Tonsorial Gem indeed.

It seems that the steel makes all the difference. That and the flatness of the blade. I got this off ebay for $12 after really loving the edges and the shave off another Clauberg Tonsorial Gem in 6/8"
Nice to have an American blade (even thought it's made in Germany, it's an American Company),I thought this was 5/8" but it seems smaller, perhaps from honing use or was just a 4/8.

No matter, when I got it I thought I was screwed. The scales were so tight I could barely open it and the bottom of the scales barely let the hollow ground edge pass through. It was square though but it takes some concentration not to bang the edge when closing it.

Again ,$12.

But when I looked at the edge under the scope I thought I was really in for some work. Their were many chips, lots of dead, old skin. some strange discolorations and general nastiness. I didn't think I would have to do a restore on this as I didn't on the other Clauberg and I have still another Clauberg tonsorial gem coming soon too.

RAD is back.

Anyway I breadknifed the edge on the side of my King 1K and got a bunch out. then I went to work with half strokes on the King.
Didn't count strokes but I did horizontal half strokes and checked the edge every few laps. probably sets of 30 or 30 seconds :))

Amazingly, the edge started taking shape right away! The ramapo should only have been this easy. So I did more circles, some more half strokes and finished with 30 X strokes.

It shaved arm hair no problem. total time 10 minutes

So I decided to experiment

BBW ( backside of nouvelle vein) with BBW slurry ( from la veinette.)
pretty thick slurry
sets of 30 push strokes 3 laps
 shaves nice and looks polished under scope! crazy fast.What a difference good steel and solid geometry makes.:))

keen, :)) onto vintage coticule combo
light slurry with la veinette
push strokes 30 reps in sets of 5

test= sharp! wow faster and betta' basically trying use a tomonagura even for the coticules. How else can I tell what the grit level is if I make the slurry out of a lower grit nagura? seems to make sense.

I really really really love this coti! It is so smooth AND fast on slurry or water. Plus, it is the perfect size 6" x2" Just right for long X strokes.I'm not sure what it's name is but it sure rocks the razors.

then onto La Veinette on water for 30 X strokes.

popping hairs so well :))

then onto  Nakayama 2 with Nakayama 1 slurry. Why not? they're about the same grit so it's a tomonagura.I want to hone on the base stone not the nagura.

30 reps push strokes in sets of 5. Nice slurry and NO dilute.

test= better. on the right track. Next.

Oozuku on water
30 X strokes. this stone works better for me as a pre final polisher on water than any slurry

Uchigumori on water
30 X strokes here too

35 laps linen
50 laps leather.

we'll see tomorrow but the indicators are GOOD.

SHAVE REPORT


WOW, THIS THING SHAVED AS GOOD AS IT HONED! FANTASTIC. HAD THE RAMAPO OUT JUST IN CASE BUT DIDN'T NEED IT. GREAT FIRST PASS AND THE SECOND ONE FINISHED IT UP.


I MUST BE GETTING BETTER AT HONING AND SHAVING AS I HARDLY EVERY HAVE TO 'CLEAN UP' WITH THE DE THESE DAYS. NICE. THIS BLADE IS SO SO LIGHT BUT MAN IT SHAVES GREAT. 

Revisor One Pass BBS

Wow, this was a first, and a surprise. I went with the vintage 6/8" Revisor to start the shave out with and ended up with it as well as I didn't need a second pass! I did one anyway, the the Ramapo but there was literally nothing to shave!

It was just wiping the lather off, silently, with the blade. Crazy!
I stopped it last night with 40 laps on leather and shaved this morning and it was freakin' perfect. Now that's what I'm looking for on an edge. Wow.

Now I have to go back and see how I honed this one.As seen above it was on the Nakayama 2 as a starter.

Shave report: First Production Dovo and Ramapo

Day three on the Ramapo and it was even better today than ever! had that very smooth, safe feeling edge that I love so much from the coticule. Like you can't cut yourself although it shaves sharp. Hard to describe unless you feel it. SO many synthetic edges are super sharp, too sharp, and leave you no margin for error. The coticule edges, because they don't leave the sawtooth pattern are much more forgiving.

 

It is so nice to shave with a wedge too, so heavy and solid it just lowers itself and mows the stubble off. Veery good shave. 60 laps on leather last night. We'll see how long the edge last. This was first at bat today.

Second was my 100+ year old First production Dovo crafted by Messr. Flaschner. I just stropped in on leather and it was great as well. It's hard to beat the bevels that Flaschner set on all the blades I got from him.I decided after to put on it my Deep Rock Coticule ( my oldest stone) and did 30 x strokes on water and then 60 laps on leather for tomorrow.

Want to start with it tomorrow and see how it does against the tough stubble ;not batting cleanup:))

Shave Report:

Changed my mind and went with the Vintage 6/8' Revisor as the starting blade. Wow, I love this blade. The weight, balance and feel are just amazing. If I had to choose just one blade to use all the time it would be in the top three for sure.I stropped it 50 times last night on leather and it was good to go this AM. A very clean first pass.

Used the Ramapo for cleanup second pass and it was killer! SO smooth and silent did a great job.and to think I almost threw this out!

Got 'er dun!

FINALLY got the freakin' Ramapo shave ready. took GSSIXGUN from SRP advice and  put two layers of tape on the blade and honed it on the King 1K. Of course, I have spent the last two days honing it without tape on the DMT 1200 and the King with almost no success at all..I spent about 2 hours on Wednesday and 1.5 yesterday on this thing and was about to give up.

Sell it, throw it away, whatever. It was making me crazy.

But the tape worked and a jillion strokes later on the king the blade was shaving arm hair! Yes!

then more and more strokes of all kinds and it kept getting keener. Stropping motion back strokes as well.

then onto the norton 4k/8k pyramid
25/25
20/20
15/15
10/15

then onto the chinese 12 k
30 x strokes

then onto the vintage coticule
50 X strokes on water

then 30 laps linen
60 laps leather

we'll see tomorrow but I am much happier about this blade now

oh yea, also the 58 russian

50 laps on the vintage coti on water then 35 and 60 on leather

SHAVE REPORT:


YES! The  Ramapo shaved perfectly! Almost as good as Morgans Wade and Butcher wedge! can't believe it after all that  BS :(( But the end result edge was worth it ; smooth, QUIET  and sharp. got right through all the stubble no problem Almost a one pass shave. Wow.


Second pass 5/8 Russian '58


very good as well. still a little 'crispy' but that just might be the hollowness of the blade. shaved great and the extra strokes on the coti seemed to pay off. Nice to know I haven't forgotten how to hone.

Brown Russian 5/8 #2/ European not Japanese

I thought that this blade, given that it seems identical to the other russian blade that honed up so perfectly on my nakayama honyama #1 and the 3 different slurries , would like the same stones. uh, no.I did the same routine as I did with the other russian and it was barely shaving arm hair after
 naka 1 and soft uchi 30 lap circles and 7 laps
hard uchi and 30 push strokes
karasu slurry and dilute every 3 X strokes

very so so result.not really getting good contact with the toe of the blade but the rest seems keen but not great so I re dull and see if it likes Europeans better than Asians.


Deep Rock Coticule and med slurry
30 rep circles and 3 laps test: sharper!
2 more laps; test; sharper still
2 more laps 7 total test very nice arm hair shave, still missing toe a bit


la dressante bleu
light slurry
30 push strokes in sets of five
keener


La Verte
watery slurry
25 X strokes and dilute every 3 X strokes
onto water and 15 X strokes on water
less keen


25 X stroke on water. better. damn this blade isn't easy at all


Les Lateneuse coticule
30 X strokes on water
keener again


test on leg hair OK but not great


35 laps linen
60 laps leather


we'll see tomorrow :))


I guess what the honemeisters  say, that for every razor there is One stone might be true


SHAVE REPORT:


 Honed up very nicely. Still not as quiet as the other russian but it shaved my first pass very clean. Not really pulling at all but no where near as smooth as the Ralf Aust I used on the second pass, but, then again, there was not much to shave on the second pass after the 58 russian :)) Even got the chin stubble easily.


Strange again that almost the exact same 'looking' blade like the coticule much better than the Japanese stone> Bottom line is the shave though and that was fine. Not even using the DE these days to finish, don't need it :))


Plus the Aust is holding up stellar with nothing but the strop. Again I am using it more for second passes than first but still.

'58 Russian 5/8" Shave report

Got this blade from St Petersburg off the bay and it actually came semi shave ready! I touched it up on my Nakayama #1 with two slurries and then some X strokes on water on the Oozuku and then did 50 laps on leather to see how it would shave.

It was ok, Definitely not a one pass shave and it was a bit tough on my chin stubble but definitely ok. I really love these Russian blades as they take an edge very easily and hold it well.The AK-47 of razors for sure. They ain't pretty but they are tough and work very well

I now have seven Russians from 1953- 1963 all in 5/8" and all are excellent shavers.

In fact I finished up with my Bridge Russian from '55 and it was perfect.

Later today I will dull and re hone the '58 from the start.

A nightmare and a dream

Haven't been posting much as this last week has been seriously busy with Kb stuff. Still not dug out but had a moment to get some honing in yesterday and what a nightmare it turned out to be! I wanted to put my edge on my new Ramapo near wedge as it was starting to tug and pull a bit so I dulled it on glass and used the same protocol as I did with the Masonic.

NOTHING! Couldn't even get it to shave arm hair! Then I looked under the scope only to find TONS of micropchips all along the edge! WTF?!

So I breadknifed it more and started in on the DMT 600 . nothing. then the King 1000 still nothing! even gried the Norton 4 k and still not an arm hair.

Then I realized the spine on the blade is seriously uneven as the first third has that notch in it making it not even on the hone.Emailed the Lee from a Sharper Razor who originally honed it and he said he had to hone it free style to get it to work because of the spine. Freakin' great!

I thought this was going to be easy not a nightmare. I put it away for now. Don't need more frustration right now.It's just one blade anyway. I will probably have to tape the front third only and see. Or call Sham

But the Ralf Aust is still shaving like a dream, one week later with only the strop! Guess my stropping technique is coming up. Nice. This blade is really smooth and easy. DId the first pass with the Moscow '55 blade( which needs a touch up) and the second with Ralf.  Lots of work to do this weekend

Shave report

First pass
Decided to go with some tried and true blades today and it was great. The 4/8" Flaschner shaved like a dream and I touched it up yesterday with  25 X strokes on Nakayama 2 with water, followed by 15 X strokes on oozuku on water and the same on Uchigumori on water. Without a doubt the Uchi is my hardest and finest stone. THE finisher for sure

Then 25 laps on linen and 35 on leather


Second Pass
Ralf Aust 5/8" square point


Same thing just keen and smooth, especially since there was little to clean up after the first pass:))
Touch up was the same as above, same stones, same sequence. Worked well
 I was so afraid of square and spike points until I learned how to use them, now I love 'em!

Two Masonics

One fake, one real. I hate to say it but I got "took" really good on ebay a few weeks back and bought a Pakistani replica of a real masonic wedge. It wasn't the sellers fault, I just didn't read carefully enough. He said it was  new blade and in my enthusiasm didn''t make the connection. It looked right.

And I tried to hone it but never got anywhere.I have been on the verge of throwing it out but never got around to it.

Today I decided to NOT leave the 1k DMT until it was SHARP and shaved arm hair or THEN throw it out.I even decided to start on the 325 to set the bevel given that it seemed there really was none even though it looked like one under the scope.

SO half strokes and long horizontal strokes on the 325 and the swarf was building fast! lots of metal shavings all over the place and after five passes or so it started to seem a bit sharp on Carter's three finger test. OK now we're getting some where. A few more passes perhaps and onto the  DMT 1200.

Same thing here, half strokes, circles and horizontal strokes  checking every few laps, determined to stay here until the bevel was set!

kept cleaning off the dmt and blade and going back to it. kept getting sharper so I kept going. After a lot of laps it shaved arm hair well and I thought I could move onto the norton 4k. Lapped it flat and went at it.

Horizontal two hand strokes for lots of laps of 10 and the metal was still coming off fast. SO I kept on. Switched over the X strokes and continued. Washing the stone off frequently.

Still getting sharper and leg hairs are popping well so onto the 8 k

Just X strokes here and hardly any metal coming off. A very good sign 20 laps and onto the Chinese 12 k. Just moving up the grit ladder I am :))

20 X strokes on water and test. 

definitely acting like a razor now on leg hair! Nice

Onto the Deep Rock Vintage coticule and 20 X strokes on water. Very keen on leg hairs! Wow,I'm impressed with myself. the bevel is polishing up very well and I can see it with the naked eye as very straight and even.

Now onto the Jnats

Oozuku on water: 20 X strokes here and leg hairs are lying down fast

Finish on Uchigumori on water 15 X strokes and done!

40 laps linen

60 laps leather.

I am actually going to try to shave with this tomorrow. Perhaps I pulled the fat out of the fire and really learned  how to hone on this cheap blade :))

3 passes/ 3 blades

What do you do when you have so many razors to play with and so little face to shave?

Use a different blade for each pass,lol. I started doing this when I was really into learning how to hone and needed to test each blade that I had honed the day before. Now, it's just for fun.
Was just going to use the Masonic ( it's addicting) and the 6/8" Revisor but  that stupid TI Gnome  still isn't up to snuff just after one shave and it pissed me off.

I do think there is some kind of warp in the toe of the blade that keeps it from getting good contact with the stone as I hone so I had to address that. First the shave.
TI Super Gnome

As expected  even the first sideburn pass missed some edges towards the ear so something's up. Put it back down and will address that in the touch up.

Masonic Blade

Good but not great and it seems even the Red Violin of razors needs a touch up now and then

Revisor

batting clean up and did a great job

Touch up
Masonic


touched it up the way I honed it( no pre dulling)


BBW and light slurry
30 push strokes and test; keener, man this thing hones quick!
Nouvelle Vein on light slurry
20 X strokes and test. better
20 X strokes on pure water: nice!


20 laps linen
35 laps leather.
feels like it did previous. we'll see


TI Gnome
BBW with slurry ( if it's good enough for the Masonic?)
keener- REALLY paying attention to the toe on the left side making a difference
Nouvelle vein on Water
25 X strokes  keener
 but toe is still not sharp enough, back to BBW with slurry for JUST toe work
lots of half strokes on left side down only, just the toe. catching up finally

back to coticule les lat bout
25 push strokes in sets of 5
on les lat hybrid side
20 x strokes  keen!

20 laps linen
40 laps leather

tomorrow :))

Coming Soon to my home.

After losing three ebay  bids for a wade and butcher wedge I found this beauty, already restored at Razor Emporium for less than what I was bidding on Ebay. Not it's not a a W & B but it is a serious near wedge and I bet it shaves great. PLus the scales are new and bad scales always drive me nuts. Can't wait to get it.It's over 150 years old. Nice


it's 13/16" so it's just a tad shy of 7/8 but it should be heavy enough :))

mo info:

 

 

larger image

13/16" Ramapo & Co American Near Hollow Ground w/ Custom Scales

$120.00

Add to Cart: 

This is an 13/16 inch Straight Razor blade from American cutlery outfit, Ramapo Co. Warranted based in Ramapo, New York. The steel from this large has been cleaned, buffed and has taken a nice satin to near-mirror finish, with light signs pitting on the blade remaining, but no active rust or chips.

New custom scales have been created for this awesome shaver, using clear orange acrylic with a black. Clean brass pins and washers have been peened to hold the entire piece together. This razor most likely dates to the mid 1850's. Below is some information found from 'Transactions of the New York State Agricultural Society', Vol. 5 Page 81, dated 1853.

Meticulous honing of the blade was carried out on a series of natural and synthetic stones, giving this steel a fine and sharp cutting edge. This razor comes shave-ready. Blade centers nicely between the scales and sits very snug. This beautiful scale work was carried out byNerdman from Ambrose Shave

          

Little C Mon fits.

As easily as I honed Morgans last C Mon Blackie I thought this one would be a piece of cake too. I couldn't have been more wrong :)) It was a tough bastard. I actually started stopped on it last night as my usual protocols were going  NOWHERE FAST.

 I looked under the scope and the edge was full of microchips and I hadn't done that much honing so I think it was from the blade hitting the scales as it was closed as the pin was totally loose, and the blade rattled around like crazy upon descent.

I actually ended up taping the thing open with electrical tape as I went into X strokes as the constant flopping around was driving me  nuts

It was a 4/8  or 5/8  very light blade

Started with dulling then
BBW slurry and sets of 30 circles. 5 sets and NOTHING
Nouvelle vein ,light slurry and circles, again 5 sets of 30 and nothing

I decided these things AREN'T going to set the bevel and I don't have time to soak the King 1000 so it's onto the DMT 1200.

It's always weird using this thing as it seems like a completely smooth piece of steel; you can't see the rough diamond surface as you can on the 600 side. but it works.

DMT 1200 on water
completely horizontal stokes with both hands on blade
3 -4 laps and cutting arm hair.
Finally getting somewhere
3 more laps of push strokes and it's setting .
thank you :))

Nouvelle vein coticule on light slurry
5 sets of 30 circles
keener.
Nouvelle vein on water
15 X strokes

Le Dressante   light slurry
15 x strokes diluting every 5 reps
15 X strokes on water
much keener.


Chinese 12 k
15 X strokes on water
I  really like this rock on water. It definitely makes things crispier. I like that


Oozuku with hard uchi (light) slurry
15 X strokes
Oozuku on water
15 push strokes

NICE!


Uchigumori
15 X strokes on water.

Super nice!
30 laps linen
50 laps leather.

we shall see tomorrow. Had to bring out all the big guns but I think I got it done. The key, as always, is make sure the  bevel is set before you go onto more finishing stones. :)) duh.

The Red Violin of Razors

Morgan, who owns this blade, says this might be the Red Violin of razors. After honing it , and shaving with it twice I think I have to agree. There is something mythical about this almost 200 year old blade. When I started shaving this morning I thought I had made a mistake, as it wasn't quite as keen as yesterday despite 30 laps on leather this morning and a near perfect, soundless, effortless shave yesterday.

But then I realized I was shaving with it as if it were a 5/8 or 6/8 hollow ground blade and not the Wedge that it is. As soon as I lay the blade perfectly flat against my skin instead of at a slight angle the magic came back!

Soundless, effortless gliding hair mowing! Crazy Easy.

I did three passes although I barely needed two just because I wanted to play with it more:))

Morgan's not getting it back for awhile and hopefully I can find a Wade and Butcher Wedge on Ebay that I can afford. Have to have one of these in my collection although I think this Masonic blade IS the Red Violin of razors and there can be only ONE.

Shave report

the Cmon little guy did great, nice and keen and smooth. but I hate the floppy pins so I was worried about it shifting around, so just one half pass.
Masonic:
finally starting to not be perfect for the third shave. Still PLENTY keen but just not quite that effortless feel. Will touch it up with the La Veinette on water this afternoon and see if that brings it back up to perfect.

Flaschner 5/8" Family Tree blade

To be honed later today. This blade is over 100 years old with ivory scales and a stainless steel blade that hasn't needed to be on the hone since I got it in August 2011, just stropping! Now it needs a touch up! COuld be my favorite shaver.

LATER:

The edge was "OK" so I didn't want to dull it, just see if I could enhance it.It was shaving alright but pulling and tugging just a bit. I want a hot knife through butter:))

SO:
LIGHT slurry on my vintage coticule, which seems almost like my Les latenuese stone.has similar insertions in the second layer. Very light yellow and creamy but an extremely fast cutter, on slurry and a fast polisher on water. AND the back side is a belgian blue whetstone so it's a two fer!

What a great deal that turned out to be :))

15 X strokes on the slurry and it's fine. Rinse the blade but not the stone and 10 X strokes: better

10 X strokes on water. Even better.

onto My Nakayama #2 on Hard uchi slurry( hardly ANY slurry but that's ok)
30 push strokes  in sets of five.
Keener. Liking this trend:))

rinse onto pure water
15 X strokes ,even better. It sounds right now.


Oozuku on water
15 X strokes

very nice

30 laps linen
45 laps leather.

NEXT! A true Masonic Wade and Butcher Wedge!!!!  Almost  TWO HUNDRED YEARS OLD!
Mason kicked down again and I have more than enough razors to hone to keep me happy and busy for the next week,lol!

I have a feeling a Wade and Butcher Chopper is in my future just from the beginnings of honing this antique.

Belgian Blue side of Nouvelle Vein coticule

For some reason my instinct said to start this meat chopper on something that can handle a knife, the BBW. Built creamy slurry and did 30 rep sets of half strokes. 4 sets and it was cutting arm hair already!

This edge is crazy under the scope and looked to have THREE BEVELS!  No shit! Never seen that before.

Onto the Nouvelle vein side with light la veinette slurry
30 reps on push strokes on 5 rep sets
Keener! Crazy easy to hone it seems
Onto water on La Veinette bout 
15 X strokes ( this bout is crazy, cuts fast even on water!!)


Keener still. mowing arm hair easily!!!


30 laps linen
45 laps leather.


til the morning! Onto the C Mon!


honed the c mon 4/8 as well 
quickly, used the


vintage 6x2 coticule on light slurry with  push strokes; cut very quickly then


nakayama #2 on hard ichi slurry with half strokes  shaved arm hair quickly


then nakayama 2 on water


then C12k on water( wow,this works very fast on water, crispy already!)


then Oosuku asagi on water with 30 X strokes


then 30 laps linen
         50 laps leather. will  see :))


Shave Report:


THE BEST SHAVE OF MY LIFE WITH THE MASONIC BLADE! LITERALLY EFFORTLESS ONE PASS SHAVE. IT WAS LIKE I WAS SHAVING AN ALREADY SHAVED FACE WITH A BUTTER KNIFE AND JUST WIPING THE LATHER OFF. FREAKIN' CRAAZY!! AND SO EASY TO SHARPEN TOO.
NOW I HAVE TO GET ONE OF THESE WEDGES!!!


THE FLASCHNER WAS EQUALLY AS SHARP AND SMOOTH JUST NOT AS SILENT AND THE C MON WAS PERFECT TOO. JUST A SHORT SWIPE WITH IT BUT I CAN TELL. UNREAL.

My TI Super Gnome is the devil!

I'm really starting to hate this blade. I pulled out No Stone Unturned today to get this thing shave ready,even taped it, and it still gave me fits! I think I got it but what a pain in the ass

ok:

dull blade on glass


Nakyama #1/ soft uchi slurry
one layer tape

3 sets of 30 circles: nothing
2 more sets of 30 : barely cutting hair
2 more sets: kinda

hard uchi slurry
30 reps push strokes in sets of 5
test: ehh
20 more reps in sets of 5
kinda

Karasu Slurry/ dilute
15 X strokes,dilute every five and test, not horrible but even close to what I want
20 push stokes dilute every five and test ; so so

on water alone
20 X strokes better but still nothing great WHAT???

Oozuku on water
25 push strokes
a bit better but definitely cutting uneven. Lay blade flat on hone. Toe is a bit off - NOW I get it the damn thing is warped! Nice for 200 bucks! so much for TI  reputation. My $20 Russian is better blade.

Chinese 12K / take tape off!
30 reps in sets of 5
crispy! what ?
20 more reps
better!

Uchigumori on water
30 X strokes
crispy cutting leg hair

40 on linen
50 on leather
test: sharp but too crispy

Vintage combo coticule
25 X strokes
test: now we're talking! jesus that took forever
25 on leather
we'll see tomorrow.


Shave report:


well it did take forever but it was worth it! finally finally an edge that is not only ok but great! Sharp and smooth, I could tell from the first downstroke it was right. NO pulling, dragging or complaining at ALL! Even over the chin the hairs just came right off, just as they are supposed to
I don't know if this really makes any difference but yesterday I was using Proraso SOAP, today Musgo real Cream. I don't think I've ever had a great shave with the proraso soap. Who knows, but this edge was great.


DId the left side with my touched up 6/8" Revisor white handle and it too was stellar although I don't remember what the protocol was! It was damn near perfect too. Just two passes and I could have gotten by with one! No touch up with DE either.
NICE!


also: all the stropping really made a difference too, especially for the Revisor. as  I now recall :))


Second shave with the Gnome




Held up VERY well although it did lose a little bit of smoothness, surprising, really. But I started with it , went to the Flaschner family tree blade and had to go back and finish with it as the Flaschner wasn't up to par.( it hasn't been honed or used in months). The TI did a great job relatively.  It's just a weird blade

Uchi rules

 Started out todays shave with the Thiers Issard "Super Gnome" which while although pretty keen was not up to my new improving standards for my edges.It cut but required way too much pressure to do so. I want the thing to slide and glide.
 Plus I can't remember how I honed it before anyway( hence this blog) so I put it back and decided to redo the edge later.

I finished with my 6/8" Revisor, which, true to form was silent and deadly. great shave and another big success for the Nakayama 3 slurry stone progression.
But I figured I could put that too on the Uchigumori and see what happens.which is what I did:))

First the TI.

DMT 1200 Slurry on my Nakayama #1 which was a mistake. I think it scratched the hone so I put it down immediately and got a hard uchi slurry stone to lap it a bit and clean it up. Lesson learned, no more Diamond nagura for my natural stones.

Instead I used the  Oozuku Asagi stone as a nagura and make a very very light slurry which I immediately diluted.
 5,4,3,2,1 push strokes diluting every set  then washed the stone and
10 X strokes on water
very keen already, unusual for this hard to hone razor.

Onto the Oozuku and  light slurry from hard uchi stone again ,very light into immediate dilute. I did NOT dull the TI first so I didn't need as much cutting
 again- 5 4 3 2 push strokes with dilution every set
wash stone
15 X strokes on water
tested very nice so 
10 more X strokes on water


onto Uchigumori stone on water
15 X strokes
crispy sharp! nice


25 laps on linen
45 laps on leather.


hairs doing what they are supposed to so we'll see tomorrow. Just love that I can replicate the process now almost every time 


and it seems that the uchi is so fine that it really takes the finished edge to a whole nother level. every time so far, too.


Shave Report:


well, not this time. I am starting to hate this dam TI. My most expensive blade by far and probably my worst shaver and the hardest to hone, by far. Which is it's reputation but WTH? If I recall correctly I taped the edge the last time which seemed to do the trick. I'll do it again but today's shave was so- so at best and it really wasn't sharp enough to do the job on the chin, plus it irritated the skin a lot.
This tells me that the initial edge wasn't sharp enough so I'll dull it, and do my three stone progression on the Nakayama 1 and see how that goes.
I mean it shaved ok but not what I want. And I'll tape the edge as well.

Red Russian 5/8 Jnat multi stone progression and 6/8 revisor vintage touch up

Decided to apply the multi coticule approach to the japanese stones and see what happened. used the red russian that already had a great oozuku edge on it but hey, that's what I bought them for; this experimenting.

Nakayama Honyama #1

used soft uchi slurry into cream thickness
2 laps of 30 circles and tested, not yet
1 more laps and shaving arm hair.move onto next stone

Nakayama #2 wtih Botan Nagura slurry ( an experiment in itself- didnt make  slurry easily at all)
Milky consistency (so hard to judge, actually)
30 reps push strokes in sets of five. refresh slurry after 20 reps. got thick fast
test= shaving sharper. go on.


Oozuku asagi with hard uchi slurry to dilute
really difficult to build slurry, basically a tomonagura. took awhile but got watery slurry
5 sets of 3 X strokes diluting every 3 reps; test sharp but not crisp ?
5 more sets of 3 X strokes with aggresive dilution.
better

Uchigumori on water
20 reps push strokes and test.Wow. much sharper, Hairs just falling off,silently. Wow. Nice.

30 laps linen
45 laps leather

very very nice so far., we'll see tomorrow.

6/8 Revisor Vintage.

Perhaps my favorite blade of all. In perfect shape after who knows how many years and has a great heft to it. Sharp to start I just wanted to see how these jnats would push the edge.

oozuku asagi with tomonagura slurry, very light into dilute
5 sets of 3 diluting every 3
weirdly sharp

uchigumori on water
15 X strokes
nicer
10 more X strokes wow Hairs dying silent. again

30 laps linen
45 laps leather.

wow.


Shave report:


wow indeed. The Red Russian multi Jnat progression worked like a charm. sharp, buttery and silent. Nice amazing actually.
And the Revisor touch up was just as good.Also buttery sharp and QUIET. One thing I so like about these natural stones, JNats and coticules alike is how well they cut hair but spare the skin. I don't need "scary sharp" to shave. Buttery sharp is much better. 


This definitely shows me the fineness hierarchy of my stones, though. Oozuku is finer than Nakyayama and Uchigumori is finer than Oozuku( at least mine). So much fun:))
I can use one stone or four and get the same result: a great smooth shave.

Revisor thumb notch re do multi national multi cot

Didn't like how it went with the Revisor this morning; having the bring out the oozuku to finish meant I didn't do it right yesterday but also gave me the idea that the oozuku SHOULD be the finishing stone on a multi cot approach.

I mean,why not? why can't I use a japanese fine stone as the finisher on an otherwise european coticule progression? we shall see. It certainly made my edge this morning much keener and smoother instantly. Just on water,too.

So I started over, just like yesterday with the Deep Rock Vintage coticule and creamy slurry.
started cutting on the first set of 30/30. did two then checked. was already starting to shave a little
two more sets and it was cutting arm hair well. so far so good. but now knowing when to stop better onto the la verte and les lat slurry, milky this time

Onto the La Verte and  milky slurry made with the les lat, at least as hard as the verte. milky  now push strokes, 30 in sets of 5. progressing nicely.no dilute

Now onto the les latenuese coticule with les lat slurry watery( or at least I tried to make it)  10 sets of 3 X strokes diluting one drop every 3 strokes

edge went backwards a bit! probably slurry too thick. Damn!

15 more x strokes on pure water. a bit better decided to go on to Oozuku on water and see

25 push strokes on water,sets of five, wow, popping arm hairs, much keener. 10 more slow very light X strokes. Very sharp

30 laps linen
45 laps leather. tests are great, will see tomorrow.

This definitelyshows me how hard the oozuku is, relative to the coti's. good info as well as that I can combine the  coticules and the Japanese stones in a progression successfully.

I wonder what would happen if I did 20-30 laps on the uchigumori after the oozuku :))

next time.

\Shave Report
  Perfect.:)) the multi nat approach worked great with no taping! Just needed two passes with no DE or any cleanup needed. What a difference, not even a hint of drag and very very smooth. Love that.


Did a sideburn pass with my red russian just to see if the edge held up and it did. smooth as silk cutting but just a bit noisy, am I becoming seriously picky or what ? lol. Hey, all I want is perfect edge every time, that's not too much to ask is it?