Holding a coal from the fire against your face would be the least infrastructure route imho.
I guess that is what you call "razor burn".
Holding a coal from the fire against your face would be the least infrastructure route imho.
Go for acrylic. Tap Plastic web site. Cut to size and not expensive. Can’t beat itguess I should also throw in......
extra fine blk Arkansas Stone
12k stone
14k 3M lapping film/with glass or marble.
camo
Very close to my start up. It worked.There are times when a DE/SE shaver wants to try traditional SR shaving but may be put off by the gear they think they will need. Here I am trying to list the minimum requirements in both number of items be cost to experience SR shaving.
Assuming the shaver has brush and software, here are my suggestions:
Razor
1 x Gold Dollar 66 truly shave ready and finished off on 0.5u, 0.25u & 0.1u pasted balsa strops. Cost about $25(?).
Strop
1 x cow-hide about 60mm wide. This is used to strop the razor before each shave. Can be purchased on AliExpress for about $10 and includes an integrated denim strop.
Balsa Strop
1 x 300mm x 75mm x 6mm to 12mm thick balsa wood glued to a similar sized but 20mm to 25mm thick non-warping flat substrate (e.g., cast acrylic) using rubber glue. This is used with diamond paste to refine the blades edge after each use. Cost $10 to $20.
Diamond Paste
1 x 5g 0.1um tube. This is applied to the balsa Strop. Cost about $8.
Sandpaper
1 x 120 grit sheet & 1 x 320 grit sheet wet & dry. These are used on a marble tile to flatted the balsa strop surface. Total cost about $1.
Marble Tile
At least as big as the sandpaper sheets and at least 6mm thick. This is used as a perfectly flat backing for the sandpaper. Cost about $1.
There you have my minimalist traditional SR shaving setup. Total cost is about $50 to $60, not included shipping.
If you cannot get a suitable truly shave-ready razor, you will need additional equipment like sheets of lapping film, a lapping film substrate, two more balsa strops and two more diamond pastes (0.5um & 0.25um).
Tomo, your premiss is that a truly shave-ready razor is not obtained. My recommendations rely upon one being obtained.Starting out with the cheapest possible setup is risky particularly with a beginner. If your razor is not shave ready, 0.1u balsa will do nothing to get it there. Using a single natural stone and a newspaper strop takes a lot of skill that a beginner is not likely to have. With a dull razor and an uneven stone a beginner has little chance of success.
....
You are right of course in theory. In practice my own experience has made me suspicious about anything that claims to be shave ready out of the package.Tomo, your premiss is that a truly shave-ready razor is not obtained. My recommendations rely upon one being obtained.
For my original recommendation, a truly shave-ready razor would need to be finished off on pasted balsa strops to 0.1u. These are reasonably readily available with say a Gold Dollar 66 for about $25.
Of course, if a truly shave-ready razor is not obtained or obtainable, you are entirely on the mark with you recommendation.
Go for acrylic. Tap Plastic web site. Cut to size and not expensive. Can’t beat it
2 or 3 times over the last few years I think I would like to try SR shaving. I then start reading about it get overwhelmed and stop thinking about until I see something on BST or a video and the process starts again.
Like most I’m sure, it’s the whole razor maintenance I just can’t get past.
Sorry, the acrylic is to lay the film on rather than glass or tile.I kinda peeked around the site. didnt see anything that specifically said for lapping or polishing surfaces. already found out that the 3M 14k is a good film.
camo
Sorry, the acrylic is to lay the film on rather than glass or tile.
You can avoid the maintenance by using a shavette.its okay wolverines, I felt the same until a couple weeks ago. dont worry, it's not quite as bad as it seems.........just all depends how neurotic you wish to become (to all others and myself included....no offense.)
camo
roger that.....will evaluate. also thought about getting a small flat piece from a local headstone company. for some reason my small city has a couple of businesses.
camo