This mornings shave was with the Rolls. I spent last night honing and stropping 2 blades. The shave was pretty smooth going WTG. XTG there was an ever do slight tug. I did not try ATG at all on my third pass. I decided these blades need more loving. So i went to an art store today with my wife and bought a piece of Balsa wood. I also found some pastel in a tray. It is Chromium oxide green. So when I got home I cut the Balsa in half to make 2 pieces 6"x2"x1". I then sanded and lapped the balsa faces. Applied cerium to one and mounted leather to the other one. As the blades appeared to have a nice 1micron finish. I went about to give the blades 30 laps on the cerium and another 40 on the strop. Looking thru my loop I can see a definite improvement in the edge. I tried it on my arm and they easily wiped away the hair. As I probably am not the brightest bulb in the lot. I decided to see how it would work on my beard. So I took the blade and grabbed the very edge of the spline and proceeded to dry shave the areas that I felt a bit of stubble. It seemed to cut thru them just dandy. i will give one a proper go tomorrow evening. This is a blast trying to get these blades wicked sharp. I hope to get it dialed in a a few months. The good news is I can get them sharp enough to shave with. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I thought I'd share this with my TSD friends. I was visiting a friend today and he mentioned he had an old razor from a family member. He showed it to me and I told him what he had and a little about what it was worth. So he's got a GEM Junior with a bakelite (sp?) handle and travel case, the original box and original instructions. It could use a little cleaning, but I don't think it was used much. He's not willing to part with it, but I was appreciative that he showed it to me. It's funny, but I have a STAR DE razor with almost the exact same black travel case. I believe the American Safety Razor Company made the GEM and the STAR.
Yeah..ASR included an Amalgamation of these Companies..That Set was Issued to US Troops..A lot of them ended up as Surplus Army Stocks..Whether they were Sold directly to the Civilian Population at the same time as the US Forces seems to be Unclear.. Billy..
To expand on it a bit, Star was the brand name originally used by Kampfe Bros. while the Ever-Ready Co. would become American Safety Razor in 1905. In 1919 American Safety Razor acquired Kampfe Bros. (and thus the Star brand) as well as Gem Cutlery Co. These companies were all located in Brooklyn a few blocks from each other. Gem Cutlery and what would later become American Safety Razor were started by a former employee of Kampfe Bros., Jeremiah Reichard. So, it is likely that there was collaboration between the companies even before the merger. --Bob
SOTD Mon. 5/2/16 Pre Shave Cleanser: Noxzema Classic Pre Shave Oil: @ob1page Citurs Shave Soap: Arko Shave Stick Shave Brush: VDH Badger Razor: Schick E2 Injector Blade: Schick Super Chromium After Shave Balm: Stirling Glacial Lemon Chill After Shave Splash: Stirling Glacial Spearmint Soap: Grandpa's Patchouli/Aloe Soap Cologne: Bogart by Jacques Bogart Good morning friends. I felt like a surgeon with a scalpel this morning as I wielded this E2. Precise, exacting, easy to get the under the nose whiskers, the tricky jawline and corner of the mouth whiskers...gone! Vanished! Three easy passes with angles adjusted for my growth and I'm dolphin smooth. Do yourselves a favor and get an injector guys...you'll thank me. Wonderful lather from my Arko stick PIF'ed graciously to me by my friend Chris aka @Bama Samurai. buddy. Some say Arko isn't slick enough...work on your water ratio, i say. Have a great shave and a great day guys.
SOTD May 2, 2016 Menthol Monday Prep: Warm shower Blade: Chinese Schick Razor: Schick G1 Injector Brush: Semogue 1520 boar Lather: Proraso Green shaving soap Post: Witch hazel splash, TSD SubZero after shave, Nivea sensitive balm WTG, touch-up Nice, quick shave with the G1 this morning. Fantastic razor for me! A little chill from the Proraso and SubZero with terrific lather whipped up by the Semogue brush. Hope you all have a great day!
. Thanks Bob. Do you or Billy (or anyone) know if the Star DE in almost the exact same black plastic case was also military issue? The only difference is the name embossed on the top.
Menthol Monday Razor: E3 Injector w/ Chick blade (5) Lather: Palmolive Menthol Cream Brush: JR13 Post: Witch Hazel and Proraso Green DFS this morning that was just short of being dolphin smooth. Just a little bit of hair left on the neck and jawline, but didn't feel like chasing the baby this morning. Face is feeling nice and cool this morning, which is perfect because it just started snowing again here in Colorado. Have a great day folks!
May 2, 2016 It’s Hydro-Magic May! I’ll spend the month with my three Schick Eversharp razors that sport the Hydro-Magic shaving/cleansing head - Types I2, J3, K1 Hot Shower Razor: 1955-1958 Schick Eversharp Type I2 Blade: Schick (China) (2) Soap: Catties Bubbles Mile High Menthol Brush: Ever-Ready 1CS Badger TSD Witch Hazel AS: Myrsol Limon One-pass shave - ATG My shave yesterday was excellent and set me up with minimal whiskers today. Razor handles very well, great reduction on each pass, dolphin-smooth finish. I'm enjoying my extended look at injectors month after month this year. Cheers! RT
Today's shave: Monday May 2, 2016 Early Schick E2 Japanese Schick blade Plisson synthetic brush Stirling Glacial Eskimo Tuxedo soap Stirling Sharp Dressed Man aftershave I decided to take a break from modern razors (Mongoose, Bunny) and wedge blade razors and use an injector today. Looks like I wasn't the only one. I'd forgotten what an effortless BBS shave this little razor can produce. This was my first time with these Japanese Schick blades. Initial impression is that they are sharper and smoother that the Chick and Personnas, more like one of the NOS Schick blades. If they last a long time they may be worth the extra money. Glacial Eskimo Tuxedo is not a new scent from Stirling - it's Sharp Dressed Man with a massive infusion of menthol. "Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man." --Bob
Shave #4 with the Nordic Beauty. I changed blades and I couldn't believe the difference from the first time I used it. But, reduction was non-existent. Same after second pass. Then I realized I'd grabbed a blade that hadn't been honed. After grabbing the original blade (not @Billyfergie 's) I got down to business again. Much better than the first time I shaved with this blade and a nearly BBS result like shave #3. However, the feel of this blade is different and not as smooth. But, I love the improvement in my last two shaves compared to my first two! Now that the angle is getting dialed in I'm looking forward to more practice to bring out a smoother shave experience. T&H Ultimate Comfort PSO Castle Forbes Lavender Shaving Cream T&H Wellington Super Badger C.V. Heljestrand C.V. Heljestrand (2) 60 laps before/40 laps after T&H Classic After Shave Balm Happy shaving - Karl
This just Me Talkin Here Karl..I always use a Good Traditional European Recipe Tallow Soap with these Blades...Valobra, Vitos, & Haslinger are to Name a Few..I Personably would Never Dream of using a Shaving Cream with theses Kinda Tools..I Found this Out Early On..The Difference is Night & Day.. Billy..
I was wondering if @Billyfergie or @spidey9 would ever consider making a wedge honing video. Or post up a link they know of showing how it is done. I would love to make sure I am doing it correctly. It is a blast honing these blades. I worked more last night on a few Rolls blades. I will give them a go again tonight. Tom Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
