.... aborted. Last week I picked up super clean Rolls Viscount.. complete and in, dare I say, perfect condition through-out. With the guidance of Greg (gregindallas), I got some tweaks done and later discovered what I have, though in great condition, is what Greg describes as the "dreaded Viscount cork strop", so we're working on that tweak. Anyway... I had a gift certificate for AoS and planned to get a straight shave yesterday, but scheduling interfered and I found myself with two-day stubble this morning. It was my plan to give the Rolls it's first run. I sharpen and use high-end wood chisels and though there is little in common with sharpening a straight or the Rolls, I am no stranger to what I describe as "scary sharp" blades and after following Greg's advice on hone and strop techniques, I had what I believed to be a shave-ready Rolls blade. Hardware and software of choice.. The Semogue 2010 LE Silvertip, courtesy of sodapopjones, P.160 Tipo Morbido, my bowl and the Rolls. Large mug of Dunkin Donuts Dark Roast and Enya in the background. Normal prep.. Brush soaks while I shower. Lathered up and took the first stroke with a very steep angle of attack and a bit of skin stretching and holy tug! I adjusted the angle and stretched a little tighter and ouch! Got through about three quarters of my left cheek and upper lip before I bailed. I grabbed my Fatboy loaded with Day VI on an Israeli Personna and it melted through the long stubble like there wasn't a blade. I did switch back to the Rolls for the final touch up and what I have is a great shave, if just a bit disappointing. No stubble, no nicks or cuts. Cold water rinse and EJ Sea Buckthorn and I am good to go. I don't think the blade needs much more work, but I will certainly come back to the Rolls until I master it.
Mine went similarly Mike. I was all sorts of excited to give it a go and it went nowhere. It was just so very lackluster that something HAD to be wrong. Now its all packed up for our impending move, but I too plan on squaring away the blade and continuing until I kick its ass. It was so not good that the experience I've gathered traditionally shaving thus far told me to stop and not try to force it. That's normally when bad things happen....
I had the same experience when first using my Rolls. I found that once I had a couple of weeks of straight shaves under my belt that the Rolls was much better. Also, I honed it, stropped it, and honed and stropped again. I prolly honed much more than needed, but the last time I shaved with the Rolls was a dream.
Exactly.. I knew if I pushed it, there would be far more disappointment and discomfort if I continued than if I stopped and regrouped.. In the end I am sporting one awesome Sunday shave, so no harm, no foul.
You tried to shave with a Rolls without stropping You tried to shave with a Rolls without stropping? Ouch! Stropping is at least as important (if not more so) than honing. I've attached to pics; after honing and then after stropping. You basicly tried to shave with a very fine hacksaw!
I'm not an expert on the Roll's but I do have a few that I shave with regularly. To me it sounds as if it may not be very sharp. A simple test is to do a gentle pass on an arm or leg. Do the hairs pop into the air when it cuts ? Does it easily pop hairs without any pressure ? If so it's almost sharp enough. If the hairs just cut off and fall over then it's scary sharp. I've found it's best to hone it the same way I hone a straight. I set the bevel on a 1k (1 piece of tape on spine) It should pop hairs off the 1 K. After the bevel is set I do pyramid sets on 4 and 8k until it's scary sharp. Then I finish it on a 12 k. I only use the included hone as a barbers hone for touch ups. I do use the Rolls strop, I do sets of 2-5 minutes till it's wicked sharp and smooth. For me the clicking on the strop will sound similar to a slow horse trot. The first stropping after it's sharp can take up to 1/2 hour or more. Once you have a sharp and smooth edge, It shaves more similar to a GEM than a straight. It rivals my gem 1912 and merkur slant on the closeness of shaves. In my experience It takes a lot of work to get a mint rolls blade into proper working order.
Well looks horrible. I think I could have done without seeing it. ;-) It's got to be a little better than a hack saw..no? I did strop on the "dreaded cork".. I couldn't hold out. I really wanted to try it. I have something to look forward to once I can give it proper strop session. Thanks again for all your help! @ newb.. It was NOTHING like my 1912. It takes arm hair off pretty easily. The hair doesn't pop off, but you can certainly feel it coming off.
If it's sharp enough you should not feel it. My pocket knife takes arm hair off easily without feeling it, and it's not nearly sharp enough to shave with. Once your Rolls is properly honed it should require no more skin stretching than you do with a d/e.
