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Doubting the straight razor shave.

I hone my own straights and get sharper and more comfortable shaves than DE shaves.
A straight razor edge has a lower bevel angle than a DE blade for the most part, so sharper is a given, the rest is a precision bevel and a refined edge. Is it so hard to believe that you can get something sharper and more comfortable than something mass produced?

Btw, you are asking slash McCoy, the person behind "the method" of honing razors.

So can you or Slash Mccoy hone my razor please.


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Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Who hones your razors? I very much doubt you can get a straight sharper than a DE blade.


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I do, of course. You can't expect a professional honer to jump through all those extra hoops for $20. It's not worth it.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
So can you or Slash Mccoy hone my razor please.


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I probably can, but I won't. I do not take in outside honing. It is not worth my time, and it is too much hassle, and I don't want to hear whining little whiners whining about "hone wear". You are more likely to win one of my edges on one of the occasional razors that I PIF, than to tempt me to hone yours. Much respect for those who do have the patience to offer that service, but I do not.

YOU can hone, and reach that level of sharpness, if you are capable of following directions precisely, without fail, making zero substitutions or omissions, without doing this or that a little bit different because you know better, or somebody told you that this or that is the way to do it. Others have succeeded, but only by following directions exactly. Most people can NOT follow directions and must question every little detail, and freestyle something because this or that can't possibly be right, or can't possibly make the slightest difference. I dare say that there are most likely other ways to achieve the same edge. I have shaved with Jnat edges that came pretty close to a Method edge in sharpness, and I am sure someone somewhere is surpassing that standard. But for the average ordinary newbie, The Method is the only way to get there without years of chasing the dragon and without spending many hundreds of dollars. You will find plenty of testimonials from guys who achieved a good Method edge on their first or second attempt.

Also I do not hone wedges or smileys. Or crap razors, though I do hone Gold Dollars for myself and do not regard them as crap razors in spite of the low price and horrible grinding.

The Method works, mostly because it is a system wherein all details are set in stone with zero wiggle room and nothing left to chance or the vagaries of the human mind. The Method works because if you are following the directions like a well programmed robot, you are not doing dumb things or experimenting or introducing new variables into a very complex system. Yes, honing is essentially nothing more than rubbing steel on an abrasive surface. That will give you a usable edge. If you want to try and outshave a DE blade, you need to use The Method, or else grope around among the forest of techniques, the thundering herd of honing gurus, and the pitfalls of the unknowing in the unknown. It has been done using other methods.

The first step of The Method is to read the central thread in its absolute entirety and retain or record all of the details. You can't just read the first 100 posts because The Method has evolved since the first post in each thread. Then, when you have read the core thread, you must read all of the threads linked therein, again, from beginning to end. And they are kinda long. And you have to be able to retain things and write things down for future reference. Most guys can't or won't do it. How do I know? By the questions that they ask, which are already answered in those threads.

Like I said, there are other ways to hone a razor. Feel free to find your own path. The Method is the only method that I will personally vouch for. It just WORKS. And cheaply.
 
Slash takes no prisoners ....while I wait for my compounds to wing their way over, I have been
getting my balsa strops in order.....got them on fat acrylic blocks and lapped 220>400>600.
One more lapping on 1000 grit and then I'll chamfer (just for the heck of it) the edges and voila. I slightly misaligned one of the planks...beware if using 3M 77....that stuff is impossible to dislodge or re-align. Anyway if a moron like me can make a strop like this there's hope for everyone.
 
So can you or Slash Mccoy hone my razor please.


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Probably could, but where are you located?
I live in Japan and shipping expenses could end up being very expensive.
Make a post in the honing section and you could probably find someone living closer to you to give you an edge you are looking for.
 
I probably can, but I won't. I do not take in outside honing. It is not worth my time, and it is too much hassle, and I don't want to hear whining little whiners whining about "hone wear". You are more likely to win one of my edges on one of the occasional razors that I PIF, than to tempt me to hone yours. Much respect for those who do have the patience to offer that service, but I do not.

YOU can hone, and reach that level of sharpness, if you are capable of following directions precisely, without fail, making zero substitutions or omissions, without doing this or that a little bit different because you know better, or somebody told you that this or that is the way to do it. Others have succeeded, but only by following directions exactly. Most people can NOT follow directions and must question every little detail, and freestyle something because this or that can't possibly be right, or can't possibly make the slightest difference. I dare say that there are most likely other ways to achieve the same edge. I have shaved with Jnat edges that came pretty close to a Method edge in sharpness, and I am sure someone somewhere is surpassing that standard. But for the average ordinary newbie, The Method is the only way to get there without years of chasing the dragon and without spending many hundreds of dollars. You will find plenty of testimonials from guys who achieved a good Method edge on their first or second attempt.

Also I do not hone wedges or smileys. Or crap razors, though I do hone Gold Dollars for myself and do not regard them as crap razors in spite of the low price and horrible grinding.

The Method works, mostly because it is a system wherein all details are set in stone with zero wiggle room and nothing left to chance or the vagaries of the human mind. The Method works because if you are following the directions like a well programmed robot, you are not doing dumb things or experimenting or introducing new variables into a very complex system. Yes, honing is essentially nothing more than rubbing steel on an abrasive surface. That will give you a usable edge. If you want to try and outshave a DE blade, you need to use The Method, or else grope around among the forest of techniques, the thundering herd of honing gurus, and the pitfalls of the unknowing in the unknown. It has been done using other methods.

The first step of The Method is to read the central thread in its absolute entirety and retain or record all of the details. You can't just read the first 100 posts because The Method has evolved since the first post in each thread. Then, when you have read the core thread, you must read all of the threads linked therein, again, from beginning to end. And they are kinda long. And you have to be able to retain things and write things down for future reference. Most guys can't or won't do it. How do I know? By the questions that they ask, which are already answered in those threads.

Like I said, there are other ways to hone a razor. Feel free to find your own path. The Method is the only method that I will personally vouch for. It just WORKS. And cheaply.

You sound like you sitting in a dark cave chewing on DE blades like candy while sharpening straights.

I was just asking if you would sharpen my blade one time so i could see this “sharper than a DE blade” method.

However, i don’t have the time to sit lapping a blade across stones and lapping paper. Too many great things to do out here in Vegas, so i just pop over to Max Sprecher house and get my razor honed.

Thanks for your reply and i wish all your Method followers all the best in their shaving journey.

Happy shaves Mr MCcoy :) :) :)




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I get a great, very close shave with my Feather AC RG. Also get similar shaves with my Mergress XL, Sensor Excel, and Mach 3. After all these years of wet shaving, it's in the preparation and execution.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
You sound like you sitting in a dark cave chewing on DE blades like candy while sharpening straights.

I was just asking if you would sharpen my blade one time so i could see this “sharper than a DE blade” method.

However, i don’t have the time to sit lapping a blade across stones and lapping paper. Too many great things to do out here in Vegas, so i just pop over to Max Sprecher house and get my razor honed.

Thanks for your reply and i wish all your Method followers all the best in their shaving journey.

Happy shaves Mr MCcoy :) :) :)




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Ah. You don't have time to do it for yourself, but you want me to do it for you. I see.

Oh, don't use lapping paper. Use lapping film.
 
Ah. You don't have time to do it for yourself, but you want me to do it for you. I see.

Oh, don't use lapping paper. Use lapping film.

Well, ive not heard of anyone getting a straight razor sharper than a DE blade so id like to see your method put to the test.




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Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Well, ive not heard of anyone getting a straight razor sharper than a DE blade so id like to see your method put to the test.




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I had heard of it long before I ever achieved it. I thought it was BS. Then I bought a restored Henckel 401 from someone, don't remember who, and got an instant contact cut when I tried to shave. Never happened to me before. It was crazy sharp. Cut my lip. Cut my chin. Cut my neck. 5 cuts in one shave. I figured it out about the time the edge started drifting away. I was not able to keep it that sharp even with my CrOx pasted linen.

Fast forward a few years. Seraphim and his new fangled lapping film won me over to the dark side. Experimented with sub micron film, film over picopaper, film over rubber sheet, balsa with red and green, and then diamond paste changed everything. Took a while to figure it out, and I owe a lot to others who pointed me in the right direction or tried different techniques and posted their results. I pushed the boundaries a bit. I knew that sub micron diamond makes for a harsh edge, just like sub micron film, but I wanted to see just how harsh it was, and if I could gentle it down or not. .25u was more harsh than .5u and so I tried .1u, figuring it would be torture to shave with, and was surprised at how smoothly it shaved. And the sharpness was off the chain. Experimenting proved that overpasting was bad. Experimenting proved that lapped balsa worked better than unlapped. Experimenting proved that lots of extremely light laps was better than a couple dozen ordinary laps. When it was all said and done, I was consistently getting edges that out treetopped a 7 Oclock green. Then I was occasionally getting edges that surpassed that, and matched or nearly matched a Feather. When I think I have more than matched a Feather, it is time to celebrate. That doesn't happen very often. Just to clarify. But you should get an edge that treetops decently on your first attempt. Many DE blades don't treetop at all at 1/4" or treetop poorly.

Best way to see it is to do it. On a good razor, hollowground, with a straight edge, in good steel. If you find my youtube channel, I think I treetopped after 1u film in my lapping film video and this was without benefit of the balsa. Or maybe it was .3u film, don't remember. And much has changed sine that time.
 
I had heard of it long before I ever achieved it. I thought it was BS. Then I bought a restored Henckel 401 from someone, don't remember who, and got an instant contact cut when I tried to shave. Never happened to me before. It was crazy sharp. Cut my lip. Cut my chin. Cut my neck. 5 cuts in one shave. I figured it out about the time the edge started drifting away. I was not able to keep it that sharp even with my CrOx pasted linen.

Fast forward a few years. Seraphim and his new fangled lapping film won me over to the dark side. Experimented with sub micron film, film over picopaper, film over rubber sheet, balsa with red and green, and then diamond paste changed everything. Took a while to figure it out, and I owe a lot to others who pointed me in the right direction or tried different techniques and posted their results. I pushed the boundaries a bit. I knew that sub micron diamond makes for a harsh edge, just like sub micron film, but I wanted to see just how harsh it was, and if I could gentle it down or not. .25u was more harsh than .5u and so I tried .1u, figuring it would be torture to shave with, and was surprised at how smoothly it shaved. And the sharpness was off the chain. Experimenting proved that overpasting was bad. Experimenting proved that lapped balsa worked better than unlapped. Experimenting proved that lots of extremely light laps was better than a couple dozen ordinary laps. When it was all said and done, I was consistently getting edges that out treetopped a 7 Oclock green. Then I was occasionally getting edges that surpassed that, and matched or nearly matched a Feather. When I think I have more than matched a Feather, it is time to celebrate. That doesn't happen very often. Just to clarify. But you should get an edge that treetops decently on your first attempt. Many DE blades don't treetop at all at 1/4" or treetop poorly.

Best way to see it is to do it. On a good razor, hollowground, with a straight edge, in good steel. If you find my youtube channel, I think I treetopped after 1u film in my lapping film video and this was without benefit of the balsa. Or maybe it was .3u film, don't remember. And much has changed sine that time.

Interesting.

Maybe one day i will try it.

For now, i will just unwrap my DE blade and pop it into my razor. Lol

Thanks for all the info Slash.

Wishing you all the best on the quest for the perfect edge.


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I moved from carts due to the cost and took up DE shaving. Saved alot of money over the years and then found straights and down the rabbit hole I went. I can say now that I have almost two years of shaving with a straight that I get a much closer shave that a DE or cart. So I've settled into a routine, when I have time I use a straight and when in a hurry I use a DE. The only time I use a cart now days is if I am traveling and it always reminds me why I moved away from it.

Stick with straights for a while longer and your technic will improve.
 
That's just not true at least for me and I shave with all three types (Cart, Safety and Straight). I can get a bbs from all three, but the Straight Razor shave is the smoothest and longest lasting and I have a fast growing beard like wires. The learning curved was long for a Straight, but after 6 months I was ther
 
You sound like you sitting in a dark cave chewing on DE blades like candy while sharpening straights.

I was just asking if you would sharpen my blade one time so i could see this “sharper than a DE blade” method.

However, i don’t have the time to sit lapping a blade across stones and lapping paper. Too many great things to do out here in Vegas, so i just pop over to Max Sprecher house and get my razor honed.

Thanks for your reply and i wish all your Method followers all the best in their shaving journey.

Slash's method works gangbusters....even for a rank amateur like me.
But you have to follow without question or deviation.
The hard work is buying the balsa, acrylic, gluing them together, lapping
balsa flat, buying the compound, applying it...and the first progression.

Then you put all the components away and only leave the 0.1 micron balsa strop
around. 50 light handheld laps after every shave, then 50 on leather before you shave
the next day or whenever.

Takes under 2 minutes to keep that edge going.
 
Everyone has a different experience, I have thick facial hair, but for me this summary sums it up:

Cartridges for me:
  • monthly expense on cartridge packs
  • 1x cartridge rarely lasted a 2-3 shaves
  • uncomfortable shave
  • ingrown hairs and other irritants - lead to me picking/scratching
  • fair amount of waste (spend cartridges, foam, etc at end of the month)
  • constant feeling of razor burn
Straights / DE's for me:
  • more comfortable & enjoyable shaves **best perk
  • None to severely reduced ingrown hairs and irritants (odd occasion i do get odd hair growing in a seemingly random direction, but overall a more uniformed shave)
  • cheap DE blades (few pence/cents), or maintain a straight (cost negligible - but need to factor strop and stones in long run)
  • cheaper over a year - i saved money
  • money normally spent on crap shaving foam, i now get scented soaps and aftershave - I smell better, and get regular compliments.
  • less plastic and other waste to contaminate the environment
  • if i don't shave - i have a uniformed beard that looks tidier.
I'm all the better for S/R shaving, it might not be for everyone. But its at least improved my life:001_smile
 
That's exactly why I do it. I love the process of the shave. However, I'm under no illusion and would not try to convince anyone that the straight razor can get me a closer shaveA straight razor is more fun and if you keep at it, and us
That's just not true at least for me and I shave with all three types (Cart, Safety and Straight). I can get a bbs from all three, but the Straight Razor shave is the smoothest and longest lasting and I have a fast growing beard like wires. The learning curved was long for a Straight, but after 6 months I was there.
How does a bbs shave last longer with a straight? All things being equal bbs straight,de,or cart.bbs is the same for all three methods.
 
My observation: As one of the few advocates of cartridge razors (particularly the Mach 3) here on B&B, I would like to point out that your shaves got better - and will probably continue to do so - once you learned proper technique, started using better products and learned to how to make better lather.

I maintain that anyone can have an enjoyable and successful shaving experience, using any razor, provided that he/she knows how to shave and uses appropriate products. YMMV, but I'm betting that if you were to go back to whatever cartridge razor you last used, after having mastered DE shaving, you would be surprised at the quality shave you would get.

I have been enjoying shaving since I took up shaving soap and a badger brush over 45 years ago. Good lather and technique are keys to a superior shaving experience.
I agree the Mach3 is the most comfortable cart, second to only a straight razor.
 
You only get that buttery smooth feel with a straight that lasts untill next morning.Almost BBS 12 hours after the morning shave.I always make 3x passes usually with a Thiers Issard razor.Maybe just as close with a DE or Shavette without that super post shave feel.No not as close the shave does not last as long,maybe by 12 hours cant be possible can it well it is.
bbs is bbs, your face does not know which method you used
 
I used a straight razor for a while and it wasn't particularly difficult and gave a good shave. It almost comes naturally that you will hold it in a way that it won't cut your throat. What I liked most about it was how it felt.

Unfoutunately, I never learned how to sharpen and hone it. You used to be able to take your razor to the barber shop and the barber would either sharpen it or have it sharpened for you. That service isn't available any longer.

I may try one with replaceable blades. Anyone have experience with those?
Having used both ,I now use a Parker Shavette. A Shavette for me is a closer shave while a straight may be little more comfortable. I was not that good with honing so gave it up.
 
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