Cartridge to R41 to Cut-Throat

[Jakebullet]

Shave 517 and about 2 on the Slate edged Gold dollar B. I got a very smooth shave but not the closest on my top lip. I rehoned my Turner on Welsh slate today as I can’t get it to cut hanging hair and it doesn’t really treetop arm hair well though it does shave reasonably well. I’d hone for 25 or so laps, no slurry just clean water then try to cut a hair then hone some more. I must’ve done 200 laps like this but I couldn’t get it to cut hanging hair. If you click the ‘on’ button 3 times on an iPhone it gives you a zoom option with a light so I started using this to check the edge as I was going. After 2 or 3 hundred laps I saw the edge was quite rough not flat and smooth so I took all the pressure from the razor and did about 100 very light strokes which seemed to sort things out nicely. But it still doesn’t cut hanging hair but in the end I wondered how much longer I was prepared to hone it for so I stopped and will give it a shave test tomorrow.

 

[MO1]

Shave 517 and about 2 on the Slate edged Gold dollar B. I got a very smooth shave but not the closest on my top lip. I rehoned my Turner on Welsh slate today as I can’t get it to cut hanging hair and it doesn’t really treetop arm hair well though it does shave reasonably well. I’d hone for 25 or so laps, no slurry just clean water then try to cut a hair then hone some more. I must’ve done 200 laps like this but I couldn’t get it to cut hanging hair. If you click the ‘on’ button 3 times on an iPhone it gives you a zoom option with a light so I started using this to check the edge as I was going. After 2 or 3 hundred laps I saw the edge was quite rough not flat and smooth so I took all the pressure from the razor and did about 100 very light strokes which seemed to sort things out nicely. But it still doesn’t cut hanging hair but in the end I wondered how much longer I was prepared to hone it for so I stopped and will give it a shave test tomorrow.

Do you use slurry with your slate? If so try abit more water with as light even pressure you can manage. I try to avoid suction, in my mind suction means more contact with the stone which is the same as more preassure = preassure kills the edge.
Never honed on a slate before, but in theory about the same honing technique as with jnats, right?

 

[Jakebullet]

Do you use slurry with your slate? If so try abit more water with as light even pressure you can manage. I try to avoid suction, in my mind suction means more contact with the stone which is the same as more preassure = preassure kills the edge.
Never honed on a slate before, but in theory about the same honing technique as with jnats, right?

Thanks a lot for the help, I used a slurry with it once, it shaved well but not great but that was my first time trying a slurry with it and I’m still learning I just honed it with water and slate. Thanks for the tip about pressure as when I couldn’t get it sharp like I wanted my response was to press harder. It was only when I looked close and saw how tatty the edge was that i lightened right up and this seemed to help a Lot. I’ve never used any other natural stone but yeah I’d imagine it’s probably a very similar process. The slate I’ve got is only about 5 inches x 1 1/2 inches so I find it really difficult to keep everything flat when I lighten up the pressure but I’m working on it.

 

[Jakebullet]

Shave 518 and 1 on the slate edged Thomas Turner lathered with Yaqi Badger And Taylor’s Sandalwood cream. I’ve been using this razor to learn how to hone on the little piece of slate I’ve got. I spent a while a couple of days ago working on it and this morning with the sun shining I had my morning tea on my balcony Where I sat stone in hand and honed my razor, very lightly 60 or so times for the morning shave. I tried the HHT and acutually got a little success. Quick strop on linens and leather then I started cutting. Felt ok on pass one and gradually better on each subsequent pass. I got a very good shave ut it’s not quite there so back to the hone.

I played with honing very lightly And just lifting the razor off more at the end of each pass on the rock. I did 25 of these then tried the HHT and it performed better so let’s see how it shaves in the morning.

 

[Jakebullet]

Shave 519 and 1 on the Turner following another 25 slate laps yesterday. Better results again this morning but still not perfect. So I just did another 75 slate laps using as little pressure as I could. It now treetops my arm hair though I can’t try the HHT as my girlfriend hates me and I can’t find a hair.

 

[Jakebullet]

Shave 520 and 1 on the Turner after a further 75 slate laps yesterday. Much happier with this blade today lovely and smooth again and good and sharp. I want it perfect, I’m going to give it another 50 super light laps today, I feel it’s very nearly there.

 

[Jakebullet]

Shave 521 and 1 on the Turner. I’d intended to do an extra 50 laps on the Welsh slate this morning but after 50 I kept going, keeping a good eye on the water undercut until it cleanly undercut the water all along the blade. This ended up taking 150 very light laps. I stropped 50 on linen and about 75 on leather. Lathered up with Hawkins & Brimble shaving cream and got started. This would be my final attempt with this razor on this stone with this method. If it wasn’t perfect I would go back to using a slurry and take it up from there. The first time I used a slurry the blade started sucking to the stone after a while. I now realise I should have eased off and lightened up at this stage but I didn’t.
As for today’s shave it felt a tiny bit less sharp than yesterday but gave me a better shave. But on my top lip it struggled a little no question. I’m going to hone it again on the slate using a slurry this time and apply what I’ve learned.

 

[Jakebullet]

Shave 522 and 15 on the film edged Friodur, lathered with Taylor’s Sandalwood and Yaqi Silvertip. I used this razor as it’s always sharp and always gives a great shave and I wanted to compare it to the Turner I’ve been working on.
There’s not much in it at all to be honest but to be fair to the Friodur it has done 15 x 4 pass shaves which is 60 passes through soap and tough stubble. I got a lovely shave though it did struggle a little atg on my top lip but not on my chin.
I had a nice splash of DR Harris Sandalwood aftershave which is lovely stuff and has a great scent.

 

[Jakebullet]

This afternoon I made a slurry on the Welsh slate with the chunk of slate that came with it and took the Thomas Turner & Co to it. I worked on it for about 3-5mins then it started to suck to the stone. I immediately lightened up for 10 passes. Next I Wiped the blade, diluted the slurry with a spray or 2 then did another 10 slow laps making sure at all times the full edge was in contact with the stone. I kept doing this, 10 laps then dilution with very very light passes until the slurry was just clear water. I don’t know how many passes in all, maybe 150 or so at a guess.
I asked my gf for a hair and was pleased to find a) she’s now talking to me again and b) the razor silently cut the hair all along the edge. I’ve never got this razor to pass the HHT with any satisfaction before so I’m looking forward to trying it tomorrow. I stropped 40 laps on linen and about 75 on leather.

 

[Jakebullet]

Shave 523 and 1 on the slate edged Turner lathered with Taylor’s Sandalwood and Yaqi Badger.
I was looking forward to trying this edge. This razor and stone combination have been getting most of my attention during these recent shaves and I’ve spent the time learning to use this small stone to the best of its (and mine) potential. I’ve shaved then returned to the hone each day until I developed a decent technique and it was nice each day feeling it get sharper and sharper.

last night, after using the stone, I finally got it to perform very well indeed on the HHT for the first time.
This mornings shave was very nice indeed and the edge has that brand new sharp feel with a very nice softness and feel on the face. I think im finished honing it now, but I’m going to shave with it again tomorrow to make the final assessment. But first impressions are that it’s now as sharp as I’ve got it so far, and today’s shave was great.

 

[Jakebullet]

Shave 524 and 2 on the slate edged Turner & Co. lathered with Speick shave stick and Yaqi Silvertip.
The razor had a very nice feel today very smooth and nice and sharp, it’s a lovely little razor when it’s shaving well. Have I maxed it out on this stone? My guess is no but I’m pretty much at the edge of my ability. I’m going to to try 20 light water only laps on the stone tonight and see what comes of it.
had a big splash with the last of my Fine Snakebite which I like as it has no real scent after a minute or 5. I’d buy it again though it is a bit severe and not for the faint hearted.

 

[MO1]

Nice to see that the edge is back on track^^
How would you rate the hardness of your slate?
Not very knowledgeable with slates but they are interesting.

 

[Jakebullet]

Nice to see that the edge is back on track^^
How would you rate the hardness of your slate?
Not very knowledgeable with slates but they are interesting.

The slate is my only natural stone so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but just on impressions I’d say its quite a hard stone. It takes a few minutes to slurry and isn’t the easiest thing in the world to lap. I lap it on a piece of 320 sandpaper glued to a tile but I’ve only done that once maybe 6 months ago and it’s been fine ever since. Of my 7 razors 3 now have a slate edge and those 3 are very smooth shavers but this little Turner has been the trickiest.

 

[Jakebullet]

Shave 525 and and 3 on the slate edged Gold Dollar B lathered up with Taylor’s Sandalwood and the Yaqi.
I wanted to compare this edge with the turner’s edge today. As soon as I started cutting on pass one this felt much smoother and easier. I don’t know if it’s the heavier blade weight or if I just got the GD sharper. As the shave went on the difference became zero, if anything the Turner was better.
This time experimenting with the slate has piqued my interest and I’m now considering trying another natural stone. I’ve been recommended to try an Arkansas or a coticule so I’ll have a look around.

 

[Jakebullet]

Shave 526 and 6 on the film edged ELSINE. Lathered with Norse Sandalwood and Yaqi Badger.

I like using this razor, it’s agreed with me from day one I think it likes me for saving it from the dusty old drawer in that Welsh antique shop on the beautiful Isle of Anglesey. I picked up the soap from Wales too at a lovely little town called Llangollen. The Norse soap is excellent stuff, very similar in performance to Tabac.
Today’s shave was really nice the blade was super sharp and comfortable like an extension of my hand. It easily rode over all the curves and straights and was a nice change from the slate edges I’ve been using.
I did a lovely long cold rinse then had a splash of Proraso Red which goes well with the Norse. Great super close shave.

 

[Jakebullet]

Shave 527 and 6 with the Shuredge 5/8ths lathered with Taylor’s Jermyn St and Yaqi Badger.
Very nice shave all round but my mind was on my battle with my Turner on the Welsh slate stone.

ive got it shaving well but felt I hadn’t yet maxed out this stone, blade and me combination. So today I went back to the hone. I’d just intended 20 Very light laps but I kept going as lightly as I possibly could. I tried to keep the stroke direction super consistent which was trickier the lighter I went.
The razor undercut the water on the downstroke better than it did on the upstroke so I kept going very lightly thinking I would stop when the undercut looked the same both ways. Every now and then I’d chop a hanging hair (or not) to see how I was doing. After about 15 mins of this and it still not quite undercutting the same on both Strokes I thought it best to stop and to shave with it tomorrow. I’m hoping to feel some improvement since it’s last use. If not it’s back to the stone to use the undercutting water as my guide and finishing point.

 

[Jakebullet]

Shave 528 and one on the slate edged Turner following yesterday’s work on the stone. A few weeks ago I tried a HHT with a DE blade, it was my aim to have my straight perform just as well if not better on the HHT. Well after stropping this morning I tried and found the Turner silently cutting the hair mostly wherever it touched. It now at least matches the DE blade.This is the closest I’ve got to DE sharpness on the HHT at least and is encouraging as I’m relatively new to honing so I’m hoping I can go on to surpass a factory DE edge within a few more weeks practice and get the most from the better quality steel of my straight razor.
I lathered with Palmolive shave stick and Yaqi brush.
On the first stroke I started smiling as I felt a great smoothness to the pass with the Turner growling and popping and swiping through the lather. Pass two and 3 were all like that too, and on my clean up pass 4 the improvement to the edge was very marked indeed.
This is now feeling like one of the sharpest edges I’ve ever used and has set a bit of a new standard for me for what I’ll look for in my honing. I’m glad I stuck with the same razor/stone combination and shaved then honed until the edge got better and better. Am I maxed out yet? I don’t know, probably not, maybe I should see what continued honing brings but my instincts tell me that I’ve never had this razor shaving so well, so sit back for a while and use and enjoy it.

 

[rbscebu]

Shave 528 and one on the slate edged Turner following yesterday’s work on the stone. A few weeks ago I tried a HHT with a DE blade, it was my aim to have my straight perform just as well if not better on the HHT. Well after stropping this morning I tried and found the Turner silently cutting the hair mostly wherever it touched. It now at least matches the DE blade.This is the closest I’ve got to DE sharpness on the HHT at least and is encouraging as I’m relatively new to honing so I’m hoping I can go on to surpass a factory DE edge within a few more weeks practice and get the most from the better quality steel of my straight razor.
I lathered with Palmolive shave stick and Yaqi brush.
On the first stroke I started smiling as I felt a great smoothness to the pass with the Turner growling and popping and swiping through the lather. Pass two and 3 were all like that too, and on my clean up pass 4 the improvement to the edge was very marked indeed.
This is now feeling like one of the sharpest edges I’ve ever used and has set a bit of a new standard for me for what I’ll look for in my honing. I’m glad I stuck with the same razor/stone combination and shaved then honed until the edge got better and better. Am I maxed out yet? I don’t know, probably not, maybe I should see what continued honing brings but my instincts tell me that I’ve never had this razor shaving so well, so sit back for a while and use and enjoy it.

I experienced similar to you, then I started using diamond pasted balsa strops (0.5um, 0.25im and 0.1um). That took my edges into a whole new world. DE blades are now like an old kitchen knife to me.

 

[camoloc]

^^^^
wisdom in above response.

camo

 

[Jakebullet]

I experienced similar to you, then I started using diamond pasted balsa strops (0.5um, 0.25im and 0.1um). That took my edges into a whole new world. DE blades are now like an old kitchen knife to me.

Really? Wow I just did a quick search but can’t find anywhere in the UK that sells 0.1 micron paste, do you know anywhere?