Ah, there you are!

Nice photo. Ever since i started my photo-review, you 've all improved as photographers. Just in case you hadn't noticed.


@BaylorGator

A straight razor? That's it? Come on, give me something more other than this hideous shavette-like instrument! I am trying to click "like" and i can't!

Thanks for the details, Pros & Cons. I like the option of 1/2 or whole blade loading. Having a full sized 8/8's like straight razor head has the advantage of better angle of attack control. That's balanced by the loss of visibility caused by all the metal blocking your view. While the locking mechanism is not revolutionary, that ringed tang and hearty jimps are visually striking. Your close up photos are more revealing than those on the sellers website. Thick coat of enamel over cast metal? At the current price it's my guess. I could go for a SS or nickle plated brass option.

Apparently bought new, only used twice, and the user decided it wasn't for him. I got it for about half of what they go for new, which was enough to get me to take the leap.

I'm just glad you are not scared to look at them any more, Fu. That's progress, brother. Keep doing the work!

Thank you. We aim to please.

Eventually a man gets accustomed even to the harshest of sights...

And you consistently do so, dear Clint!

I don't think they come shave ready and I don't really see a bevel on the razor where it was honed. You'll know after the first stroke though.

Was this honed by someone, or is it a factory edge? I ask because if you don't have a good edge on a straight, you won't enjoy the shave with it.

April 26 - Barrister & Mann Dickens

Merkur 34C
Personna Blue (Day 3)
The Phioenix brush
DIY PSO
Barrister & Mann Dickens soap
Alum/Thayers/Nivea

B&M never fails to deliver. Got Dickens yesterday and with all my failures with lather, I decided to do a small test run. I grabbed about a 1/2 a demitasse spoon of soap and worked up a beautiful lather. This is one of the thickest, creamiest lathers I have done with maybe MdC MAYBE edging it out. It was also nice and slick and would fill every pour and wrinkle in my hand with wonderfully protective lather. It gave excellent resistance when squeezed between the hands.


This shot is after my daughter scooped a bunch out to play mashing it between her fingers and enjoy the scent. I ended up leaving the lather in the bowl for at least a 1/2 hour to fill the room with its scent. the lather remained intact the entire time.

Today I used the same amount or just a smidgen less (about 1/3 to 1/4 the amount I used for RT66) and got enough for 5 passes.For me, the scent of Dickens was largely Cardamom with a touch of lemon essence. It was more of a spice scent like T&H 1805 but a bit different. It was not sweet nor cherry scented. the puck did have some cherry smell but my nose seemed to lose it during the lather and shave. The smell filled the room. Even after dressing, I could still smell the lemony cardamom in the air. Definitely a mature scent. My wife also indicated that it wasn't a masculine only scent and felt she too could use it without issue.

The Personna Blue did well and resulted in a BBS shave. I could have gotten away with a 3.5 pass shave but was starting to enjoy the scent and lather qualities that I just went for a fourth pass. Alum was bright but dulled quickly. Post shave feel was well moisturized and cleanly rinsed. Glad I got a full tub of Dickens and will be looking to get other B&M premium soaps in the future.

@Fly2High

Francesco! Nice lather!

Looks good enough to eat!

Thanks Brian

Outstanding photo Clint

Thank you, Kathleen. Feel free to use it on your Facebook page or wherever.

Wow. Glad you guys are around to keep me from killing myself. (The irony of that statement is unbelievable). This is something I never would have imagined. I'll ask the guy I bought it from and then figure out where to go from there. If it's not honed I will have more questions... Actually if it is honed, I'll have more questions, they'll just be different.

I love Bing Bang Theory! My best friend IS a physisist!

Here is the response I got from the seller...

I bought it from SRD, and all of their razors come ready to use. You might want to have someone take a look at it. But every straight from SRD is supposed to come honed and ready to use. I only used it twice, and don't know much about straights, so I couldn't attest to it, but it shaved me fine even with my lack of experience.

Thoughts? Concerns? Any way I can check this on my own?

No one wants you to cut yourself on a dull blade. Use a sharp one!
Look into the Hanging Hair Test. You've seen the barber splitting a single hair? Find a piece of (red) hair and see if while it's hanging down, the razor is sharp enough to cut it with only the weight of the hair to hold the lower end. Next is (carefully) shaving your forearm.
And disregard everything I just told you. A Pro Honer will speak up with True Knowledge shortly.

Lynn over at SRD is a master honer, as long at the seller didn't ruin the edge you should be good. Did you get a strop too ?