.

I can understand some of it. Some. Not much. It certainly does not answer all my questions in a way I can understand so far, but maybe it does for rocket scientists.
 
I'm running the sequence as you said.

I know Keith @Gamma (and others elsewhere; here, link, for example) have reported that the Japanese Shapton Pro I have is the same as the American Shapton Pro 15K.

I don't find a huge amount about the Steelex (rating system), but at Classic Edge the honemeister there says you can get a 16K edge with it (although it's an 8K stone).



Well, actually I know just about nothing.

If there's a system that correlates and compares the various stones by the various manufacturers I'd love to know about it.

I've gotten some good edges following the progression I've used but that doesn't mean I have a clue or that I know anything about comparing the grits of stones on an objective scale (if one exists).

Happy shaves,

Jim
I agree that the tables are confusing. The binder seams to me to make as much of a difference as the grit rating on the korumaku to me - but what do I know. The lower grit especially.

I got into a mess at first just trying to do it by the numbers. So many strokes at this grit, then you do this etc etc I realised that after trying lapping film which is much more consistent, that I wasn't getting such a linear bump when I switched stones. Then I ran a purely Naniwa progression:

1k Pro
2k Pro
4k Hayabusa
8k - white
12k SS

So in theory the pro / chosera is the best bevel setter but I don't like it. But I'm not sure i have found an alternative yet. On the 12k I get better results than with the korumaku in terms of scratch pattern - it progresses to paste well but not to a natural finisher.

I just need a couple of weeks playing around with the stones to decide.
 
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There are some published comparison tables. One is linked here. How to read it is linked here.

I can understand some of it. Some. Not much. It certainly does not answer all my questions in a way I can understand so far, but maybe it does for rocket scientists.

In terms of the table, I *think* Naniwa are the JIS 1998 column. So the Shapton 1k would be a little over the Naniwa 800 range and the 1.5k round about 1.1k. and yet... I find the Chosera 1k much faster than the Shapton and have to do a lot more work to get to the 4k. A guy on another forum told me to use a 2k in between and that straightened everything out for me.

I have started using the Shapton 1.5k. the jury is still out for me. I much prefer my natural bevel setters on carbon blades. I haven't found the secret sauce for stainless yet. Lapping film works, but I'd like to find a stone I like.

I would be very interested to follow your experiences with the 1k Chosera. It's no good asking the old hands - they have been using them for too long. I'm interested in your voyage of discovery...
 
Something I am learning as I transition to stones is the number of laps required to achieve an individually desired edge for shaving.

Another variable I have experienced is that just because the Torrey required 50 laps on the Thuringian, it's not a given the Salamander will respond to the same.

Complicating factors, therefore, include the metal, the stone, and the number of repetitions. This tells me that sending a razor out is at best a maybe.
 
Something I am learning as I transition to stones is the number of laps required to achieve an individually desired edge for shaving.

Another variable I have experienced is that just because the Torrey required 50 laps on the Thuringian, it's not a given the Salamander will respond to the same.

Complicating factors, therefore, include the metal, the stone, and the number of repetitions. This tells me that sending a razor out is at best a maybe.
Good points and why I prefer the natural stones - because I seem to be able to feel when the blade is ready to move on in a way that I personally can't with the synthetic stones
 
Really, how does a ready blade feel?
For me:

I watch the slurry for even movement up the blade face.
I listen and feel for the scratchiness along the bevel.

Scratchiness always seems to correspond to:

Poor slurry travel
Unrefined edge.

I increase torque through the X stroke at those points and gradually the edge polishes out. When I am not getting that resistance and the slurry travel is consistent along the bevel then it's time to move on. At first I was checking with magnification, but now I don't generally bother.

I have watched videos of Keith Johnson and Glen Mercurio hone on synthetics where they appear to be reading feedback and watching slurry. I just don't get it on the synthetics. Welsh slates, Scottish stones, Charnley Forests, even coticules, you can feel the interaction on the stone.
 
For me:

I watch the slurry for even movement up the blade face.
I listen and feel for the scratchiness along the bevel.

Scratchiness always seems to correspond to:

Poor slurry travel
Unrefined edge.

I increase torque through the X stroke at those points and gradually the edge polishes out. When I am not getting that resistance and the slurry travel is consistent along the bevel then it's time to move on. At first I was checking with magnification, but now I don't generally bother.

I have watched videos of Keith Johnson and Glen Mercurio hone on synthetics where they appear to be reading feedback and watching slurry. I just don't get it on the synthetics. Welsh slates, Scottish stones, Charnley Forests, even coticules, you can feel the interaction on the stone.

Okay, I considered that scratchiness was your reference. I have felt the same.
 
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