Damn Comfortable Shave

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I shaved late today but got a good one.

The blade was stropped on linen and leather preshave and post-shave. Preshave I also stropped it on denim (the back strop of my horsehide strop, I've not used the denim before). The edge was great.

It was a pretty quick shave meaning I under did things but it came out okay.



Maybe a splash in a bit. Cremo Moisturizer for sure but not yet.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[dundak]

Sounds like your fundamentals are really progressing. From this point on its's just repetition, tweak, rinse and repeat

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Sounds like your fundamentals are really progressing. From this point on its's just repetition, tweak, rinse and repeat

It's not quite that good. My standard for smooth and close shaves is still the shaves I get with the E-2. While my SR shaves are getting better and better (gradually) and are certainly acceptable in my view of how close and smooth they are, it's the comfort of the SR shaves that keeps me using the straight.

But, yes, the fundamentals are really progressing. I'm very pleased.

Happy shaves and thanks for all your help, encouragement, and support,

Jim

 

[Twelvefret]

I took a couple of weeks off in order to use my DE and SE collection. When I came back I did some Thuringian laps on a Genève and shaved for 5 days. Since then I've prepared each razor the same. Today I got as good as I get with my DE type. Not sure what occurred. Maybe I'm getting the edge sharp enough to perform some better ATG passes on certain spots. Sure is a lot more fun. Maybe I just don't care....LOL!!

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I took a couple of weeks off in order to use my DE and SE collection. When I came back I did some Thuringian laps on a Genève and shaved for 5 days. Since then I've prepared each razor the same. Today I got as good as I get with my DE type. Not sure what occurred. Maybe I'm getting the edge sharp enough to perform some better ATG passes on certain spots. Sure is a lot more fun. Maybe I just don't care....LOL!!

My guess is sharper, but it could be either or both. Good, in any case.

 

[Twelvefret]

My guess is sharper, but it could be either or both. Good, in any case.

Thank you, Jim.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

My Monday shave. It was a good one. That's my immediate post shave impression anyway.

There's nothing to not like about this kit. The edge is holding up well with just stropping on linen, leather (horsehide), and denim.

For a number of reasons I think this is the perfect boar brush!




I've not yet applied Cremo nor bay rum, but I will before leaving the house.

I'm pleased with my shave!

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Mail arrived:

Double Convexed Arkansas.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Cal]

Mail arrived:

Very nice Jim. We'll all be looking forward to your reviews.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Tuesday's shave was good with a caveat.

Neglecting the caveat, linked, this shave was very good indeed.

I'm not kidding about how great this soap's performance is. Mo nailed that one big time!

My skin feels great!

I can catch a whiff of burning rubber around the edges of the bay rum, but it's not the bay rum's fault.

I'm almost thinking bottom drawer or top of the closet. Still, the performance is beyond stellar.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Johnnynroy]

Tuesday's shave was good with a caveat.

View attachment 972837

Neglecting the caveat, linked, this shave was very good indeed.

I'm not kidding about how great this soap's performance is. Mo nailed that one big time!

View attachment 972838

My skin feels great!

View attachment 972839

I can catch a whiff of burning rubber around the edges of the bay rum, but it's not the bay rum's fault.

I'm almost thinking bottom drawer or top of the closet. Still, the performance is beyond stellar.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Can always send it to the BST. Someone else might be willing to try it out, especially if you scooped it.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Sometime soon, maybe tomorrow, I want to put one of my razors, one from this group, linked, to the new hone, the Double Convex 3x8 Arkansas, just to see what happens.

The hone choice is chiseled in stone, but not the razor and not the lubricant or lubricants. Somewhere Jarrod talks about using one lubricant on the bevel setter and a different one on the finisher. Fortunately, I now have a good variety of lubricants including most of the ones Jarrod mentions as choices and some he doesn't. I have too some experience with different lubricants on other Ark finishers.

I decide later.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Today's shave was interesting.

I decided upon a victim to hone with the Double Convex Arkansas stone.

This in my vintage Geneva made in Geneva NY, USA, by Geneva Cutlery Corp. The blade neck is stamped with the company name and a code 7N inside a pyramid. I've read Geneva Cutlery Corp. was in business between 1902 and 1935. The razor looks fantastic, especially for its age. It's 5/8". The razor previously had a good bit of work, linked, on my coticule, Norton Ark, and pastes, but wasn't entirely satisfactory which is why I picked it for today's honing.

I used on the bevel setter the synthetic oil Jarrod recommends. On the finisher I used Ballistol and water (roughly 1:4; mixed in a cup) as he advises. I would prefer to have a dropper for both, or a pump; I'm not wild about these spray bottles but they're easy to find and cheap enough. I used too much lubricant. I like using just a few drops but I'll dial that in next time.

In a way the stone is super easy to use and fast.

I did the bevel setting in just a few short minutes (it was probably already set on the flat stone although that's a tad unclear) using maybe 40 - 60 half strokes per side and a few 45 degree X Strokes. I checked it with the thumbnail test. It was very very easy honing.

On the finishing side I did much the same thing but with fewer half strokes, some elliptical strokes (circles), and more 45 degree X Strokes. The problem is knowing when one is finished.

The edge was stropped on linen, then horsehide, then denim, then horsehide (about 20, 25, 10, and 25 or so laps).

The only test that ever has worked for me, in determining sharpness, is the shave test, and I'm not sure it answered the question.

I'd say the edge is not as comfortable as a coticule or Zulu Grey edge, but it was plenty comfortable enough. It was also not gloriously sharp but it gave me a decent enough maybe even good shave. My impression which makes no sense to me was the edge improved as the shave went on.

I was certainly hoping for more. Of course, I don't know if it's the stone, the steel, my technique, or the fact that it may well have needed more time on the stone.

I'll say a couple more things about the stone and comment on those things and then stop.

• It's very heavy.
• It seems huge.

I wouldn't want to hone in hand with this hunk. Fortunately I've learned to hone well on the bench dining room table.

My wife would kill me if I called it a bench to her face. The table is protected with a gun cleaning mat. That's some sort of not-oil-permeable material which also cushions and protects the surface of the "bench" and the stone. The mat is covered by a towel. Anyway, I'm holding this sucker in my off hand, but you might want to.

The second thing about this stone is it is huge. I think if someone asked me which stone to buy of the convex Arks Superior Shave offers I'd likely advise the smaller stones. Jarrod has a double convexed Ark in something like 2.5x6. That would be fine. He might have the two stones separate, too, but maybe not. Anyway, this is more real estate than I think is really needed. Ideally I'd want the stone to be maybe 7x2" or thereabouts. I might even buy the smaller stone Jarrod sells.

This thing is huge and heavy. Still, it really might be another one stone solution (like the coticule). I'm glad I have it.

Obviously I need more experience and more dialing in of the honing with the Double Convex Arkansas, but I can say already that I like it. It is easy to use, not weird feeling at all when you're using it, and a very nice stone. I feels like any other good stone. Both the bevel setting side and the finishing side feel much the same. I think it is going to serve me well.

I felt no sticktion or suction. I also didn't notice anything different as I used the stone from what I'd notice on any finishing stone with the possible exception that, with the lubricants I used, the surfaces, both of them, felt slick slick slick. Slicker than my other Arks or the Zulu Grey which probably is because I used too much lubricant. I wiped a lot of it off, but it was still too much maybe?

Other than the lubricant issue and not knowing when to stop I felt like I had the stone dialed in. Easy stone it is!

So, bottom line: The shave was good enough. I'll improve with the stone, but today's effort was certainly good enough to give me a shave ready edge.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Somerled]

Very interesting Jim!
I've been following the thread on the honing forums as well.

I'm sure you get this nailed once you get a "feel" for the stone.
Interesting you say the smaller stones may be a better size, and weight, for honing.
As you know I have an 8x3x1 inch black Ark, and it sure is a heavy sucker. Wouldn't want to be holding that while honing for any length of time.

I'll be following your progress on this with interest.
Don't have any plans for buying one myself, too much into coticules.
So much so, my other stones have been neglected for a while now.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Very interesting Jim!
I've been following the thread on the honing forums as well.

I'm sure you get this nailed once you get a "feel" for the stone.
Interesting you say the smaller stones may be a better size, and weight, for honing.
As you know I have an 8x3x1 inch black Ark, and it sure is a heavy sucker. Wouldn't want to be holding that while honing for any length of time.

I'll be following your progress on this with interest.
Don't have any plans for buying one myself, too much into coticules.
So much so, my other stones have been neglected for a while now.

I'm not going to count them up for obvious reasons (I really don't want to know; that would be the obvious reason), but I might have more stones than razors.

I'm no honing expert. Not by a very long shot. I'm hardly more than a rank beginner really in the grand scheme of things. However, I can get a good edge with a flat Ark, or with a coticule, or with a Zulu Grey. Why am I even fooling with a Double Convex Ark 8x3?

Spoiler: Answer?

It's a hobby. It's fun to learn stuff.

Plus, there's the chase for the perfect edge and the perfectly fast and easy and, well, perfect stone.

I'm not much interested at all in more synthetic stones. I am very interested in the natural stones and the edges they can give me. I'm interested in maxing out the stones I have (coticules, Arks, and my Zulu Grey).

The really big problem is the one we all have.

But, yeah, I agree with you on coticules. Amazing stones.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

More honing.



I took the Geneva razor to to the Double Convex Ark 8x3 again this afternoon and threw in a Gold Dollar 1996 for good measure. From bevel setter to finisher.

I'd like the Geneva to be sharper so that's why it went back. The GD was mostly to practice on a wide razor and for general practice.

Stropping followed as usual.

I'm not sure when I'll shave test them.

The GD was purchased months and months ago "shave ready" on Amazon. It was sharp as blazes, but had been sharpened I think on a grinder, like an axe. The bevel was in one plane mostly. The wrong plane. Towards the heel the bevel was in another plane. Fixing that took an enormous amount afforded me the opportunity to get a great deal of practice on the Chosera 1K and learn a lot.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Somerled]

The GD was purchased months and months ago "shave ready" on Amazon. It was sharp as blazes, but had been sharpened I think on a grinder, like an axe. The bevel was in one plane mostly. The wrong plane. Towards the heel the bevel was in another plane. Fixing that took an enormous amount afforded me the opportunity to get a great deal of practice on the Chosera 1K and learn a lot.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Some of these GD's come out with weird bevels.
The one I bought recently, with the wicked point, has a bevel that resembles a sine wave.
It matches the edge unfortunately.
Put the edge on a flat surface and it touches on three points, the rest is up in the air.
It's going to take some serious breadknifing to get the edge flat before I can start to hone it.

Beats me how anyone is supposed to shave with something like that.
Maybe I should send it to you Jim, now you have the perfect stone to hone wonky razors .

Wood scales on it are very poor, something else I'm going to have to rectify.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Some of these GD's come out with weird bevels.
The one I bought recently, with the wicked point, has a bevel that resembles a sine wave.
It matches the edge unfortunately.
Put the edge on a flat surface and it touches on three points, the rest is up in the air.
It's going to take some serious breadknifing to get the edge flat before I can start to hone it.

Beats me how anyone is supposed to shave with something like that.
Maybe I should send it to you Jim, now you have the perfect stone to hone wonky razors .

Wood scales on it are very poor, something else I'm going to have to rectify.

There's a guy who has a thread about using a device to quantify how sharp an edge is. Somewhere in there he talks about having a tool or plate or something and using it to fix wonky edges. I'm not sure what he's talking about, but maybe there's a way to fix 'em without too much trouble.

Ah, I found the post. Link. Not much information but maybe he could tell you more. The thread is about several interesting topics mostly covered in the opening posts. I could get into one of those measuring devices, but don't see myself springing for one.

I'm sure some blades aren't worth it when one considers the work involved, but we're not professionals trying to make money and do a good job so who cares if the outcome is good and we learn something valuable to us and have a satisfying or enjoyable time of it.

I say fix that sucker!

Or, send it to me and I'll give it a spin on the monster Ark. Assuming I learn the Ark well enough to sharpen a razor to my satisfaction which remains to be seen. Today's second efforts remain untested.

I've already thought of one possible technique change which might improve my efforts with this stone should I be disappointed with my second try of today. I don't think it will prove to be a too difficult to learn stone.

Am I wrong about this, 7/8 has a convexed coticule? Would that work for your weird edge?

I wonder what the traditional way of fixing those is. I know Gold Dollar guys, some of them, buy a dozen or three dozen Gold Dollars assuming they'll throw most of them away to get a couple of good ones. I think with a thinned spine and better scales my 1996 might be a pretty nice razor.

Let me know if I get to the point where you truly think I could succeed with that blade, okay?

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Thursday's shave was a makeup test on the first round of honing I did on the Double Convex Ark.

In other words, I honed this razor for a second time yesterday because I didn't much like the results of my first effort. How did I do?

Today's shave was barely acceptable by any standard. The edge was less sharp than the first edge off this convex stone. Still, the edge this morning was as good as some edges I've received when I purchased a "shave ready" razor.

The first edge off the stone was a tad and a half better, so I'm going in the wrong direction. Not good.

What do I need to do? I'll consider it.

Otherwise my kit was good, but this soap's base is no Lusso. I suspect the veggie soap I ordered yesterday from Grooming Dept will be much better than Ambra. Not knocking Ambra. It is good, just not Lusso-good.

Happy shaves to you,

Jim

 

[Somerled]

I say fix that sucker!

Jim

Oh, I will.

Quick pic showing what I mean about the edge being a sign wave.

Bit of a balancing act, phone in one hand, razor in the other trying to keep the edge fully down on my Welsh Purple Slate with a small flashlight behind.
You can see clearly the three points the razor touches and the big gaps where it doesn't.

I'll fix it one way or another.