Charnley Forest show off your Charnwood
- Thread starter rideon66
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So I've owned type 1 (but not sure if those are charns or Lynn idwals)
I've owned 3,4 and 5, as well as the green/red swirly ones he did not mention in this post.
Finally bought a Bright olive green one on eBay... looked so different from the ones I've owned I couldn't resist. Also the back makes it look like a nice razor stone to me (based on other stone types; not charnleys necessarily) Should be here in a few weeks. Seller pics:
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- #443
Look forward to seeing your pics once it is cleaned up and hearing how it performs. I would guess that one will be a good performer.
looks like a Pierre Sud Est in those pics! love it
In the words of Andy Bernard. "Fans of regular (Charnleys) will by psyched".
This seller is using some crazy filter. This is a dead normal, Dark green with purple Charnley. Not the slightest hint of yellow anywhere.
I don't even think lighting could make it look like his pictures. It HAS to be some kind of color filter/manipulation.
I will say this... NEVER buy a Thuri from this seller... every Dark Blue he lists is gonna look Yellow Green.
I mean, I didn't overpay. It's a 9ish inch charnley with some meat to it, in good shape... I got it under $100... but the only reason I bought it was I wanted one of the olive-variety. Shame.
This seller is using some crazy filter. This is a dead normal, Dark green with purple Charnley. Not the slightest hint of yellow anywhere.
I don't even think lighting could make it look like his pictures. It HAS to be some kind of color filter/manipulation.
I will say this... NEVER buy a Thuri from this seller... every Dark Blue he lists is gonna look Yellow Green.
I mean, I didn't overpay. It's a 9ish inch charnley with some meat to it, in good shape... I got it under $100... but the only reason I bought it was I wanted one of the olive-variety. Shame.
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Bummer
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- #447
Yeah that looks way different. I don't know from his tool pics I wonder if it is just the color of his lighting who knows, but that looks like a great razor stone. It was a good price too. Good luck finding one of the Olive ones.
Yeah it's heavy and feels fine... I'm not expecting to love it; but I expect it'll be similar to previous smaller/narrower cut Charns I've owned that I considered "Razor" charnleys. And I guess I don't have any I've kept otherwise; so it does fill that gap in my shelf for the time being. Glad I didn't drop $150 or 200 on it at least.
(EDIT)
Just took tomorrows razor to it. Feels right in the typical range for Charns... The dimensions are darn near perfect for a bench-razor hone in my opinion. So that's nice.
Strop + HHT = Yep that's a charn... shave will be ok.
We'll see if it surprises me tomorrow, but basically feels right what I've come to expect from Charns.
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- Thread starter
- #449
You using Oil? Glycerin? Soap? or just water?
Like a translucent edge that saw 5 or 6 coticule laps afterwards?
That's not probably what I'd choose to describe it; just because coti edges can vary so much; but if we're talking a typical modern coti where it cuts clean but almost feels a little toothy with the way it grabs the hair before cutting on top of a slightly sharper/less distinct edge, then yeah that'd be about it.
I'd probably describe it as a closer to a CNAT edge or maybe something like a 6k Jsynth that then got a handful of passes on something slow and fine like an ark... but not enough to really clean up the slightly coarser, toothy edge.
And I want to clarify... not toothy enough these usually tug in the way I call tugging... like an 8k Norton edge would; but tugging in the way that you feel the hairs stand up at the edge as you move the razor.
Of course all this is based on Charnley shaves of the past. I've not used this one yet.
I used water. I have used oil and Soap on charnleys and probably prefer oil best; but they aren't like Arks in that I see a major difference in performance. If the water shave is surprisingly good; I'll definitely try oil later to see if it becomes something I'd Use regularly as a razor finisher.
I'd probably describe it as a closer to a CNAT edge or maybe something like a 6k Jsynth that then got a handful of passes on something slow and fine like an ark... but not enough to really clean up the slightly coarser, toothy edge.
And I want to clarify... not toothy enough these usually tug in the way I call tugging... like an 8k Norton edge would; but tugging in the way that you feel the hairs stand up at the edge as you move the razor.
Of course all this is based on Charnley shaves of the past. I've not used this one yet.
I used water. I have used oil and Soap on charnleys and probably prefer oil best; but they aren't like Arks in that I see a major difference in performance. If the water shave is surprisingly good; I'll definitely try oil later to see if it becomes something I'd Use regularly as a razor finisher.
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- #452
Yes the best ones are very good on water, but are superb on oil or a Glycerin water mix to match the viscosity of oil. I haven't played with progression in a long time. I used to go from a coticule to a Thuri to the CF and it was just silent no feeling hair removal.
So I'd count the last time I used a Charnley for shaving in years, not weeks... so getting back to it; the Coti/Ark comment makes more sense. The feel and level of sharpness to me was that "just there" feel that is almost like a coti in that you trust the edge to not be super dangerous; but not in the same "this will never cut me" that a ultra-comfy coti can get... so I would probably flip the order (coti edge with a few "keening" strokes on an ark rather than ark edge toned down on a coti).
It does have a little skin drag I associate with duller edges... which is probably a big part of why I don't love them. No damage to the face, but a little A/S burn sharper edges don't give me, and a definite "feel" to the shave that some people may like, but makes me think my razor is not as sharp as it could be. That said; surprisingly close for a shave that feels like that. Certainly beats out a lot of the random slates, and CNATs and other stuff I remember having used in the past. Moderate to good coti finish level of closeness. Not on par with my finest cotis and certainly not with my Thuris/PDSO/JNAT... But close enough I have to go within about 40 degrees of ATG with my fingertips to feel the stubble. I usually say stubble I can feel with a 90 degree fingertip brush is where I would call a finish notably subpar. (This is checked along my throat, just above my adams apple, where I can't do a proper ATG, limited to XTG shaves)
Will I go back to using Charnleys? Nah. Thuri beats them in literally every single element... except cost and available/easy to find size. Better finish both closeness and comfort, better feel under the razor. But is Charn at least as good as a random modern Coticule? Yeah I'd say maybe even a step up. Random vintage Coticule? Closer... I'd probably call that a fair comparison... that would come down to preference.
And since Charnleys prices have come down to Earth in the past decade or so... and you can grab 9", 10" or bigger ones easily in the $100-150 range... definitely not a stone to be overlooked for guys wanting a decent amount of real estate without the funds for a $400 Ark, $500 Coti, or $700 Thuri. Main drawback on them is that the smaller ones that sell for $20-40 out of the UK are still going to get driven up to almost $100 with the GSP shipping costs ($40-60 UK to US is typical, even for small stones).
It does have a little skin drag I associate with duller edges... which is probably a big part of why I don't love them. No damage to the face, but a little A/S burn sharper edges don't give me, and a definite "feel" to the shave that some people may like, but makes me think my razor is not as sharp as it could be. That said; surprisingly close for a shave that feels like that. Certainly beats out a lot of the random slates, and CNATs and other stuff I remember having used in the past. Moderate to good coti finish level of closeness. Not on par with my finest cotis and certainly not with my Thuris/PDSO/JNAT... But close enough I have to go within about 40 degrees of ATG with my fingertips to feel the stubble. I usually say stubble I can feel with a 90 degree fingertip brush is where I would call a finish notably subpar. (This is checked along my throat, just above my adams apple, where I can't do a proper ATG, limited to XTG shaves)
Will I go back to using Charnleys? Nah. Thuri beats them in literally every single element... except cost and available/easy to find size. Better finish both closeness and comfort, better feel under the razor. But is Charn at least as good as a random modern Coticule? Yeah I'd say maybe even a step up. Random vintage Coticule? Closer... I'd probably call that a fair comparison... that would come down to preference.
And since Charnleys prices have come down to Earth in the past decade or so... and you can grab 9", 10" or bigger ones easily in the $100-150 range... definitely not a stone to be overlooked for guys wanting a decent amount of real estate without the funds for a $400 Ark, $500 Coti, or $700 Thuri. Main drawback on them is that the smaller ones that sell for $20-40 out of the UK are still going to get driven up to almost $100 with the GSP shipping costs ($40-60 UK to US is typical, even for small stones).
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