Thiers Issard - Questions!

[Revverlution]

Hi all,

I purchased a TI Le Dandy when in Paris from Planet Razor.

Just wanted to check a few things before I start my first shave:

1. I believe the TI comes "shave ready", the guy in the shop confirmed this. does this mean i can literally shave straight away without stropping?

2. I also bought a two sided paddle strop, the guy in the shop coated one side with a thick green paste and the other with a watery liquid. I believe the latter is some type of diamond abrasive? I was told to use the diamond side first (25 strokes), the the paste side (25 strokes) prior to shaving each time. is this correct?





The two pictures show the paddle having the diamond stuff (from the dropper bottle) being applied tot he strop. The circular container tot he left with the black lid has the thicker paste in it.

Any advice would be gratefully received, I am hoping I can shave straight away as I've never stropped before!

PS I think this forum is great.

 

[Gamma]

Interesting to use the diamond first - did he tell you what micron-grit the diamond paste was?

The green stuff is probably Cromium Oxide .5 um.

I think 25 and 25 strokes is a bit extreme, but testing would prove whether or not it's working for you.
When I used Crox, it was once a week or every 10 days. Not Daily. But - everyone has their own forumula for using pastes.
If it works - it works.

 

[Revverlution]

The diamond stuff is 3u and I think the paste is Crox as it says "l'oxyde de chrome"!

 

[Gamma]

Probably .5 um Crox, that's sort of standard.
3 um diamond is interesting. Never used more than 1 um myself.
Very cool paddle too.. Nice set up!

 

[Revverlution]

Thanks, so what would you recommend I do prior to shaving? Just use the Crox side 10-15 times or so?

 

[Gamma]

Hard to make a recommendation like that.

But;
I have used Crox in the past, on a once a week or once every 10 days kind of schedule. Seemed to work ok for me then.
As for the diamond; using it would, for me, be on a need-to situation.
I have read where some use it every time before they shave. I have no idea why but they do. I don't know if they were using 3um diamond though. I would have guessed a finer grade maybe .25 um or something like that.

A lot depends on the state of the edge prior to shaving - and there's no way to gauge that from here. I would imagine that being new to all of this (that's just an assumption and I could be wrong) you may put more wear on the edge until you get your angles down pat and that might increase your need to use the pastes to compensate. Or not. Depends on your skill and the existing edge.

If I were looking to experiment, I would probably try 10 strokes on the Crox and see what that gets you, then the next time try 20 and so on.
Once I had the Crox figured out somewhat I'd see what the diamond side does.
I move incrementally - I prefer sneaking up on the edge. Others go full tilt on stones and pastes and don't look back.
It's all a matter of how you like to deal with stuff I suppose.

 

[smalltank]

green paste is only to be used when your edge starts to feel dull..a dozen laps should bring the edge back a bit til you can send it out to be rehoned...

 

[Revverlution]

Hard to make a recommendation like that.

But;
I have used Crox in the past, on a once a week or once every 10 days kind of schedule. Seemed to work ok for me then.
As for the diamond; using it would, for me, be on a need-to situation.
I have read where some use it every time before they shave. I have no idea why but they do. I don't know if they were using 3um diamond though. I would have guessed a finer grade maybe .25 um or something like that.

A lot depends on the state of the edge prior to shaving - and there's no way to gauge that from here. I would imagine that being new to all of this (that's just an assumption and I could be wrong) you may put more wear on the edge until you get your angles down pat and that might increase your need to use the pastes to compensate. Or not. Depends on your skill and the existing edge.

If I were looking to experiment, I would probably try 10 strokes on the Crox and see what that gets you, then the next time try 20 and so on.
Once I had the Crox figured out somewhat I'd see what the diamond side does.
I move incrementally - I prefer sneaking up on the edge. Others go full tilt on stones and pastes and don't look back.
It's all a matter of how you like to deal with stuff I suppose.

green paste is only to be used when your edge starts to feel dull..a dozen laps should bring the edge back a bit til you can send it out to be rehoned...

Well, for my first shave with the box fresh razor I did the 25 strokes on each side. The blade seemed to "pull" quite allot so i tried different angles. I found that I had to do three passes and have achieved a very smooth shave in places with only 1 very small hardly noticeable nick.

I have one more question though, does it matter which way the blade is facing? for example, should the logo on the blade always be facing away from me, or does it not matter?

 

[noahpictures]

During the shave it doesn't matter which side you shave with. Make sure to keep your skin taut and use fake confident strokes in pulling motion with the wrist locked, mostly.

 

[mdunn]

I dont believe the TIs are shave ready from the factory.

My last silverwing was advertised as such, and while it had 'an edge', it needed a little bit of work to get to what I would be happy calling shave ready.

 

[gruntedshaves]

hey this is a thread for me! I literally had the biggest situation with TI shavereadiness. lol. you should check out my threads. But no, if they ever say shave ready... they aren't. some come SHAVEABLE. but it wont be the best, nor the worst, I had one where it was DAMN good the first shave, and the rest was so much worse, and got worse real fast. The pastes I never use....haven't used. But as for it being shave ready depends on which one you get, and if they actually did any work to hone it. 50/50 shot in my eyes. If those pastes work for you good stuff. Personally I just got mine professionally honed. not turnin back now.

 

[shakin_jake]

Hi all,

I purchased a TI Le Dandy when in Paris from Planet Razor.

~~~~you're going to like this razor IMO...here's mine

it's a 6/8 le dandy I bought from the UK TI vendor in 2011. Funny thing is, I don't shave with it much, but it has to be one of the nicest shaving razors I own. I'm getting OT but I like to shave with a wide range of straights and for whatever reason, my le dandy just doesn't seem to get in the rotation all that much. FWIW, I used it yesterday...1st time in many months

What I like about the le dandy I have and it is my only experience with Thiers Issard razors...it just seems to fit so well in my hand, the balance, size...I like everything about it. Because I haven't used it in a while, I looked at the edge using my loupe, and it looked okay so I stropped it but it didn't pass HHT so I put it on one of my coticules and touched it up. For one reason or another, I was having an off night and couldn't quite nail HHT4 off the strop (after the coti) so I took it to a hanging strop I have where the split side of the leather is pasted with Thiers Issard white razor paste...a combination of a few ingredients, diamonds being one of them but I remember reading somewhere that TI says it's like hitting your edge on a 10 K hone. After 10 laps on this pasted strop and checking HHT, I easily got HHT4 up and down the edge

I'll be the first to admit I'm not a huge fan of diamond pastes but I am used to shaving with coticule edges and they have jaundiced my edge preferrences. Still, I don't care to shave with a blade that isn't hitting HHT4 off the strop so I'm glad I have the TI paste to use in a pinch when I don't feel like trying to get the edge to come around on whatever hone I'm finishing with. Patience is a virtue

Just wanted to check a few things before I start my first shave:

1. I believe the TI comes "shave ready", the guy in the shop confirmed this. does this mean i can literally shave straight away without stropping?

~~~the term shave ready means different things to different people. Around these parts, shave ready means the blade hits a good HHT result and has been stropped (linen/leather or just on straight leather)

2. I also bought a two sided paddle strop, the guy in the shop coated one side with a thick green paste and the other with a watery liquid. I believe the latter is some type of diamond abrasive? I was told to use the diamond side first (25 strokes), the the paste side (25 strokes) prior to shaving each time. is this correct?

~~~the only time I have used diamond spray and Cr0x (chromium oxide) together, has been quite literally together. I pasted a hanging strop with Cr0x then I sprayed diamond spray on top of the Cr0x. both were .5 (about 50-60 K grit). FWIW, when I started shaving with straight razors, I taught myself to hone and touch up my edges using Belgian coticule hones, and one of the smoothest finishes you're likely to encounter. Coti edges have quite literally, spoiled me. Most everything else feels somewhat rough to my face, in varying degrees. I can get away shaving with a lightly stropped edge on Cr0x, but the combo of Cr0x and diamonds feels too harsh for me

As to your question on which to use first (diamond or Crox) and how many laps each, as one of the other members here mentioned...it's a personal thing, what pastes to use, when and how many laps. for me, when I strop on a pasted strop pasted with Crox, if it's tio touch up and edge...5 laps is about all I use, and never more than 10. I strop with Crox after a lapping film edge. I have and use lapping film besides coticules, and a J-Nat for the odd J-Nat finish I'll do once in while...seems like once in a blue moon for me lately with the J-Nat finished edges, but that's mainly because I typically hone, touch up and finish using coticules but if I have the time and I'm not hitting HHT3 off the stone using a coti, I'll goto my Ozuku Asagi where I'm assured HHT3 off that stone

The two pictures show the paddle having the diamond stuff (from the dropper bottle) being applied tot he strop. The circular container tot he left with the black lid has the thicker paste in it.

Any advice would be gratefully received, I am hoping I can shave straight away as I've never stropped before!

PS I think this forum is great.

~~~advice I could offer is, hang in there...if this le dandy is your first straight razor, you are going to be learning a lot of things shoved into what must seem (for me it was) like a short time frame starting off. Learning how to shave with a straight razor is great fun. So is learning how to take care of the edges on them. No one way is the right way as there are many paths that lead to straight razor Nirvana. Have fun with your journey and take your time with all of this. You're in a huge learning stage at the moment. Enjoy the shaves & the learning process

one other bit of advice I could offer to you now...since you are learning how to strop, or will be, make sure you approach this craft slowly. It's important to learn how to move the razor up and back down your strop, especially when to lift the edge and change directions, and whatever you do, always keep the spine on the strop. never lift the spine off the strop when you are stropping. if you go slowly at learning how to strop, you will develop (hopefully) a good stropping stroke. Speed will come later so start it off slow and learn how and when to lift the edge and change direction, and keep the strop taut. don't try to pull it out of the wall, keeping it taut, if you learn how to strop with a hanging strop (best IMO)

Looking at your photos I see you have a paddle strop for touch ups so I'm assuming you have another (leather) strop to straighten the edge. If not, you need a leather strop to use for edge straightening, and preferably, a linen component too. Just my bias kicking in but the way I use a hanging strop, I use a combination linen/leather hanging strop. The linen is used after the shave first to remove soap left on the blade. You should carefully wipe your blade with a damp cloth after shaving. I wipe after every pass...keeps the water spotting on the blade to a minimum. So after you're finished shaving, wipe on a damp cloth to remove soap, and spent whiskars, then wipe (trailing stroke) on a dry hand towel. Now you're ready to go to your linen strop

I do 10 laps anyways on linen, then I go to the leather strop for 10 more laps. I do this to make sure all moisture is removed from the shaving edge. you do not want any water left on the edge when you put the razor up till next use, otherwise the edge can micro chip, which is, water eating away (rusting( the thin fragile shaving edge, so you want to make sure you dry your edge thoroughly after every shave. I use both the linen and leather strop to do this, but only after wiping the blade/edge on a damp cloth (wash cloth) then a dry hand towel, so I don't bring a dripping wet razor to these strops

Next time I use the blade to shave with, I strop on leather only for 40 laps minimum, & I don't go to the linen first. I only use the linen component after honing and after shaving

There are other styles of leather strops to use, besides the paddle type and hanging strops, there is the loom type. I have one and I use it for traveling mostly anymore. It came pasted with green paste on one side and leather on the other. the green paste is for a touch up if needed and the leather is to straighten the edge before shaving. One other thing you want to do if you occasionally strop on pastes. Make sure you wipe the edge/blade well with a tissue after stropping on paste so you don't carry the paste onto your linen or leather strop. you want to keep the leather clean. it's also a good idea to carefully wipe your leather strop each time before you strop using it. The reason is so if any lint or dust is present, you remove it first with your hand, or palm of your hand

If you strop on leather and the strop has any lint/dust on it, or dirt, those particles can and will negatively influence your edge. Plus if you strop on a dusty strop, the razor will ensure the dust particles will embed themselves into the leather. Keep it clean as you can and you will get better service from your leather strop. other may have better and different ideas



Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.

 

[chuckr9]

It is highly likely your razor is "sharp" from the TI Factor, but also not really "shave ready" by most user standards. No harm trying it - that is the only real test.

 

[ShavingPresentation]

Hi all,

I purchased a TI Le Dandy when in Paris from Planet Razor.

Just wanted to check a few things before I start my first shave:

1. I believe the TI comes "shave ready", the guy in the shop confirmed this. does this mean i can literally shave straight away without stropping?

2. I also bought a two sided paddle strop, the guy in the shop coated one side with a thick green paste and the other with a watery liquid. I believe the latter is some type of diamond abrasive? I was told to use the diamond side first (25 strokes), the the paste side (25 strokes) prior to shaving each time. is this correct?

View attachment 323408

View attachment 323409

The two pictures show the paddle having the diamond stuff (from the dropper bottle) being applied tot he strop. The circular container tot he left with the black lid has the thicker paste in it.

Any advice would be gratefully received, I am hoping I can shave straight away as I've never stropped before!

PS I think this forum is great.

Stropping on pastes every day is not a good idea, you will be removing metal at such a frequency as to greatly shorten the life of your razor.

 

[mdunn]

While I agree that pastes every day is overkill, they remove such a tiny amount of metal that it would be barely noticeable over a lifetime

 

[Revverlution]

So, I've shaved about 6 times using the straight. I've found that I cant get it to glide yet and that it doesn't take off as much hair as when I pay for a shave with a shavette.

I tried removing a bit of arm hair and while it does remove hair I think that it's not as sharp as it should be, ie it needs honing.

However, i'm not going to hone it just yet as I want to learn technique, angle etc without getting any bad cuts. once i think I'm ready I'll get it sent off to a professional.

Ideally I'd like them to do it in front of me so I can learn to do it myself, but I don't think there is anyone nearby (Manchester, UK).

 

[O.G.]

Just remember that a dull razor will increase the chance of you getting shaving irritation!!! One the edge starts to "tear" it will have microserration that may not glide very well over you face and it will catch and pull. Get it honed and your shave will surely improve with this one small step.

 

[shakin_jake]

So, I've shaved about 6 times using the straight. I've found that I cant get it to glide yet and that it doesn't take off as much hair as when I pay for a shave with a shavette.

I tried removing a bit of arm hair and while it does remove hair I think that it's not as sharp as it should be, ie it needs honing.

However, i'm not going to hone it just yet as I want to learn technique, angle etc without getting any bad cuts. once i think I'm ready I'll get it sent off to a professional.

~~~you don't want to shave with a dull straight razor no more than you would shave using dull tugging, pulling DE razor blades in a safety razor. If anything, you're more likely to cut yourself trying to force a dull blade rather than respecting a sharp one

Ideally I'd like them to do it in front of me so I can learn to do it myself, but I don't think there is anyone nearby (Manchester, UK).

~~~Gary Haywood is a member here at B&B and lives in Nottingham. He is a barber by trade and has been honing straight razors using coticules (Belgian) for at least 5 years (that I'm familiar with)...I'm sure he would be more than willing to help you as I've referred other Brits to him seeking help w/honing as you are here. Gary is one of the best coticulers out there and close to you in your part of the world. Do a search for him and send him a PM*...he'll straighten both you and your straight razor, straight away=



Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.

*if for some reason you can't find his account here, send me a PM and I'll forward his email addy to you

 

[shakin_jake]

Just remember that a dull razor will increase the chance of you getting shaving irritation!!! One the edge starts to "tear" it will have microserration that may not glide very well over you face and it will catch and pull. Get it honed and your shave will surely improve with this one small step.

~~~~ +1... I totally agree with what this member is saying. If the edge is micro chipped and it could very well be if the blade was put away damp even the slightest bit, if you look at the edge (from heel to toe, both sides) using a simple jeweler's loupe (they're less than $10 shipped, I prefer 10 X myself) you'll see what appears under magnification what looks like tiny pock marks up and down the edge, and since the blade has two bevels, each side may easily appear different from one another

These micro chips will literally rip your skin. You need a straight continuous edge to shave comfortably with, and why the need for a fresh hone, which will reveal virgin steel underneath what you have there now for an edge

Needless to say, I advocate for every straight razor user to own and use a jeweler's loupe, so as to be able to observe your shaving edges before using. If you get in the habit of peeking at your shaving edges occasionally using a loupe before a shave, you will catch an errant edge and use another blade instead, setting aside the errant edge for a touch up before next use

That said, developing the proper habit of thoroughly drying your blades after each use will most certainly guarantee micro chip free edges and render your loupe useful for other inspection uses. FWIW, I have two loupes...the one I use most often is a simple metal cased 10 X (10X21mm), the other is a dual battery operated/illuminated 30/60 X. the battery operated model is nice for those times when the battery is not flat=



Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.

 

[Revverlution]

Update: I recently sent the razor for honing and stropping. when I got it back It passed the HHT all along the blade. However after my shave it was dull again. I stropped it with Diamond and Crox but its still dull.

I thought that the razor would be still quite sharp after my shave. Can anyone clarify?