temjeito's shave journal (starting with very first SR shave!

[temjeito]

Linen (pre-shave): 40 Leather (pre-shave): 40 Razor: Henckels 50 6/8 Brush: Semogue 1305 Soap: Mike's Barbershop A/S: Captain's Choice Bay Rum # of passes: 2 Method of lather: face Quality of lather: slick, cushiony perfection Result: DFS Irritation: 1/10 Linen (post-shave): 40 Leather (post-shave): 40

I'm so pleased I feel like whistling. There was a time when I wasn't sure that I'd ever master the hollow ground blade, but today's shave set my mind at ease. I took it slow, focused on technique, and it worked itself out fine. I really nailed the Mike's today. It's not nearly as voluminous a lather as some soaps, (think Axl to MWF's Slash), but that's good--it doesn't get in the way, it just provides a slick, cushiony ride for the blade.

I realize I've been rushing my shaves, trying to substitute speed for confidence/competence. All I needed was just a little patience. Sometimes I get so tense thinking about how good the shaves could be--will be--but I can't speed up the time. To make it, I can't fake it. All it takes is patience.

 

[Bird_Flu]

I'm not sure how linen and felt compare to each other but I go for a 3-1 ratio of leather to felt. Tyler (catherix) suggested increasing my laps on leather for a smoother edge, I noticed you had a 2-1 leather to linen post shave but they were equal pre shave. Give it a whirl and see if it works for you, as with all things YMMV.

 

[temjeito]

I'm not sure how linen and felt compare to each other but I go for a 3-1 ratio of leather to felt. Tyler (catherix) suggested increasing my laps on leather for a smoother edge, I noticed you had a 2-1 leather to linen post shave but they were equal pre shave. Give it a whirl and see if it works for you, as with all things YMMV.

Funny, I was just responding to someone else's post about the non-leather component of a strop, and it occurred to me that if the purpose of the linen is to "clean" the blade, and given the roughness of the linen, I probably need to increase my leather passes to smooth the edge back out again. I will shoot for 3-1 (20-60, probably) going forward. Thanks!

 

[Raithskar]

Even laps work fine for Linen/Leather unless your Linen is exceptionally coarse. If so I would only hit it for 20, and do your normal procedure on leather.

Told you those Hollows are worth it. Just think how fine it will be 6 months from now!

 

[temjeito]

Even laps work fine for Linen/Leather unless your Linen is exceptionally coarse. If so I would only hit it for 20, and do your normal procedure on leather."

I don't know how coarse it is, as it is my first and only linen. Am I right that the only benefit of the linen is to "clean" the blade?

Told you those Hollows are worth it. Just think how fine it will be 6 months from now!

The Henckels is a really nice razor-thanks again. The weight is just about perfect for me, and I dig the scales. I also really enjoy the feedback the hollows provide--but they sure aren't as easy as the wedges!

Does a heavier blade generally equate to greater ease with cutting? In other words, if I had two versions of the same razor (same steel, same grind, same scales, etc.), but one was 5/8 and one was 6/8, would the 6/8 necessarily perform any differently?

 

[temjeito]

Linen (pre-shave): 20 Leather (pre-shave): 60 Razor: ERN Ator 6/8 Brush: Semogue 1305 Soap: Mike's Barbershop A/S: Captain's Choice Lime # of passes: 3.5 Method of lather: face Quality of lather: slick Result: DFS/CCS Irritation: 1/10 Linen (post-shave): 20 Leather (post-shave): 40

I wish I knew exactly why some days I can take it down to DFS in one pass, and other days it takes nearly 4 passes to barely get there. My best guess is the grind, and my relative facility with each, but I haven't had a good shave with the Ator since my first, and it was the first razor I used on the linen strop, so I think I may have rolled the edge a bit. I'll take it to the treated strops this weekend to try to refresh the edge.

I also shaved with a companion today. My daughter (3 next month) sat on the counter and watched me through the entire process. She helped me count passes on the strops, smelled the soap, felt the lather, chose my a/s, etcetera. She was amazingly patient, and seemed genuinely interested as I explained what I was doing. It was nice to have company, but scary to have her so close to the razor. She kept trying to grab my arm...

 

[temjeito]

Coticule: Oil, then running water Green Balsa: 40 Red Balsa: 40 Diamond Felt: 40 Linen (pre-shave): 20 Leather (pre-shave): 60 Razor: Krusius Bros. KB Extra 25 4/8 Brush: Semogue 1305 Soap: Mike's Barbershop A/S: Captain's Choice Bay Rum # of passes: 3 Method of lather: face Quality of lather: slick, cushiony perfection Result: DFS/BBS Irritation: 3/10 Linen (post-shave): 20 Leather (post-shave): 60

After my last shave with the little KB Extra, I was ready to cast it into the bottomless pit. But my hand was made strong by my success honing the Ontario Cutlery blade, so I took it to the DMT 1200 and attempted to re-set the bevel. I used soapy water on the DMT, and was consistently cutting arm hair across the blade, I moved to the coticule. First I used some baby oil, then when it felt smooth I moved to the sink and honed under running water. Then balsa, felt, linen and leather.

Triumphantly, I got a great shave! It's still hard to say how much is attributable to my honing skillz as opposed to my improving technique, but I'm going to go with "a little of both." The little guy feels like a sports car after the 6/8s I've been wielding. I got a bit too comfortable with zipping about my face, though, and dragged the tip across my neck for a nice long (very shallow) scratch. Oh, yeah, I've been using lots of round points lately, too.

I killed the Mike's barbershop today, but it went out with a bang--lather worthy of The Fat. Next up,
Bay Rum (like an old pirate!)

 

[Bird_Flu]

Hooray for awesome shaves!! Also massive congratulations on a great honing session.

 

[AndroiDad75]

Triumphantly, I got a great shave! It's still hard to say how much is attributable to my honing skillz as opposed to my improving technique, but I'm going to go with "a little of both." The little guy feels like a sports car after the 6/8s I've been wielding. I got a bit too comfortable with zipping about my face, though, and dragged the tip across my neck for a nice long (very shallow) scratch. Oh, yeah, I've been using lots of round points lately, too.

Awesome job. One day i would like to learn how to hone my own razors, but first I still have to learn how to shave with them

 

[temjeito]

Green Balsa: 40 Red Balsa: 40 Diamond Felt: 40 Linen (pre-shave): 20 Leather (pre-shave): 60 Razor: ERN Ator 6/8 Brush: Semogue 1305 Soap: Mike's Bay Rum A/S: Captain's Choice Cat o' Nine Tails # of passes: 2+ Method of lather: face Quality of lather: inconsistent Result: DFS/BBS Irritation: 2/10 Linen (post-shave): 20 Leather (post-shave): 60

After some touch-up laps on the treated strops, the Ator's edge is much improved. Great shave today. So great, I broke some of the rules. For one thing, I made a number of passes without lather (which did not seem to result in any irritation). I also got a bit careless with the blade, and whilst I was buffing away like a madman on my chin, I flipped the blade around and accidentally dragged it across my chin, leaving a nice long weeper. The rules are there for a reason…

I like the scent of Mike's Bay Rum better than Barbershop, but it's a bit faint and a bit sweet for me. The lather is still terrific, although today I weirdly decided to leave some water on the soap while I showered (I do this religiously with the Fat, but I've had no issues with Mike's lather since I started using distilled water, so why mess with a good thing?). When I went to load the brush, I squeezed the water out since there was water on the soap. The end result was that I didn't have enough water in the brush, put too much soap on my face for the first pass, and didn't have much left for the second and touch-up passes, especially as I lost a fair amount of soap dipping the brush into water again and again. One thing I really like about bowl lathering is it is much easier to add water, and to control how much of the lather ends up on your face.

 

[Raithskar]

one was 5/8 and one was 6/8, would the 6/8 necessarily perform any differently?

Weight would be a little different, but a properly honed 5/8 will shave with the best of them. Just as smooth and close as a 6/8 counterpart.

 

[temjeito]

Diamond Felt: 20 Linen (pre-shave): 20 Leather (pre-shave): 60 Razor: Henckels 50 6/8 Brush: Semogue 1305 Soap: Mike's Bay Rum A/S: Captain's Choice Cat o' Nine Tails # of passes: 3 Method of lather: face Quality of lather: slick Result: DFS Irritation: 3/10 Linen (post-shave): 20 Leather (post-shave): 60

I got a Tony Miller "plain vanilla" strop . It's gorgeous, but I think I prefer the Star Shaving. The TM has almost no draw (I think I'm using that term right--there is very little friction), and it seems to be slightly concave, so I don't think the whole edge is making contact.

I touched up the Henckels with the diamond pasted felt, so I was expecting a really fine shave, but I found it just the tiniest bit tuggy. I think I will try tomorrow with the same setup but the Star strop and see what happens.

 

[Bird_Flu]

I think I read somewhere Slash posted that because the diamond felt and pasted balsas are such a high grit, like 25K or so, you won't get much cutting action from just a few swipes. After my honing was complete I took it to pasted balsa .5 micron for 100 laps, sprayed felt .125 micron for 50 laps then did my normal stropping. Perhaps run it another 25-50 laps on the sprayed felt and see how it works for you.

 

[temjeito]

I think I read somewhere Slash posted that because the diamond felt and pasted balsas are such a high grit, like 25K or so, you won't get much cutting action from just a few swipes. After my honing was complete I took it to pasted balsa .5 micron for 100 laps, sprayed felt .125 micron for 50 laps then did my normal stropping. Perhaps run it another 25-50 laps on the sprayed felt and see how it works for you.

Thanks for the tip, I will try that.

 

[temjeito]

Diamond Felt: 60 Linen (pre-shave): 20 Leather (pre-shave): 60 Razor: Henckels 50 6/8 Brush: Semogue 1305 Soap: Mike's Bay Rum A/S: Captain's Choice Cat o' Nine Tails # of passes: 3+ Method of lather: face Quality of lather: slick Result: CCS Irritation: 5/10 Linen (post-shave): 20 Leather (post-shave): 60

No sharpness issues today. That edge was keen and smooth. More laps on the diamond felt, plus I gave the TM strop a little bend and it seems to be straightening out nicely.

Still, the shave was subpar. It's all about the angle, and its frustrating that I'm still struggling so much with it (maybe moreso with this particular razor than with others). I thought I had a breakthrough halfway through when I increased the angle, but it was not that simple. I played around a lot with angle, resulting in many more stokes than usual, and a bunch of strokes over unlathered skin. Yet, despite the many, many passes, I've got less hair reduction than usual. I can't decide whether to keep at it with this razor or to put it aside for a while.

 

[temjeito]

Diamond Felt: 40 Linen (pre-shave): 20 Leather (pre-shave): 60 Razor: Henckels 50 6/8 Brush: Semogue 1305 Soap: Mike's Bay Rum A/S: Captain's Choice Cat o' Nine Tails # of passes: 3+ (WTG/XTG/ATG) Method of lather: face Quality of lather: too dry Result: BBS Irritation: 7/10 Linen (post-shave): 20 Leather (post-shave): 60

The first two passes went pretty well, except that beard reduction in my chin and in the Center vertical of my neck was virtually nonexistent. I've been a bit cautious on the chin because there is a cut there, but even so my chin looked like it hadn't been shaved at all. I have been varying my angle quite a bit, but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. I decided to try ATG. I started at the base of my neck. At first I was hesitant and the blade was super tuggy. It was really hard to find right hand/grip, and I still don't feel I've got that down. I did a lot of blade buffing, and that helped, to the point where ATG is pretty terrible right now, but I see where it could go as I improve. Basically, it's available to me and I will probably incorporate it on some areas. I did a second ATG pass on my neck with VERY watery lather, and it was quite smooth. Not sure if that's because of the wetness or the beard reduction. I finished with a ton of XTG cleanup strokes on my chin. There was a moment toward the very end, during that cleanup, where blade the blade suddenly felt different - keener? Not sure. The result was BBS, except for a few straggler hairs at the base of my neck, and I couldn't get as close as i wanted on the hairs above the corners of my mouth. The alum block and CoNT both gave me quite a sting, all over. There is not too much redness, though.

Also stropping after felt significantly different than stropping before (less smooth until the last strokes). Reflective of having roughed up the edge quite a bit during the shave? I am wondering also if I need to improve my prep. A few weeks ago I stopped using soap in the shower (just an ayate cloth), and i compensated by washing my face right after the shower and keeping the soap and water in it while lathering up, but maybe the lack of soap on my face during the shower is affecting things. My inability to clear hairs WTG or XTG on the chin and neck is really frustrating me. I want to stick with this razor a bit longer, and then switch to see if there really is a difference with a different razor.

Next shave: use wetter lather, try improving prep, Mike's pine & cedarwood.

 

[temjeito]

Diamond Felt: 20 Linen (pre-shave): 20 Leather (pre-shave): 60 Razor: Henckels 50 6/8 Brush: Semogue 1305 Soap: Mike's Pine & Cedarwood A/S: Captain's Choice Lime # of passes: 3 Method of lather: face Quality of lather: slick Result: Garbage Irritation: 7/10 Linen (post-shave): 20 Leather (post-shave): 60

I don't get it. I showered, then did Kyle's prep. I got a nice, slick lather from the Mike's, and the razor felt smooth and sharp on every pass. Plenty of stubble in the lather, but also way too much left on my face. After three passes, I can still feel stubble everywhere, and there are spots on my chin, jaw and neck where you can see the dark stubble plainly sticking out of the skin. Redness and even some welts/bumps. All of this suggests angle problems to me, but why would my technique suddenly get progressively worse?
I definitely need to take a break. From this razor for sure, and I might need to give my skin a rest, too. The picture doesn't accurately reflect what my face looks like in person, but it is a perfect illustration if how this shave feels.

 

[Bird_Flu]

Holy smokes!! That looks painful! Definitely give it a rest man, that's weird that your technique is suddenly going down hill, are you using anything else new that maybe is irritating your skin?

 

[temjeito]

Holy smokes!! That looks painful! Definitely give it a rest man, that's weird that your technique is suddenly going down hill, are you using anything else new that maybe is irritating your skin?

It's not as bad as it looks in that pic, and frankly my pride hurts way more than my skin. The funny thing is I've been unusually consistent in what I've been using--same razor, same soap, same brush, distilled water, etc. The only thing new this morning was (1) adding the pre-lather and wet towel from Kyle's prep and (2) the scent of the Mike's. I suppose it is possible that I'm sensitive to something in the Pine & Cedarwood, but that surely doesn't explain the crappy job of hair removal. I think tomorrow, if I shave at all, I'll use one of my 5/8 wedges and some MWF. I might even use the GEM Featherweight that I hung onto when I loaned all my other safety razors to my brother.
I'm pretty confident that the issue here is either my technique, or the razor. The last four shaves with this razor have gotten progressively worse. Back on shave 60, I thought I got better results from increasing the angle. It is possible I sent myself down a rabbit-hole of trying to "improve" my technique by progressively making the angle worse.

 

[temjeito]

Here's some pics of the edge (near the front, middle, and back of the blade, all on the left side of the blade if you're looking down the spine. Frankly, I'm not sure what I'm looking at here, but if anyone with an experienced eye can rule out the edge based on these pics, I'd appreciate it!