Shaved with the razor in question on Friday, and WOW!!! One of the best shaves I've had in awhile. Silky smooth shave with zero irritation. And this was with sub par honing technique. I'll definitely leave this one as is, but will reset the bevel the next time the edge needs work. Can't wait to work on my other razor using proper technique. This one has a small chip in the cutting edge. Big enough to see with the naked eye, but doesn't really hurt the shave all that much. What grit of film do you guys recommend I start off with on this one? Don't think I need to be resetting the bevel or anything with 30u or sandpaper, but do need to remove some steel to get the chip worked out.
Lapping film, try it.
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Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
For a visible chip start with your 30u or maybe 400 grit sandpaper. Use normal bevel setting technique. If you use the burr method then raise your burr, hone it off, and do sets of 10 or so circles per side until the chip is almost gone, just visible under scope or loupe. At this point start progressing to finer media so that by the time the chip is completely gone you are at 1k doing normal alternating laps and ready to move up in grit. Continue through your mid grits and finisher normally.
However if it really doesn't bother you, just ignore it. In a decade or so of normal use it will probably go away on its own. You don't need to always hone out every ding, on a razor you are not selling or honing for someone else. If it seems to be an issue, then hone it out.
I've read through a ton of posts and watch quite a few videos on this now. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I have polished marble 4x12 tiles (identical to those used by Slash in his videos I think) and what I haven't seen discussed is if they need to be "flattened". From most indications, no, but want to be sure. I'm planning on using the burr method to set a new bevel since the original was set by a honemeister using tape and I'd rather not have to keep using tape moving forward. Don't want to start off on the wrong foot.
Thanks. And I appreciate the wealth of info everyone has shared here.
Thanks. And I appreciate the wealth of info everyone has shared here.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Should be flat enough if the tile is polished marble and not ceramic.
Thanks Slash. Good to know. It is polished marble.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
TAP Plastics will cut you four 3"x12"x3/4" (actually like 0.708" thick or something like that) for $31.52 and this makes a dandy plate for film, or for backing a balsa strop, or for setting a bevel with wet/dry sandpaper. My previous ebay vendor doesn't seem to be active and TAP has always been my source for 1/8" stock for scales, anyway.
I just ran two razors over the film for my second time using it. I haven't done much straight shaving lately, but am getting back to it, so I wanted to polish up the edge of my Its a Peech and see if I couldn't get a real nice edge on my Clauss Gold Nugget. Both edges seemed pretty good on the hair test. I'll see how they shave over the next couple days and report back. I'm glad this thread exists. It not only got me into lapping film, but is chock full of valuable info to guide me through the process. Many thanks to all the wonderful contributions.
Two shaves with the It's a Peech after the film. First was pretty rough and a fair amount of irritation. Second was smoother and less irritation. I've been shaving with a Focus Slim RBS, so it is definitely less sharp than that one, and I'm wondering how the edge is. I'm a novice to traditional straights with maybe two dozen shaves under my belt, so knowing if it's the blade, my technique, my lather, or some other variable that I'm not aware of is hard to say. I got two shaves, and neither was terrible, though the second was considerably better, so I feel like the edge is passable, and my stropping is not terrible. I'll keep shaving with this one and the Gold Nugget(on the docket for tomorrow) until I can't. And then back to the film and then more shaves. Rinse, lather, shave, repeat.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
We can fix this.
What was your progression? How did you set your bevel? Does the razor treetop hairs when swept above the skin of your forearm at a height of 1/4"?
Have you shaved with any other straights that were positively shave ready?
Once you know that you have a sharp edge, you can keep it so, and even improve it's sharpness and smoothness, with diamond paste on balsa. Read the thread. Don't just freestyle it. How To Use a Pasted Balsa Strop | Badger & Blade.
Thanks for the help, Slash. I feel embiggened already. I shaved with the Gold Nugget to see how that one fared, and it shaved much more harshly. That one I got in a lot, and so I don't know when the last time it had a real edge put on it. The Peech I got from Stirling and they verify that their honemeister has it shave ready when it comes. That one had the nicest edge of the ones I have used, though it is a near wedge and the other 2 I got(both from Larry over at Whipped Dog and both full hollow) are much harder to shave with, though I figure that is technique seeing as how they came from him.
The Peech was feeling a little dull after maybe 10 shaves and I figure that's a stropping issue, but also figured I'd try to sharpen it up while I was working on the Gold Nugget. The Gold Nugget I put a bevel on the yellow, and worked up through the levels(yellow, blue, brown, pink, green and white - 12, 9, 5, 3, 1, and .3 microns respectively). I tried your burr method from your videos, but I didn't watch the videos and then go through the steps, just kind of winged it on what I remembered, so again, I'd say a technique issue. For the Peech, I started on the Pink and did around 50 strokes per level up to the white, but I forgot the wet paper under the film, so could explain why that one was harsh. I haven't given it a third shave, but the second shave was better, so maybe it just needed that wet paper, or a shave and some stropping to mellow it out a bit.
Thanks for the info on the pasted balsa strop. I haven't tried it, so I'll look into that as a way to keep the edge on longer. I am definitely still into the traditional straight shave, but I have been using the RBS's and my technique has come a long way. Today was my best shave so far with the Focus Slim and I must say I like the smaller blade compared to the big long blade of the straights I have. I'll probably keep my focus(see what I did there) on the Slim and my new Sedef for the foreseeable future and may even send the Gold Nugget to someone to put an edge on it and see how it feels at that point. I'll keep reading and figuring it out, though. I see razors on the bay and keep appraising them to see what condition the blade is in, and if it looks workable, so I think I've got the bug.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Setting the Bevel with the Burr Method | Badger & Blade. Maybe that will help. But if your edge treetops along its entire length, obviously you got a good bevel.
Try to go a little more by feedback and not so much by guessing at a target lap count. This may take a while and sometimes the razor won't tell you very much, but just shooting for a particular lap count is something that you need to try to set aside as your skill improves.
The picopaper makes a BIG difference when finishing on .3u film. Without it, the .3u film edge invariably gives an uncomfortable shave. I no longer use .3u film at all. I prefer to run a diamond on balsa progression after the 1u film. Comes out very nice. You can also stop at 1u film, and add picopaper under the film for a final 3 or 4 laps, with lather on the film instead of clear water, and enjoy a very comfortable but still reasonably sharp edge.
Be sure to hone in hand, and finish a stage with very light pressure. It makes a tremendous difference with any synthetic honing medium.
A cheap 200x USB microscope can be very helpful. The kind that clips on to your Android phone actually works better than you would think, and you can use the same tools that you have been using, for recording and editing pics or video. Or not even record, just view the edge with a helpful level of magnification. A loupe just doesn't measure up, though it is better than nothing and very convenient to use.
Try to go a little more by feedback and not so much by guessing at a target lap count. This may take a while and sometimes the razor won't tell you very much, but just shooting for a particular lap count is something that you need to try to set aside as your skill improves.
The picopaper makes a BIG difference when finishing on .3u film. Without it, the .3u film edge invariably gives an uncomfortable shave. I no longer use .3u film at all. I prefer to run a diamond on balsa progression after the 1u film. Comes out very nice. You can also stop at 1u film, and add picopaper under the film for a final 3 or 4 laps, with lather on the film instead of clear water, and enjoy a very comfortable but still reasonably sharp edge.
Be sure to hone in hand, and finish a stage with very light pressure. It makes a tremendous difference with any synthetic honing medium.
A cheap 200x USB microscope can be very helpful. The kind that clips on to your Android phone actually works better than you would think, and you can use the same tools that you have been using, for recording and editing pics or video. Or not even record, just view the edge with a helpful level of magnification. A loupe just doesn't measure up, though it is better than nothing and very convenient to use.
I've been reading through this thread and thought there would be no harm replying to some particularly good posts, like this one.
Just bumping another great.
So, I am a hard head that doesn’t follow the recipe very well and wanted to tell you something not to do. I found a product called Starboard on amazon. It is advertised as being very flat. The piece I bought came in today and it had a bumpy matte finish. No problem I can just use my granite slab with some sandpaper to lap this deal smooth. Wasn’t that easy. The starboard is not as flat as it is said to be. My piece was dished about 1/16” in the middle. I spent about two hours on it and it’s still not flat. I am shooting for the flattest I can get and this was not it. Just wanted to share my experience so hopefully nobody else would do the same.
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Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Like I keep saying, when you are just starting out, use proven and accepted methods if you want good results early in the game. Save the experimenting and free styling for after you become reasonably skilled.
I am a hard head like I said, but I got this starboard flat and will be trying to hone soon. Going to follow directions better though!!
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Attempted honing on the film set I received today. First timer here, so the results weren't fantastic. Using my GD 1996 which has a bit of a curve up at the toe and heel that I am not sure how to get without nicking the film. Bevel has a mirror finish, which I was surprised to get on my first go. Tests on my arm were pretty good. Much better than beforehand. Will attempt a shave with it tonight and see how it came out.
[Update] First shave with the film honed razor was much much better. I was able to get a decent shave with the GD out of the box (apparently rare), but it is so much different now.
I am adding images of what the razor looks like now. The bevel looks off on the Heel and Toe. Any ideas? The jimps on the left side don't feel like they were ground down properly, so they were catching on the film here and there. Might have caused me to not get the heel right. I'll hit it with my dremel tomorrow. One can see where the film was rubbing on the shoulder/tang area. Am I doing this wrong?
I am adding images of what the razor looks like now. The bevel looks off on the Heel and Toe. Any ideas? The jimps on the left side don't feel like they were ground down properly, so they were catching on the film here and there. Might have caused me to not get the heel right. I'll hit it with my dremel tomorrow. One can see where the film was rubbing on the shoulder/tang area. Am I doing this wrong?
It looks like you were riding up on the shoulder on the show side. You can avoid the shoulder with a heal leading angle on the hone. The wider bevel reveal at the heel is pretty normal for GDs. It is do to the poor grinding, not anything that you are doing wrong.
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