May 2022 30 Day Rule/Focus and Discussion. All Are Welcome!

and that hole keeps getting deeper!

 

SOTD THURSDAY MORNING, MAY 26, 2022

Sharp is sharp! There is a myth out there that may be partly responsible for the trend towards wider and wider blades being turned out by a number of contemporary razorsmiths. Honestly, the attraction of wielding straight razors - which look like meat cleavers to me - with widths up to 12/8, eludes me. The myth I’m referring to is that heavy, dense whiskers require a heavier wider blade. I may be a contrarian, but there’s nothing like a shave with great, hard, Swedish steel. For whatever reason, a preponderance of Swedish razors were made in the 4/8 width. I own several, and all can be counted on to deliver a great shave. I also have a healthy collection of Japanese razors, and recently acquired my first 3/8 sized blade, a Japanese Pechika 55 made of Yasuki steel.

Yasuki steel is the industrialized version of the famous hand forged tamahagane iron sand steel that Japanese samurai swords were crafted from. Before the ready availability of Yasuki steel, many Japanese razors were made and still are made from imported Swedish silver steel which rivaled tamahagane in hardness, but was more readily available. Honing this little Pechika Yasuki blade felt similar to honing my Klas Tornblom. Because of the very narrow width, I used Kapton instead of my usual 3M 88 vinyl tape on the spine. Yasuki steel is hard requiring almost 40 minutes on the Chosera 1k before I was satisfied with the bevel. From there I went to my Shapton Kuromaku 1.5k, 5k, and 8k. My finishers were my Chosera 12k with a final polish on the Gokumyo 20k.

I’m of Austria-Hungarian/Italian ancestry, and suffer from the notorious 4 o’clock shadow which during my working life sometimes required a mid afternoon shave to prepare for a late afternoon or evening meeting. So yes, I have a heavy, dense beard, although at my age it’s white and not as visible as it used to be. This little Japanese straight razor’s edge was “stupid sharp” as a honemeister friend has been known to say. The three pass mug shave was every bit as good as any of my wider razors and left me beautifully smooth. The two pass dome shave featured my first generation, DLC coated SS Lupo from Italian Barber. Modeled after the original Wolfman, it delivered a very close dome shave leaving me velveteen smooth from neck to noggin.

RAZOR: Pechika 55 3/8 (Mug), DLC Coated SS V1 Lupo (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE (Dome)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a heavy scrub with Argan Oil
BRUSH: BG LE #1 Two Band Badger
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by a rinse with Humphreys Lilac WH. Finished with Krampert’s Frostbite AS Splash.

 

Very nice morning shave with the Razorine "Flatboy" for a 2-pass shave. Very smooth. It was a toss-up as to which razor to use.....I also had the Fatip Slant loaded up with a blade but, the Flatboy won.

Washed face with warm water and then applied hot washcloth to my face.

Proraso Blue pre-shave cream. MWF soap whipped in my lather bowl with my Classic Shaving synthetic brush.

Razorine "Flatboy" with a Feather blade (3rd use). Nice 2 pass with minimal cleanup. I was trying for no feedback from the alum bar but, I still got some feedback along my right jawline (hard spot!) Finished with Pinaud "Clubman"

I also ended up with a couple of weepers there! I really like how the Flatboy shaves. Weight of the razor is all that is needed.

 

Lots of blade exposure with the Flatboy

 

Great shave, photo and commentary as usual. We’re in total agreement on Schick Injector II blades, Barry! Doggone it!! I wish you’d stop waving that purty little Japanese blade holder of yours around! And I thought I’d totally kicked safety razor RAD! As the great Pacino said, “Just when I think I’m free, they pull me back in again!

 

Great shave kit, Terry! Hey, isn’t shaving supposed to keep us smooth? That certainly includes level!

 

Lovely shave, Gary! Hey, red fluid is part of the fun in this hobby!

 

I should be more careful with an aggressive razor with a Feather blade in it! LOL

 

May 26 SOTD

Good morning!



Shavette Shave #367
Dovo Shavette
Personna Hairshaper Blade (10th use)
MrEE Tuxedo Brush
Cella SS
Old Spice AS
Maggard's Alum Block
Dickinson's
Witch Hazel Beard Growth 40.5 hrs

Cella is one of the easiest soaps to lather; it provides a nice creamy, slick lather. The Tuxedo Brush has an above average backbone that just is able to lather any soap with remarkable ease. These two items worked well to prepare my stubble for this morning’s shave.
Two and a half passes gave me an error-free BBS shave. There wasn't any feedback from the alum block and I finished with the wh and a liberal splash of Old Spice. Have a terrific day!

 

Great shavette shave, Joe! Enjoy your day!

 

Beautiful setup and wonderful shave with your new, little straight razor, Jeff! Btw, Artie felt slighted because he is a 13/8 straight razor and you only went up to 12/8.
Extra wide straights are a esthetically pleasing and provided a challenge for me to shave with them. I enjoy using them and I get a kick out of the responses from FB websites when I download pics. It is true that most guys can't appreciate these "cleavers", however, that's what sets them apart from other straights and that's what attracted me to them.

 

Terrific shave and a very nice setup Hogie. Have a super day!

 

Thanks Jeff!

 

Today's shave(Throwback Thursday)resulted in its good points AND bad points. With Stoylin soap(Sheep)I knew I could do a fine load and paint it on my face and neck(,maybe not QUITE as good as Rembrandt but close-chuk yuk yuk). Success with the cheeks&sideburns, as well as North Porcupine and the jawline. South Porcupine and Cactus had issues...a tiny knick(that would make an ant look like a dinosaur in comparison)and two that were a bit larger, on South, and a giant polka dot that began as a cut but was neutralized by the cold-water rinse and the Osage AS happened at Cactus. None of these were painful. but they just decided to wreck what could have been a top-grade shave. Very Excellent. Probably going too fast caused it.

 

Fine shave Paul. Have a good day.

 

Thank you Joe....you do the same.I'm satisfied, in general.

 

Jeff...The purty little Japanese blade holder is a delight to shave with. Especially when paired together with wonderful Schick Injector II blades...“Just when I think I’m free, they pull me back in again!.A brilliant line from the Godfather 3 which is one of my favourites...My all time favourite francis ford coppola film is Apocalypse Now Redux. Even though the script of the film is based on Joseph Conrad's Heart of darkness, it shows the true horror & madness of war.."You either shave or surf son!".."I love the smell tabac in the morning..smell's, like old school....The horror....Take care my yankee doodle dandy friend.

 

I highly doubt I will go that radical with a straight razor. I enjoy the Feather DX shaves and may not migrate to a SR at all. I do have a couple really nice 5/8 straights tho.

I have a 4000/8000, 12,000, and a leveling stone. Still need to get a 1000 if I want to try honing. I am not rushing this. If nothing else, I have some really nice sharpening stones for knives.
The DX doesn't intimidate me at all anymore nor does the clone japanese style with a light blade in it.

Maybe I will try a complete shave with that one next. I can do a complete shave with the DX and it is nice and close!

 

It's what makes this hobby great because there are so many choices in razors, soaps, etc.

 

Ok, I get it! When’s the 16/8 arrive? That should be a pretty much square shaped blade? Glad you enjoy your cleavers, my friend! I go in the other direction!