“Valet” AutoStrop Razors - Posts and Discussions

[ouchyfoot]

Too bad that first shave didn’t work out for you. The Kai blades come in two thicknesses, which one are you using?
Personally I wouldn’t bother with any honing. I don’t believe these blades were really designed for it. If your going to give it a second chance, I’d just do some more stropping. Perhaps there is a reason these blades are unavailable in the western shaving markets. Perhaps Kai has the Asian box cutter market cornered.

 

[ouchyfoot]

Only my English VC2 would allow the Best blade to load

None of my VC2s will accept a Feather without modification. It’s a pretty simple snip of a small tab to fix though.

 

[Tanuki]

Too bad that first shave didn’t work out for you. The Kai blades come in two thicknesses, which one are you using?
Personally I wouldn’t bother with any honing. I don’t believe these blades were really designed for it. If your going to give it a second chance, I’d just do some more stropping. Perhaps there is a reason these blades are unavailable in the western shaving markets. Perhaps Kai has the Asian box cutter market cornered.

These BEST are .25mm, equivalent to vintage AS and modern Gem, according to my cheapish digital calipers.

Stropping, perhaps with a pasted strop, seems like the next step. More reps on the AutoStrop itself seems unlikely to improve the edge. I am considering making an AutoStrop-sized strop I can paste and use in my paste-worn VC1. Alternatively, I might fabricate an AS blade holder I can use for stropping on a diamond/balsa or a leather bench strop.

The honing is more about testing my vintage safety hones. I haven't had success with them yet, but thicker carbon steel is the blade design from their era. If I can get results on modern carbon blades, it might be a way to revive vintage AS blades.

So, a complicated research project for shave science. I doubt that I can get a grant proposal funded, but the @Sniperx blade donation has gotten it launched. Preparing test stubble is the easy part. Goofing around in the shop in pursuit of an actual result is the fun part.

 

[ouchyfoot]

My 7 O’clock Autostrop locks into a manual stropping/honing position.

 

[Tanuki]

That 7 O’clock is way cool. Does it have both a stropping and a honing surface in the case?

 

[ouchyfoot]

No, just stropping. It is one of my smoothest shaving razors. Something was lost when the evolved into the auto stroppers we know.

 

[Sniperx]

Let the bloodbath begin!!!!!

The loose feather is an FHS-10 for after you’ve shredded your face and want to feel modern technology at work again.

The Kai BEST is the .25 version (only one available here I think). I had to get them from Monotaro, the Japanese equivalent of McMaster Carr. They come in a box of 50 ( I have more for those daring souls). The wrap isn’t secured by petroleum jelly like the Feathers.

I’m not down on any of these blades. I’d be glad to get something else for my Oneblade. I think the angle on that thing is such that it gives a good shave, but it knocks the edge down quickly. If I increase that angle I get irritation and a dull blade in one shave.

So yeah, if someone can effectively bring back the edge on these or improve them. I’m all in.

I’m also looking for an answer on if they are simply TOO sharp or somethjng else unexpected.

Try out the goofy powdered soap I sent? I retired it to brush conditioning after I got some good stuff of my own….

 

[Tanuki]

I didn't manage to shave yesterday... because life. I also spent too much time on things like searching the Tanuki den for leather suitable for a pasted AutoStrop strop. I haven't found that yet, but I do have 7 nice leather pieces cut out for bench strops. And a lot of unexecuted ideas for a safety blade stropping jig.

Yesterday's chores mixed with shave-adjacent dithering just mean better stubble for today. The plan that has emerged involves the Aloxite hone and a VC1 as a superior strop/shave platform for today. To the den!

 

[Tanuki]

Try out the goofy powdered soap I sent? I retired it to brush conditioning after I got some good stuff of my own….

I have yet to shave with the goofy soap, but it does function as a sneeze powder of legendary power. Is it advertised in the back pages of manga, along with hand buzzers and lapel orchids that spray the Veg?

 

[Tanuki]

Tried the rest? Now try the BEST! (courtesy of @Sniperx )
Today's ten step program and TL;DR event:

1 Hone Tuesday's blade
2 Pull out Bausch&Lomb 7x Hastings Triplet magnifier and verify that the dings in the triple bevel edge are real. I blame them on Tuesday's post-shave caliper fest.
3 Hone today's BEST blade
4 Palm strop per Carborundum Company instructions
5 Load in VC1 and strop 10 laps. The strop works much more easily in the VC1 it came with, compared to the previous tight fit into the England VC2 and the USA VC4.
6 Shave! (two passes) Rough but cutting it.
7 Cork blade and forearm strop 10 laps
8 Shave! (repetition/elaboration of pass 2. Call it 2.1.) Much smoother, cutting well.
9 Test results with alum, VIBR, and contemplative neck/jaw/cheek rubbing.
10 Rinse, strop 10 laps, and blow dry the BEST beast.

Material roster:
Aloxite hone
VALET AutoStrop Razor VC1 (ONEBLADE on the bench, unused sub)
Kai BEST (1)
TENSTAR Men's Beauty Gear Shaving Soap powder
Sanax re-knotted boar, perhaps my most ham-handed restoration
alum (ouch), witch hazel rinse, Pinaud Virgin Islands Bay Rum (big ouch)

After looking at the instructions (??) on the back of the MBG powder, I sifted a little too much into my bowl and whipped up a plausible lather. In addition to its hilarious possibilities as a sneeze powder, MBG also does a convincing disappearing act. Keep your bowl close and your brush closer, re-whip and re-apply as required. It slicks up OK as long as you keep it visible and wet.

The phase 1 cap-riding two passes felt rough, but the stubble removal was effective, approaching CCS. The repeat pass after corking/forearm stropping possibly would have felt fully comfortable but for the preceding irritation.

The alum was excessively ouchy. The VIBR piled on. I can still feel that! The big plus? Today's shave is DFS closeness almost everywhere. The experience was not DF, but the next shave might be finer than this one.

 

[Tanuki]

The Kai BEST is the .25 version (only one available here I think). I had to get them from Monotaro, the Japanese equivalent of McMaster Carr.

So here are a couple suppliers to investigate. It turns out I grew up 6 miles as the crow flies from the McMaster-Carr parking lot in Elmhurst, Illinois. And worked a short catapult toss from their warehouse, across the freeway, as a brakeman for the Chicago&NorthWestern RR in the Proviso Yard 9.

They come in a box of 50

For daring souls indeed. I'm not sure I've discovered enough to get you through the rest of your supply, but shave 2 was definitely a step forward.

 

[ouchyfoot]

That’s a lot of work for a shave.

 

[Whiterook]

Yeah, a bit much. I have one of those hones. I tried it on the blade for my mustache razor and it seemed to work.

 

[Tanuki]

Too much is just enough.

Today, inspiration took me to a pasted strop. I built a rough'n'ready safety blade paddle strop with a scrap of leather and a 'pre-cut' tapered wood scrap. Glued leather on paddle and clamped it down.

While the glue set up, I contemplated 0.1u diamond paste (the standard), green polishing compound (a Portland Razor Company recommendation for stainless SRs), and last (and least likely) my dried out bit of Blue Seal that came with a worn down AutoStrop. A moment's thought and I drew the wild card.

I crushed a fragment of Blue Seal and bathed the bits in Fromm's 1907 Strop Dressing. Once I reduced that to a paste, I worked it into the strop and wiped the excess off with a cloth. I was able to give yesterday's blade 20 careful laps without removing it from the VC1. Palm strop to remove any residue, then 10 standard laps using the usual AutoStrop setup.

VC1 / Kai BEST (2)
Semogue boar / Williams Mug stick face lathered
Alum, witch hazel, Pinaud VIBR

This shave felt comfortable all the way. I was willing to vary my angle to get closer in the tough spots. DFS/BBS closeness in the easy spots. Bottom line: fully CCS, with alum and VIBR required to separate the comfort level from a Gem or Gillette vintage razor/modern blade DFS shave.

I am going to give a lot of comfort credit to corking the blade mid-shave yesterday. Credit for the enhanced sharpness should probably be split among the repeated AutoStropping, the Aloxite hone, and the pasted strop. I have another leather scrap cut for a second safety blade pasted strop, so 0.1u diamond may get an outing.

 

[Tanuki]

This is getting easier.

Prep with TENSTAR Men's Beauty Gear Shaving Soap powder. A little dab'll do ya.
Strop with Blue Seal pasted strop then clean AutoStrop, 25 laps each.
Shave with:
>VC1 / Kai BEST (3), blown dry and stropped 10 laps after use, stored in razor
>Brass handle boar
>Ach. Brito Mogno stick, hybrid lathered using Captain's Choice heavy copper bowl
Aftercare and irritation test using:
Alum, witch hazel, Pinaud VIBR

I was far more adept at using my pasted safety blade strop, still without removing the Kai from the VC1. Now, eleven hours after the shave, my stubble still doesn't qualify as five o'clock shadow. For me, that is a nice, close shave. Comfort was fine during the shave. Minor alum sting and just a playful slap in the face from the VIBR is normal for me and a close shave.

Today, my only disappointment is that I am not inclined to move the blade back into the England VC2. I think that AutoStrop abandoned a simpler, superior blade holder design when they dropped the VC1 for the complex, fiddly, and fragile design of the VC2.

The needless complication of the VC2 represents only a quest for a patent-protected blade monopoly, not for an improved blade loading or shaving experience. That said, my inner steampunk appreciates the baroque elaborations of my VC2s and VC4s and their VALET punched blades. I will certainly snap up a VC3 if one wanders from the wild into my trapline.

Thanks again, @Sniperx !

 

[ouchyfoot]

You may not enjoy the shave from one VC2 yet another VC2 is quite enjoyable. Every Valet seems to shave different. I believe it is because of all the hinges rrollers and moving parts. Over 80-90 years they loosen up and lose their factory tolerances giving each unit its unique qualities whether they be good or bad.

 

[Whiterook]

Razor: AutoStrop A2
Blade: Kai Best carbon steel
Brush: Rudy Vey Badger & Blade 2020 Group Buy #4/30
Pre-Shave: Proraso White
Lather: Shannon's Soaps Indigo Oud
Aftershave: Pinaud Lilac Vegetal
Additional Care:
Thayers Facial Tonic Witch Hazel Unscented
Imperial Leather Talcum Powder

I corked the blade before I started the shave, but what a tugfest! It sometimes felt like it was ripping the whiskers out. I made it through my normal three passes with a little irritation, but no blood was spilt. Because I use the Thayers first and let it dry down before applying aftershave I usually don't feel a burn. Not so today! In the end I would up with a close shave, just not comfortable!

I am not sure if I am up for a second go..

 

[ouchyfoot]

Blade: Kai Best carbon steel

These carbon blades really need to be stropped. I’ve used various carbons in my Autostrops and some required more stropping than others to even them out. I will be trying out these Kai’s Best myself in the near future. Tomorrow I’ll be shaving with a vintage Valet blade. They seem to even out after each shave and strop, although every Autostrop razor will offer a different experience irregardless of model. It’s all a matter of wear and tear tolerance issues.

 

[ouchyfoot]

Razor: AutoStrop Valet VC1 (1922-1929?) Nickel
Blade: AutoStrop “Valet” Vintage (4)
Brush: Yaqi - Aqua Tuxedo
Pre-Shave: CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser
Lather: Mike’s Natural Soaps - Hungarian Lavender
Aftershave: Barrister & Mann Reserve - Lavender

Lavender and Old Face
A good shave this morning. Not perfect, but no nicks or cuts. Pretty agressive blade wise, so I can feel some post shave heat. I didn’t pursue a complete BBS on my neck as I could tell there would be angry flesh to deal with. I figure my next shave with this vintage blade should be a bit smoother. These vintage blades like to be stropped.
Doubling up in the lavender department today. These two different scent profiles seem to work well together.

 

[ouchyfoot]

Razor: AutoStrop Valet VC1 (1922-1929?) Nickel
Blade: Feather FHS-10 SE modified (6)
Brush: Spiffo - D'rargo (Manchurian Two-Band SHD-Fan) 24mm
Pre-Shave: Stirling Pink Clay - Facial Bar Soap
Lather: Canada Shaving Soap - Unscented
Aftershave: Taylor of Old Bond Street - Sandalwood Aftershave Lotion
Additional Care:
Taylor of Old Bond Street - Sandalwood Luxury Gel

Clearing up the backlog
I have new Autostrop blades I want to try, but first I need to clear up my ongoing backlog of blades that have been started. My last two shaves with this particular razor (VC1) have been very close and agressive Using a vintage Valet (4) and this Feather FAS-10 (6).
I believe that this is because this razor is the tightest and closest to original factory tolerances of all my Autostrops.
I’m binning this Feather, but have another already started with one shave on it. Next I’ll shave back to back using the Feather and Valet blades with my VC4 with the solid safety bar for comparison.