Just came to me how many tools folks use to get an edge that will cut, but refuse to use but one to get the job done.
Exceedingly discouraged
- Thread starter Dzaw
- Start date
Just came to me how many tools folks use to get an edge that will cut, but refuse to use but one to get the job done.
- Thread starter
- #122
So this morning’s shave was really nice. Took the whole weekend off, so I looked reals scruffy. Like I been herding nerfs all weekend.
Knockdown with the safety, then traditional three pass shave with the same straight.
Smooth bbs to dfs - a serious win, and one of the best shaves I’ve gotten from a straight.
I did detect the edge hesitating in a couple of spots, and I did find a need to flits heel-first for a lot of the shave, which makes for a slightly more aggressive cut/ slicing action, so maybe the edge is starting to show a little wear? If so, it is subtle.
I am pretty relieved so far. Six shaves and looking forward to number seven means that whatever changed it seems to have both solved my major frustration, as well as helping isolate what’s different. Right now, it seems either the relationship between the hardness of my whiskers and the hardness of the steel is less than optimal, or that lightly stropping on .1 micron diamond in balsa between every shave was degrading edge quality rapidly. Again, still holding out to test the other razor for edge retention after stropping it every time i strop this one.
Knockdown with the safety, then traditional three pass shave with the same straight.
Smooth bbs to dfs - a serious win, and one of the best shaves I’ve gotten from a straight.
I did detect the edge hesitating in a couple of spots, and I did find a need to flits heel-first for a lot of the shave, which makes for a slightly more aggressive cut/ slicing action, so maybe the edge is starting to show a little wear? If so, it is subtle.
I am pretty relieved so far. Six shaves and looking forward to number seven means that whatever changed it seems to have both solved my major frustration, as well as helping isolate what’s different. Right now, it seems either the relationship between the hardness of my whiskers and the hardness of the steel is less than optimal, or that lightly stropping on .1 micron diamond in balsa between every shave was degrading edge quality rapidly. Again, still holding out to test the other razor for edge retention after stropping it every time i strop this one.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Does the need to test and improve and test ever end?
Believe it or not, that's a serious question, but I think we all know the answer.
Do you seriously expect me to answer that?
Sorry.
Happy shaves,
Jim
Luckily #7 
- Thread starter
- #126
Rofl. Jim you have a way about you, and always seem to raise the right brain bug.
There is absolutely an end to -my- need to test and improve. Believe it or not, I have an actual end goal in mind. I would like to -end up- in a place where I have tried enough straights of different grind and size to formulate real preferences. Then, I would like to end up with a seven day set of razors that match those preferences.
Similarly, three brushes that meet my tastes, two soaps, two AS splashes or balms, a good strop to my taste, and the finishing medium I settle on would round out my kit nicely. I am testing many of these variables independently of one another, but don’t dare put the honing/ finishing medium into play until I settle the current experiment fairly conclusively, for fear of really muddying an already multivariate problem.
Among those preferences is forming a reasonable expectation of edge longevity vs maintenance routine. Softer steels will need touching up and re honing more often, but are often notably easier to bring back into service. Etc.
There is absolutely an end to -my- need to test and improve. Believe it or not, I have an actual end goal in mind. I would like to -end up- in a place where I have tried enough straights of different grind and size to formulate real preferences. Then, I would like to end up with a seven day set of razors that match those preferences.
Similarly, three brushes that meet my tastes, two soaps, two AS splashes or balms, a good strop to my taste, and the finishing medium I settle on would round out my kit nicely. I am testing many of these variables independently of one another, but don’t dare put the honing/ finishing medium into play until I settle the current experiment fairly conclusively, for fear of really muddying an already multivariate problem.
Among those preferences is forming a reasonable expectation of edge longevity vs maintenance routine. Softer steels will need touching up and re honing more often, but are often notably easier to bring back into service. Etc.
I am with you. Reminds me of a saying, "always learning, but never coming to the truth". There are more things in life than shaving your face and you have to land somewhere and have some satisfaction for your efforts.
Around 6 am I used a GEM Push Button as a 2nd pass. The Wade and Butcher 4/8 was first. Now it's 4pm and my face feels the same as after two passes with a SR. Could it be better? Could I improve? Do I care....LOl!!!. I'm satisfied I can use my collection of straights, hone, maintain, strop, and get a nice shave.
So, now it's times to get that '64 Massey Ferguson ready for Summer. Could I do a better job of preparing? Is there more that I can do? Does it do what's needed? Do I care? LOL!!!!!
I think you see the point.
- Thread starter
- #128
So I seem to have about hit the threshold at 7. Todays shave was mediocre to good. Not bad, but I had to work to keep it light and smooth. Didn't really dare make a fully ATG pass. Sliced /scratched myself once trying to make a slick slicing motion across / into the grain on my left cheek. A small amount of scrape/ burn in some spots, and not as close as previous shaves.
Still, riding the lighning, and disciplining myself to keep it light and smooth, I was able to fight a SAS out of the deal, with minimal discomfort. The edge is still sort of serviceable for this shave, but if I were to try with it again tomorrow, it would probably make for a dismal shave.
So tomorrow I am going to strop the J&R Dodge razor, just as usual, but I am going to strop and shave on Thursday (skipping tomorrows shave). This should let any leftover irritation from today heal up and make me ready to honestly interpret the results from Thursdays shave.
Hopefully, this weekend, I will find the time to hone up the two new razors so they can be put into rotation. I am thinking that should help too.
Still, riding the lighning, and disciplining myself to keep it light and smooth, I was able to fight a SAS out of the deal, with minimal discomfort. The edge is still sort of serviceable for this shave, but if I were to try with it again tomorrow, it would probably make for a dismal shave.
So tomorrow I am going to strop the J&R Dodge razor, just as usual, but I am going to strop and shave on Thursday (skipping tomorrows shave). This should let any leftover irritation from today heal up and make me ready to honestly interpret the results from Thursdays shave.
Hopefully, this weekend, I will find the time to hone up the two new razors so they can be put into rotation. I am thinking that should help too.
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Dan, I think you're doing great.
I have no idea how long any particular edge (particularly yours) should stay sharp, but I know that stropping is super important and even more important done wrong. I'm not of the opinion that it requires NASA-level precision, but it makes a huge difference whether it's in the ballpark of bad stropping or the ballpark of great stropping.
I've recently switched from linen + horsehide stropping. Now I'm doing linen + horsehide + denim stropping. I think even a change like that, just adding another cloth and another strop, might be improving my edge. I've got lightyears left in learning everything about stropping but I know enough to know stropping's a big deal.
It was big for me when I moved from stropping between shaves to stropping immediately before and also immediately after each shave. All razors are now stropped after the shave and before the next shave.
None of that may matter to you. You might already have the stropping stuff down cold.
Happy shaves,
Jim
I have no idea how long any particular edge (particularly yours) should stay sharp, but I know that stropping is super important and even more important done wrong. I'm not of the opinion that it requires NASA-level precision, but it makes a huge difference whether it's in the ballpark of bad stropping or the ballpark of great stropping.
I've recently switched from linen + horsehide stropping. Now I'm doing linen + horsehide + denim stropping. I think even a change like that, just adding another cloth and another strop, might be improving my edge. I've got lightyears left in learning everything about stropping but I know enough to know stropping's a big deal.
It was big for me when I moved from stropping between shaves to stropping immediately before and also immediately after each shave. All razors are now stropped after the shave and before the next shave.
None of that may matter to you. You might already have the stropping stuff down cold.
Happy shaves,
Jim
- Thread starter
- #130
Well, the verdict is in...
Victory!
Today was the first shave on the J&R Dodge Judicato after stropping the hell out of it over the last week plus. I stropped this razor every time I stropped the other one, and today it shaved effortlessly smoothly, with a very keen, very sharp (if somewhat unforgiving of driver error) edge.
The shave itself was fantastic for the most part. I did kiss my cheek with the heel at the end of one swipe, and also kissed my lower neck with the edge right where the skin was bunched from my pinch. Both of those were tiny bleeders which stung when the alum hit them, but aside from those two oops on my part, the shave was smooth, comfortable, and the alum might as well have been granite - no zing anywhere else!
So that about tears it for this experiment. I have gathered sufficient data to discover that no, I am not rolling my edges in stropping, but yes, my whiskers really are that tough, and so a knockdown pass before I really get into the shave will go a huge distance in sparing my edges.
It still makes me wonder about whether I might have been accelerating the edge loss by trying to use the pasted balsa between every shave, because I didn't do so with this experiment. Ah, well, one way or the other, I think my maintenance routine is starting to take on a real shape of its own.
Thank you all for your encouragement, your ideas, your experience, your expertise, and the general participation in the way this thread panned out. I was at a real low place when this thread started, and now I am at the polar opposite, riding high after a sublime shave. I am stubborn enough to think that I would have ended up here eventually, but man, did you gentlemen spare me a lot more frustration, blood, sweat, and tears in the process!
Victory!
Today was the first shave on the J&R Dodge Judicato after stropping the hell out of it over the last week plus. I stropped this razor every time I stropped the other one, and today it shaved effortlessly smoothly, with a very keen, very sharp (if somewhat unforgiving of driver error) edge.
The shave itself was fantastic for the most part. I did kiss my cheek with the heel at the end of one swipe, and also kissed my lower neck with the edge right where the skin was bunched from my pinch. Both of those were tiny bleeders which stung when the alum hit them, but aside from those two oops on my part, the shave was smooth, comfortable, and the alum might as well have been granite - no zing anywhere else!
So that about tears it for this experiment. I have gathered sufficient data to discover that no, I am not rolling my edges in stropping, but yes, my whiskers really are that tough, and so a knockdown pass before I really get into the shave will go a huge distance in sparing my edges.
It still makes me wonder about whether I might have been accelerating the edge loss by trying to use the pasted balsa between every shave, because I didn't do so with this experiment. Ah, well, one way or the other, I think my maintenance routine is starting to take on a real shape of its own.
Thank you all for your encouragement, your ideas, your experience, your expertise, and the general participation in the way this thread panned out. I was at a real low place when this thread started, and now I am at the polar opposite, riding high after a sublime shave. I am stubborn enough to think that I would have ended up here eventually, but man, did you gentlemen spare me a lot more frustration, blood, sweat, and tears in the process!
Chan Eil Whiskers
Fumbling about.
Great job!
