Kokak's Straight Razor journey...

I think this thread is doing a better job documenting your growing collection of straights, but hats off on getting the shaves down as well.

 

Those are DOVO Plastic Replacement Scales that I got from The Superior Shave.

 

Well... I am at 27 and counting... but who's counting.

 

Yeah, you got it bad. Beyond cure in my estimation

 

You know... when I was collecting C&R rifles; I had a blast restoring them and using them. I am finding the same pleasure with straight razors... and it's MUCH cheaper!
My wife is impressed with how in a morning I can pretty much buff out and re-pin a razor and make it look almost brand new. If only I could make my own scales... (nope aint gonna do that)

 

I quit counting at 70. I honestly don't want to know.

 

I've done that too, I know the sad feeling when your hear the clink.

Congrats on your progress.

 

20170912 Tue@2230

Prep: Stirling Bergamot Lavender Pre-Shave Oil
Shaving Soap: MWF (some Tabac left overs in the bowl)
Shaving Bowl: Jays Clay's "Best Grip" Lather Bowl
Brush: Omega 81052 Boar Brush (23 mm x 54 mm)
Straight Razor: Marsh Brothers & Co "Roxo" 5/8" (3) WTG - XTG (face) WTG - WTG (neck)
Stropping: Tony Miller 3" Fast Bridle Leather "Plain Chocolate" (15x Linen and 25x Leather)
Splash: Humphreys Witch Hazel
Splash: none
Balm: Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm

Since I have an early day tomorrow I decided to have a quick 2 pass cleanup and this way not be rushed in the morning. I stropped the Marsh Bros. and started out fine. The square point on this razor came close a couple of time, during the 1st pass, to where I knew I would end up nicking myself before the shave was complete. So I broke out my new DMT #325 and muted the toe. I did about 10 rolling passes starting at about 45* on the toe. After that I stropped the razor 10x on Linen and then 20x on Leather. The second pass was perfect. The razor had been de-fanged and the toe didn't even bother me when it brushed the corner of my mouth. More than likely, I will do this to all of my square point razors.
BTW... MWF with just a touch of Tabac is AWESOME! I believe this from now on. I will take a 'snurdle' of MWF and a 'snurdle' of Tabac and press them into the bottom of my lather bowl. The combined scents and performance of these 2 soaps was truly great!

 

20170914 Thu@0830

Prep: Stirling Bergamot Lavender Pre-Shave Oil
Shaving Soap: "FABAC" (MWF+Tabac)
Shaving Bowl: Jays Clay's "Best Grip" Lather Bowl
Brush: Omega 81052 Boar Brush (23 mm x 54 mm)
Straight Razor: Marsh Brothers & Co "Roxo" 5/8" (1) WTG - XTG - WTG (face) WTG - WTG - WTG (neck)
Stropping: none
Splash: Humphreys Witch Hazel
Splash: Fine Italian Citrus
Balm: Nivea Sensitive Post Shave Balm

I decided to try my hand at maintaining the edge of my razor with my hones. So I started with lapping my 4k/8k combination stone and my 12k finishing stone. The combination stones 8k side seems to have a center/edge section that feel a little "fuzzy" no matter how much I lap it. I honed on the 4k until I could feel a change in how the blade was moving across the stone (decrease in the draw resistance). I then moved to the 8k. Again until I felt a change in the resistance of the blade. I finished with about 10 strokes on the 12k. I did use a single layer of tape on the spine, start to finish. I was so excited, I didn't stop the blade before I used it. So straight from the stones to my face. The results; a little tuggy at 1st but the 2nd and 3rd passes were very smooth. The final result was a DFS, irritation free shave. I will see how the razor feels tomorrow after a stropping.
I think "FABAC" (MWF + TABAC) is my new favorite shave soap creation. The performance and scent is simply AMAZING!

 

I tried shaving right off the stone once without stropping.... never again. Curious to hear how much stropping the blades helps.

 

20170915 Fri@0745

Prep: Stirling Bergamot Lavender Pre-Shave Oil
Shaving Soap: Long Rifle Cedar | Lavender
Shaving Bowl: Jays Clay's "Best Grip" Lather Bowl
Brush: Omega 81052 Boar Brush (23 mm x 54 mm)
Straight Razor: Marsh Brothers & Co "Roxo" 5/8" (2) WTG - XTG - WTG (face) WTG - WTG - WTG (neck)
Stropping: Tony Miller 3" Fast Bridle Leather "Plain Chocolate" (20x Linen and 50x Leather)
Splash: Humphreys Witch Hazel
Splash: Fine Italian Citrus
Balm: none

What a difference a stropping makes. This was much better than straight of the stones. Nice smooth and no tugging. Still not 100% perfect. But for my 1st attempt I am very happy. I have ordered a Black Arkansas stone that will become my final finisher, after my 12k. So the shave was great.
For anyone who has not tried Long Rifle Soaps, I would highly recommend them. They have quickly become my #2 soap. "FABAC" (MWF + Tabac) being my #1.

 

20170916 Sat@930
note***

Last night I spent about an hour lapping my 4k/8k Norton and my 12k Ninawa. The Norton was a little 'fuzzy' but it was flat. So I used a coarse DMT (D8C) Diamond plate. I noticed that after I removed the 'fuz' from both the 4k and 8k side, there seemed to be some scratches left behind in the middle of the stone. I checked the DMT and couldn't see, or feel, anything obvious. I will take a brush (nylon) to the DMT and make sure it's clean and then try and remove the lite scratches from the 8k side.
I have an Arkansas Black (Ultra Fine) stone coming. So I am curious if something like an Arkansas Hard (Fine) would (could) replace the Norton Combi stone as a maintenance stone?
I am just thinking aloud... for now.

 

20170916 Sat@1030
Razor Maintenance

So I tried to have a maintenance session for 4 razors. Maybe I am expecting too much, but the results were all less than good.

Razors to hone:

• Dubl Duck Special No 1
• George Wostenholm I-XL
• "Gardner's Challenge"
• Lee Mfg Co "Magnetic Steel"

Hones:

• Norton 4k/8k
• Naniwa Super Stone 12k

Lapping Stone:

• DMT D8C (coarse #325)

Process:

• Tape spine of razor with 3M tape
• Soak hones for 15 minutes
• Setup Norton 4k side
• Lap Norton 4k lightly
  
• 20x circles with medium pressure
• 20x circles with light pressure
• 10x 'X' strokes with light pressure
• Setup Norton 8k side
• Lap Norton 8k lightly
• 10x 'X' strokes with light pressure
• Setup Naniwa 12k
• Lap Naniwa 12k lightly
• 10x 'X' strokes with light pressure
• Rinse
• Strop 30x Linen and 50x Leather

Well the results were disappointing. Maybe I was trying to do too many razors at 1 time. Maybe I should not try doing circles, for the initial 4k. I am just not sure. Having watched so many YouTube videos I guess I thought honing would be easy to pickup. Boy was I wrong. This has been a very humbling experience.
I am just going to have to start over again on the 4k, without the circles. Concentrating on a single razor till I get it right.
Any and all advice would be much appreciated.

 

We all wish honing would be so easy. Just 'plug & play.'
When I started out honing, I used to count strokes (20, 20, 20, etc)—but often found that some razors (and hones) require MORE strokes and laps. No ONE formula works for all steel.

I have moved away from mostly doing circles as the motion wreaked havoc on my wrist. I found early on I was wearing the middle of the edge more than the toe or heel (uneven!). To avoid this uneven edge, one must pay strict attention to the pressure exerted in order to maintain an even edge when doing these circles. I will still use circle strokes at times, especially if I'm honing a smiling blade, but usually do a more 'swooping' stroke than tight circles.

I now use a more linear stroke, similar to what is shown in this video (not the number of strokes shown here but merely the process of going up/down the hone in a linear fashion). I'm not advocating this method as THE way, just stating a variation from the circle method. The circle method works very well for most folks and simply requires practice.


Keep at it! The more you practice honing, the more you'll learn.

 

I am still hit am miss when I go back to bevel setting. It's best to just start out 'refreshing' you razors on the 12k, likely that's all your razors needed. By a cheap razor to practice setting a bevel.

 

Thanks.
I have plenty of razors to practice on. I will just need to work on them 1 at a time and just take my time.

 

I wasn't trying to reset the bevel. So for me just maintaining my edge; should I have only used the 12k and avoid the 4k/8k?

 

I would have just used the 12k. The 4K is enough to reset a bevel.

 

20170916 Sat@1915
note**

So looking under the USB microscope at the edge of the Dubl Duck showed me...

• The proximal edge (closest to the heel); is nice and polished and looks fantastic.
  
• The distal edge (closest to the toe) is a total cluster. Not polished and lots of scratch patterns.

I have to work on evening out my pressure. From the heel to 3/4 of the blade, the edge is mirror polished. I thought my pressure was even. I really have a lot of work to do.