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SOTD SATURDAY MORNING, AUGUST 22, 2020
Well, I confirmed my suspicions. The Dilucot method, originally developed as a way of honing razors using a single stone (Belgian Coticule) and a series of slurries of decreasing grit dilutions also works beautifully with my jasper stone. I used a coarse DMT plate to generate the slurries which are then successively diluted until finally one is honing with just water alone. In the case of my Double Duck, my son, Ben, had already set a great bevel. When I examined the edge he’d built with his 30k stone using a 60x jeweler’s loupe, I noticed metal feathers along its length. There was no need to go through the full process. So I very gently ran the edge over the face of the fine side of my jasper hone.
Reexamination with the loupe revealed the flattening and or elimination of the chaff I’d observed earlier along the entire length of the edge on both sides. For the next task I built a very thin slurry with the DMT plate and did 40 circles (20 clockwise & 20 counterclockwise) followed by 20 back and forth strokes. I then finished in water using back and forth strokes until the blade began to stick to the face of the stone. The blade passed the tomato slicing test and was popping hairs to beat the band at that point. I lathered up and discovered that I’d built the kind of buttery smooth edge that was a joy to shave with. I’ll admit that I really enjoyed the process of building an edge that I liked which then delivered me to VBBS land on my mug both above and below the jawline.
The Silversmith with the same Feather blade as yesterday shaved every bit as well as my new Tradere. An examination and comparison of the two head geometries revealed a very similar design. In any case my dome shave today was the usual 1 1/2 pass (ATG, ATG) VBBS. I feel cool, clean, and amazingly velveteen. My MrEE 007 brush performed in its usual superb fashion throughout the shave. The cooling MWF lather was a delight to shave with, as usual. I have four pucks of the stuff, so I’m set for the next few years. It’s a beautiful, sunny day here in the Philadelphia suburbs. I wish all my shave brothers and sisters a great day!
Tomorrow is the actual test of the DiluJasper method from bevel set through finish. I purchased a Puma Solingen razor for virtually nothing ($5), yesterday evening from a local cutlery dealer in Adamstown, PA who complained that he was never able to get a decent edge from it. Ben was with me by phone and encouraged me to buy it. He suspected the blade may be slightly warped and that’s why it may have not yielded to a standard honing progression. Well it failed the tilt ‘n wobble test revealing that it definitely needed a bevel set. Ben, after examining it, felt that I should set the bevel on the 1000 grit Chosera stone and then complete the honing on my jasper stone using decreasing slurry dilutions. So that’s the project for tomorrow’s mug shave. My first complete honing job from bevel set to finish on a problematic straight razor.
RAZOR: Double Duck Goldedge (Mug), Colonial Silversmith (Dome)
BLADE: Feather DE (2)
PREP: Cold water rinse followed by a scrub with Rabid Banana Preshave Cube
BRUSH: MrEE Knurled Aluminum Handle Hybrid Knot
SOAP: Mitchell’s Wool Fat w/ 6 drops of M-Bomb
POSTSHAVE: Cold water wash with brush squeezings followed by Humphreys Lilac WH and Osage Rub. Finished with Old Spice Fresh Lime AS Splash and Cremo Cooling Post Shave Balm.
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