First Shaves with a Rolls - Help

[Ski-Patroller]

I got my NOS Rolls Friday and have used it twice now. I spent some time honing the blade, and then a lot of passes on the strop. (Although it was NOS, it had been sitting for 70+ years, and had a tiny bit of corrosion on the edge)

The first shave was underwhelming. It pulled a lot, and after one pass I picked up a DE and finished.

I Honed the blade some more, and gave it about 60 strokes on the strop. The second shave was better, 3 passes, reasonably close, and no blood , but the razor was definitely not in the same league as my Futur or Progress with Astra/Feather/Iridum blades. It pulls more than I hoped, although not like a Dorco. Am I expecting too much, or do I just not have the blade properly prepped yet.

 

[Klopstick]

Needs more prep, it should shave like a good straight. They do take a bit of technique too, but the blade has to be sharp first.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Look at the blade under a strong magnifying glass. You should see light reflecting from the flat bevel, and no separate reflection from the edge itself. In other words, even where the blade was corroded, you must see the bevel go flat and true out to the edge. I suspect that you need to hone your blade some more. The stone is fairly fine and not an especially fast cutter.

One trick I use to help prevent the blade from slamming down onto the hone is I hone (and strop, too) with the case upside down. I think letting the blade slam deforms the edge.

When you have your blade in good condition, it should shave quite well. BUT... if you are used to the Gillette type DE safety razor, you must remember to stretch the skin a bit, as if you were shaving with a straight. The bar of a DE helps to stretch the skin, and the guard on the Rolls does not really help much in that regard, so stretch your skin as you shave it.

 

[Ski-Patroller]

Look at the blade under a strong magnifying glass. You should see light reflecting from the flat bevel, and no separate reflection from the edge itself. In other words, even where the blade was corroded, you must see the bevel go flat and true out to the edge. I suspect that you need to hone your blade some more. The stone is fairly fine and not an especially fast cutter.

One trick I use to help prevent the blade from slamming down onto the hone is I hone (and strop, too) with the case upside down. I think letting the blade slam deforms the edge.

When you have your blade in good condition, it should shave quite well. BUT... if you are used to the Gillette type DE safety razor, you must remember to stretch the skin a bit, as if you were shaving with a straight. The bar of a DE helps to stretch the skin, and the guard on the Rolls does not really help much in that regard, so stretch your skin as you shave it.

I'll have look under a microscope tomorrow. It looked pretty good under a 10x but I have better tools. I hone some more if it looks like I need it. Also, I'm looking for some jeweler's rouge to add to the strop.

I had not really thought about the stretching, but right now the blade just is not as sharp as I'm used to. I'm still working on Rolls technique.

Thanks

 

[michiganlover]

I had not really thought about the stretching, but right now the blade just is not as sharp as I'm used to. I'm still working on Rolls technique.

Skin Stretching is of utmost importance with the Rolls. It is less a safety razor, and more a "straight razor on a stick". If you took a straight razor, and sliced a small chunk off, you would have the Rolls blade.

That being said, the razor is used with the blade nearly flat against the face, just as you would use a straight razor. If you try to use the 30 degrees of a typical DE razor the Rolls is going to shave quite badly with lots of tugging.

 

[GentsInstinct]

The Care and Feeding of your Rolls

 

[Ski-Patroller]

Thanks to every one.

It's getting better. Still a little more tugging than I'm used to, but a very close shave with no irritation (as evidenced by an alum bar). I think it may be more technique than sharpness at this point.