SynNat honing

My Revisor just didn't cut it( pun intended) this morning so I decided to start it over from scratch, resetting the bevel with the  Chosera 800. I have had a change in honing philosophy of late, switching over from the idea that I should use the natural stones for the entire process to the concept of using the synthetic stones to do the dirty work of steel removing when setting the bevel and achieving basic sharpening and then go to the natural stones to smooth out and polish the edge that the easier to use and cheaper synthetics stones  created.

I think the final stones are the ones your face feels, not the early ones, whether they be coti or chosera.

Plus use the right tool for the job. The coticule just doesn't seem to be a very good sharpener as if you don't play it just right you end up dulling the edge as you sharpen it. That hasn't seen to happen with the CHosera or the King 1000. Sometimes it seems they work so fast and get it so sharp that I could shave off that edge with just a stropping.

Have to try that sometime :))

But today the Syn Nat honing progression:
dull on glass
 Half strokes on the Chosera 800 until it shaves arm hair. Pretty quickly. Light slurry then rise and go to
Circles on the 800 with no slurry
X strokes on 800 no slurry_ getting sharp now.

then:
King 1000 no slurry
X strokes: 25 laps
this almost seems not necessary but I wanted to try it. Not much swarf.

Norton 4000
25 X strokes until very little swarf is coming off
test = sharp good  crispy sound

Deep Rock Coticule with light slurry ( estimate 6-8 k grit)
30 rep circles on slurry for 4 laps then rinse blade for 10 x strokes
rinse coti
30 X strokes on water

Chinese 12 K on light Tam o Shanter slurry, then water
15 X strokes on very light slurry
20 X strokes on water
I do love this hone. it always makes edges better on water

Oozuku on water
20 X strokes

Uchigumori on water
20 X strokes

40 laps linen
50 laps leather

tomorrow we see.

I can't wait to get my Cretan hone from Greece soon. Emmanuel said it's on it's way. It should take the place of my Norton in this progression ,although the BBW works well in this range too.

It could be:

Chosera 800
Cretan hone or Norton 4K
Coticule on light slurry
C12K on water
Jnat on water

Cretan hones!

SHAVE REPORT:


Most excellent! Not a perfect BBS shave but two passes got it done much better. Sharper is better and the sharper the blade the better a shaver I am. Still not perfect and I'm wondering if I should do a unicot on it? we'll see later but I even used my least favorite proraso soap with which I tend to get so so shaves and it was fine.


Update:


Decided to tape the Revisor and put it on the La Verte. See if I can get the edge one more level keen. :) I am now a fan of the tape :))


La Verte on water
3 laps of 30 circles
25 very very slow X strokes


40 laps on leather


Shave update:


Definitely keener  with the tape on the La Verte. Still pretty " noisy" on the shave but that's pretty much just the 1/4 hollow grind, I think. Could have called it a one pass shave but followed up with a second pass with my 5/8 New England Wedge. Love this blade.

Revising the Revisor

Pulled my favorite 6/8 Revisor out of the kit at the last minute this morning and had no idea where the edge would be as I haven't shaved with it in months. But it is perhaps my favorite of the Revisors as it has jimps on both the top and the bottom of the tang and I love that.

Otherwise it's just a perfect revisor with such great feel and balance in the hand. and the blade is always excellent. This is a vintage blade as well which always seems to be better for me.
I stropped it on leather 50 times before the shave but it was disappointing. Not really sharp enough so I knew that just polishing it wouldn't be of much use.

Back to either the 1 k or BBW, I choose BBW
so:

BBW Nouvelle vein on slurry
circles for 5 laps then
push strokes and X strokes
test= not as sharp as I wanted so back to
bbw slurry
only circles for 3 laps
test= sharp.

Nakayama 2 with slurry for
circles in sets of 30 or so, 5 laps
3 dilutions to water then
50 laps of x strokes on water
test= decent

40 laps linen
50 laps leather

polish edged looks great but we'll see in the AM I got this idea in my head of just two stones: a cutter and a polisher. We'll see> Also my turkish oilstone, also know as a Cretan hone from the Isle of Crete in Greece is on it's way! these are very hard to get stones and my friend Emmanuel from
ArtisanShaving.org  gave sent it to me and other members of the forum as a gift! He is making the facade of his home in Crete from this rock! Crazy. he is living encased in a shaving hone!
It is mid grit stone( cutter) but does not leave a sawtooth pattern on the edge, like the coticule and is one smooth cutter.

Next up just a polish up for the Wacker on the Oozuku


Shave Report:


So so, not bad but definitely not sharp enough. Got most on the first pass but wouldn't really finish the job on the second. Had to use the DE to finish.Didn't get to the Wacker. Will reset the bevel on the Revisor this afternoon. Seemed to have lost my honing mojo a bit lately :((

My first Flaschner re hone

The first blades of my collection were bought in a tiny shop in downtown Budapest, run by Kalman Flaschner, son and grandson of two of the best razor makers in Europe. The shop has been there since 1865 and I had no idea what I was looking at or I would have bought 3 x times the number of blades I did.

When I bought them I asked if they needed honing and he said( through translation) no, all they needed was the strop and that's all any of them ( four) have had since August last year. The edges shaved great and the bevels, while narrow ,were straight as an arrow.

But when I shaved with the 5/8" one withe the Soligen handle this morning it was not up to par and I knew I had to get it back on the hone. The questions was, just a touch up or re set the bevel?

Resetting Flaschners bevel almost felt like touching up a Picasso when it got a bit dusty but that's too big a leap. This is a tool, not a painting and it wasn't working well so I had to fix it. That's what it was made for, to shave. Not to be admired for it's beauty and craftmanship.

Plus I love this new Chosera 800 and wanted to use it again:)) It works so well and so fast, so:

Chosera 800 with slurry for
half strokes 5 or 6 laps
circles with less slurry 3 laps
x strokes on water no slurry

shaving arm hair like a champ and the bevel has been widened; still straight and clean and almost a mirror sheen! crazy for a low grit stone like this but there it is.

BBW on Nouvelle Vein coti( it's been working so far, why stop now?)
slurry , 5 laps of circles
5 laps of X strokes
keener
 Vintage Coticule with light slurry

haven't used this in a while so here goes
25 laps of X strokes dilute after 15 one drop every 5 reps.
20 laps on water

Les Latenuese on water
30 laps of X strokes

haven't used this in awhile either .

Uchigumori on water
30 laps of X strokes

35 linen
50 leather.

really used the microscope on this blade,which I haven't for quite awhile. I wanted to really make sure the edge was getting polished more on each stone and the scratches from the previous stone were erased.


Also re done my 4/8" Clauberg

just wasn't there this morning so it got a makeover as well

chosera 800 on slurry( polished new bevel very fast!)

BBW on vintage coti slurry ( above)
 I don't like this as much as the nouvelle vein, first time trying it. slurry seemed lighter and it didn't seem to cut as well
 Light slurry on Vintage coti side, with dilute after 10 laps
25 laps


not impressive but ok


onto Nakayama 2 Jnat on slurry
 5 laps of 30 circles


back to keener


finish on ughigumori on water.


35 linen
50 leather


we'll see

1953 Russian Bevel Re set

Wanted to to see if I could JUST use the BBW coti to take an edge from dull to shave so I dulled my 53 5/8 Russian and went to work
To my great surprise not only didn't it shave arm hair at all off the BBW but it didn't seem like it was going to sharpen at all!

SO since I've gotten my new Chosera 800 I thought it was a good time to reset the bevel on this blad and see how that affects the whole deal


So: dull on glass, two downstrokes

Chosera 800 with chosera 600 nagura slurry
lots of circles and half strokes: this is not happening fast hereeither. the bevel really needed some work, lots of swarf coming off.
rinse slurry and continue on water. for more circles and half strokes then X strokes: shaving arm hair easily. Next step.

Nakayama #1 on slurry
more circles in sets of 30 reps no dilute. at least 5 sets: keener for sure

Oozuku with VERY light slurry ( two passes with tomonagura)
lots of X strokes  into dilute much Keener!

Uchigumori on water
30 laps of X strokes

hair tests are perfect!

35 laps linen
50 laps leather.

Shave report: PERFECT!! Shaved like a champ! Smooth and sharp. Seems this guy like the Jnats more than the coticule. Just have to remember it. AND resetting the bevel on the Chosera was the right choice. Love that stone.

Wade and Butcher 6/8 Wedge pre 1900

What a score this blade was. I got it for 105  and was the only bidder. This is EXACTLY what I've been looking for, a pre 1900 W/B chopper( close enough size wise) with jimps( very rare I hear) on both sides of the tang and a smile. Nice!
Plus a nice barber notch as well. It's been rescaled with some very nice wood and the scales and pins work perfectly.

It was advertised as shave ready and it would shave arm hair when I got it but it had tons of microchips on the edge too telling me it had been honed on synthetics

One downstroke on the side of the King 1 K and they were gone

I double taped the spine and went to work on the bevel. I knew my Chosera 800 was coming in today but couldn't wait. The King worked perfectly

King 1 k with slurry.
half strokes and circles, perhaps 4 laps and tested:
shaving arm hair already!!1 crazy. Did 3 or more halfstroke laps and circles and went right to the

BBW Nouvelle Vein( just like I did on the Masonic) and it responded the same way.Built a strong slurry and circles and half strokes and it got very keen very fast! I love Sheffield steel!

4 sets of circles and it was onto the coti

 Deep rock Vintage coticule on light slurry to dilute
4 sets of push strokes with no dilute then one drop every 3 X strokes. 10 laps

Seriously shave ready! Instead of overdoing it I stopped there just to see what would it would be like to shave off this.


30laps linen
50 laps leather

Shave report:


Good but not great. Definitely shaveable but not the silky smooth keenness I want so today:


Nakayama #1 with slurry
30 push strokes in sets of 5
dilute every 3 x strokes to water
30 on water


Uchigumori on water


30 X strokes on water

30 linen
40 leather


we shall see tomorrow!

SHAVE REPORT:


Perfect! the Jnats did their normally awesome job of polishing and finishing and it looks like I picked the right ones. The Uchigumori has yet to fail to be my best finishing stone. I did a second pass with my Family tree flaschner but really didn't need it.  Most excellent.!

Wacker and New england 5/8 wedge stone test

Put the Wacker on the C12 k for30+ laps on water and the New England Wedge on the Les Lateneuse coticule for the same to see whether it would improve the edge or take it down. Also wanted to see if the Cnat was finer than the La Verte I finished the wacker on.

Not the perfect test as I changed my beard prep a little and didn't use the proraso pre shave cream but it didn't seem to make a difference,

The Wacker was just that much less keen than before. I think the la verte is higher grit and it had the typical cnat crispiness that I don't particularly like. I'll put it back on the la verte tonight and test again

That was the first pass, second was the NE wedge and it was awesome with the les lat edge. very smooth and sharp. granted it only had to deal with a second pass but still could tell.

interesting stuff

6/8" Wacker near wedge

I honed this bad boy before and got so so results. My friend has just about given up on this blade as he can't get it to where he wants it as far as the edge. I told him I would take another stab at it.It is one beautiful razor, though and feels great in the hand, with jimps on the bottom of the tang, which I love and a heft to it that makes it feel secure in the hand.

When I got it it seems to cut arm hair well and I am waiting on a new Chosera 800 so I didn't reset the bevel and start from scratch but decided to strop it and see if it was as dull as my friend says.

50 laps on leather and it was killing arm hairs silently ( it IS a wedge after all, or near wedge). This morning's shave started out great but after the first half of the face the stropping 'wore' off and it started pulling. I suspect the bevel needs resetting but I decided to play with a bit  today before.

I have to wait for the Chosera anyway.

I learned my lesson from the Ramapo and the Super Gnome and went to two layers of tape from the get. Smart move.I"m over any issues with taping. It seems to work WAY better for some blade and I have to remember, the shave edge is the key, not how I get there.

So: dull on glass, two downstrokes, two layers electrical tape

BBW Nouvelle vein bout /Tam O Shanter slurry ( playing around)

5 laps of 30 circles.
shaving arm hair effortlessly. good start
20 X strokes on new slurry. sharper

Nouvelle Vein Coticule with tomo slurry ( watery)
3 sets of 30 circles: test better
5 sets of 3 X strokes and dilute every 3: test keener still

last time I honed this on Jnats and NO tape. I think it likes this way better.

Nouvelle Vein on water
30 X strokes

La Verte on water
30 X strokes

30 laps linen
50 laps leather

hair tests are perfect. we'll see tomorrow.

SHAVE REPORT:


Perfect. I had another wedge out just in case this was a flop but it shaved almost one pass on the first and then finished up with it as well. No problems at all and performed just as it should, even around the mustache which is always the tell for me; if it pulls and tugs there it isn't ready. Guess it needed two layers of tape and some Belgian coticule love. Had the coti feel too, super smooth.


I'm over my taping issues,love the Tape! 

RAD continues

This is the one auction I DIDN'T think I'd win! But what a great blade for $100! Of course we'll see what shape it's in when I get it but it looks awesome. at 6/8" it's a little smaller than I want( 8/8":))
but I'm sure the steel is great and I love wood scales. I would like to have all my plastic scales re done  in natural woods.

it didn't say but it looks like a wedge or a near wedge with a semi smile. I know it will be a great shaver. So that make FIVE wedges in my collection now,lol These could be my favorite blade shape and grind. They shave so easily.

Thiers Issard Mystery solved

Mystery and problem solved: it seems TI blades, at least the one's I've come into contact with, think that they are Wedges! I double taped the Le Grelot and the Super Gnome and they both honed up like champs and had amazing edges and shaves with them! Crazy.

Since nothing else has worked and this technique worked on both of them I have to admit that that was the problem, why it's this way who knows? All I care about is that it does, and does so consistently.

Great, now I don't have to hate my Super Gnome any more:))
Today's shave went great, first pass with the Le Grelot and second with the Sheffield wedge which I just got. Stropped it 40 laps this morning before the shave and it was even quieter than before. I love this blade.

Another go at Le Grelot

I just must not know how to hone Thiers Issard razors. both the 1936 Hospital model Morgan loaned me and my late model super gnome have yet to get the edges I want. I've tried everything, including taping the spine( which resulted on the best Gnome edge so far)

But I wasn't satisfied so I  DOUBLE TAPED the Gnome and decided to just use coticules as the hones, going up progressively.

FINALLY something worked!!! Why it needs two layers of tape I don't know but I figured if it worked on one TI it might on the other so:

Two layers of tape,dull Le Grelot on glass, two downstrokes

BBW slurry( nouvelle vein)
5 sets of 30 circles and then 10 X stroke, no dilute
shaving arm hair like a champ! ( one day soon I am going to do an entire hone on just the BBW)

Deep Rock coticule light slurry
5 ,4,3,2,1 push strokes on slurry then
10 sets of 3 X strokes diluting every 3 rep to water
20 X strokes on water
test: very keen

chinese 12 k on water
25 X strokes( LOVE this stone!)

les Latenuese bout
30 X strokes on water

test: very very nice

30 laps linen
50 laps leather.
tests are good. we'll see tomorrow. If this doesn't do it I give up :)) I'm out of tricks

Wade and Butcher 13/16" Wedge

Ah! My newest Wade and Butcher wedge came in yesterday,honed to perfection by Sham. The man makes the best edges I have ever shaved with and his razor collection is amazing. I didn't even strop it as I knew it would be awesome just off his Escher stone and it was!

A beautiful example of a Sheffield steel antique semi smiling blade with it's silent mowing down of the stubble. Awesome. Heavy, well balanced and just a great shaver out of the box.

I didn't need the second pass but I did it anyway as it was so much fun to shave with a blade that works exactly the way it's supposed to, sharp but oh so smooth.

This is probably  going to end up my number one blade of all. I can feel it.

EDIT;
SHAM TOLD ME THE FINISHING STONE WAS NOT THE ESCHER BUT HIS J NAT. I STAND CORRECTED. :))

1936 Le Grelot

A real one. These things are hard to come by and my friend has one and wanted me to play with edge a bit. He said it was dull but it seemed pretty crispy to me on arm hair so I didn't reset the bevel I just touched it up a bit on the jnats last night going

nakayama 1 on light slury 30 X strokes
oozuku on very light slurry tomonagura with dmt 30 x strokes
uchigunoroi on water 30 x strokes
35 laps linen
50 laps leather

passed the hair test well but when I shaved with it this morning it wasn't quite right.I asked my friend if it had been stropped with crX and he said it had. this practice is said to make a more convex bevel which, after time, has to be reset and made wider. I thought this was the case and  decided to reset  the bevel this afternoon

so

King 1 k with dmt slurry
LOTS of half strokes , circles, x strokes in progression. didn't count just kept going til it shaved leg hair easily

then

BBW with tomo slurry
7 laps of 30 rep circles

it keeps surprising me how well the BBW works as a cutter! with no dilute in the slurry as well. Nice.way better in the low grit ranges than the coti.

Deep Rock Coticule with light slurry into dilute
4 sets of 5 push strokes on light slurry then dilute every three reps for5 passes . nearly water by now. rinse everything
 20 X strokes on water

Vintage coti on water
20 X strokes ( my one from greece/ bbw combo)

chinese 12 k on water
20 X strokes ( always makes things keener at whatever sharpness. I love this rock- I got a good one)

La Verte on water
30 X strokes

Les Lateneuse on water
25 X strokes ( lapped it first)

35 linen
50 leather

we'll see !

SHAVE REPORT:


This went great! Got MY edge on it and I loved it. very smooth and keen and did the whole face for a change on the first pass with a single blade so I could test all the areas of the edge .Very nice although it is still not one of my favorite shavers and I can't say why. strange.

Three passes, three blades

Since I have so  many razors these days and since I do at least two passes each shave I've decided to use at least two blades each time I shave. that way I get to play with my razors way more often as well as get to hone them more too.

It's my form of fun :))

Today was a great one as I had two new wedges to play with as well as test out my also new 5/8" Clauberg that I touched up on my les latenuese bout yesterday to see if I could bring up the keenness just a bit

I did 30 push strokes in sets of five on the hybrid side and then 25 X strokes on the coti side and sure enough( on water ) this did the trick as I started out the shave with this blade and it made all the right sounds as it plowed through the stubble rubble:))

Next up was my brand new 11/16" Wade and Butcher ( my First!) from Sheffield steel, that came yesterday, and , like the other wedge that I got from RazorSmith on Ebay came with the best  edge I've felt from vendor next to Sham at Razor and Stone ( who will be supplying my next Wade and Butcher blade next week!)

Smooth and sharp, just how it should be. Sharp by itself is easy. Sharp and smooth is not and this gentlemen knows how to put an edge on a blade.

The W&B was perfect and shaved silently as wedges do. I love the wood scales as well( not cocobolo perhaps rosewood, he's not sure) and it handled like a dream.

DIdn't really need a second pass( just tested the clauberg on the first) but did it anyway cause it's fun:))

The New England wedge cleaned up like a champ and barely broke a sweat, lol. Not much left to do.  Most excellent.

Setting the bevel on the 5/8" Clauberg #3

I'm now convinced that setting the bevel perfectly, so that it's straight and contiguous AND easily shaves arm hair off a 1 K is the key to getting the finished edge right.

So even though the newest claubergs shave was ok I wanted to start over

soak King 1 k for 60 minutes

half strokes for 5 -7 laps
no shaving yet
more half strokes
circles in sets of 30
a bit of shaving
more circles
push strokes in sets of 5 for 30 reps
X strokes in sets of 5
shaving arm hair now!
20 more X strokes
sharp!


BBW side of Nouvelle Vein coti
slurry with vintage BBW
circles for 5-7 sets of 30

keener! man this bbw side( with bbw slurry) always works fast

Vintage Coticule with light slurry from tomonagura
push strokes in sets of 5 for 30 reps
keener!
Vintage coti on water for 25 X strokes

Nakayama #1 with slurry soft uchi
circles for 30 reps 5 laps
keener!

Chinese  12 k on water
24 X strokes
crisp! as usual off this( experiment here- wanted to see if the C12K made it less keen off the Jnat.Didn't nice to know


Oozuku on water
24 X strokes

Uchigumori on water
30 X strokes

35 laps linen
50 laps leather

we'll see tomorrow hair tests are perfect!

the idea was


King 1 k
BBW 3 k
Vintage coti on slurry 5-6 
Vintage coti on water 8-10 k
Nakayama slurry 10-12 k
Chinese 12 k 12 k :))
Oozuku on water 12-15 k
Uchigumori 15 k+


the progression seems to work well


SHAVE REPORT:


I swear I can tell " my edge" from someone else's hone.They tend to feel, sound and shave the same from razor to razor, Except the wedges, they are virtually silent; even the 5/8" New England wedge I just got. But the others I swear I can tell. have to put that to the test one day.


Needless to say the shave went great and the edge was just how I like it; sharp but very very smooth with a large margin for error for nicks and cuts. amazing how the natural stones confer that.


The Clauberg behaved perfectly and left hardly anything after the first pass. Wonderful. Setting the bevel IS the key to the rest of the hone. My New England Wedge worked like a squeegee after that for the second pass and it was awesome. Love these blades awesome additions to my collection.

RAD continues. Vintage New England 5/8 Wedge and 5/8 Tonsorial Gem

I couldn't resist. The top photo is my new 5/8 " Clauberg Tonsorial gem making it my third.They hone and shave so well for $25 I couldn't say no. The scales look to be bone or perhaps ivory. Seated well and the hinge works great; stuff I don't take for granted anymore. A loose sloppy hinge can ruin the whole experience.

The bottom razor is another 5/8" Vintage New England  near wedge blade with English steel. Both are late 1800's and early 1900's. I love owning and using real tools from history.The wedge came basically shave ready and I stropped it 35 times on linen and 50 times on leather, we'll see tomorrow but I can see it has a solid bevel

The Clauberg I'm not so sure about. I think I will have to reset the bevel as it wouldn't shave arm hair when I got it and my honing attempts went ok but I don't think will stick without a new bevel. we'll see tomorrow

todays protocol; on the clauberg

30 reps laps of circles on nouvell vein bbw side with slurry. at least 7 laps and shaved arm hair  barely
 20 rep laps on coticule side with light slurry, not much better.
20 x strokes on water or coti side ( not a fit)
 30 X strokes on La Veinette on water - actually keener
30 x strokes on la verte /better still
30 x strokes on oozuku on water still improving
30 x strokes on uchigumori on water


passing all the tests but I'm not convinced
40 on linen
60 on leather

tomorrow!


SHAVE REPORT:


As expected the Clauberg was so so, a decent shave but nowhere near as crisp as I wanted and when it left chin stubble I put it up and will reset the bevel on the King 1k later today.


HOWEVER the new England near wedge shaved like a dream! Like a real wedge, too, silent and smooth. This is the best shave ready blade I have ever gotten off the bay.I could tell from the beautiful bevel it came with that it was ready. bravo!

6/8 Clauberg Bevel Rest and JNat Hone

As planned I reset the bevel on my 6/8 Clauberg and honed it on my JNats. I never really started from scratch with this one and as it wouldn't take to my touch ups and re do's to get the edge I wanted AND the 4/6 clauberg did so well on the reset I decided to do the same

King 1000 dull blade on glass twice
 half strokes and circles in sets of 30 til it shaved arm hair about 5 sets
bevel already looks polished, I really like this King 1K

Nakayama 1 with soft uchi slurry
sets of 30 circles thick slurry no dilute
shaving arm hair easily

onto hard uchi slurry
30 reps push strokes on sets of 5
keener still

onto hard uchi dilute
sets of 3 X strokes dilute every 3 24 reps

nakayama 1 on water
25 x strokes

tests are good

Uchigumori on water
30 X strokes
NICE!

35 laps linen
50 laps on water

skipped the OOzuki on purpose, haven't found the right part of the progression to put it yet.

maybe this New Yorker like Japan more than Belgium :) We'll see tomorrow.


SHAVE REPORT:


Home run! I guess this New Yorker does like Japan better than Belgium . BUT, I think the real key was resetting the bevel and going from there. Just like the little Clauberg the steel on this razor is excellent and easy to work with; what a difference that makes.
It was sharp, smooth and a very easy shave. Needed no pressure to swipe all the stubble off, almost in one pass. The real test


Second pass was the Vintage 6/8 Revisor which is such an awesome razor. Great shave and way to start the week.

6/8 Clauberg Re do

Dull the blade on glass

BBW coti with Dalmore hone nagura
3 sets of 30 circles test
shaving arm hair well!
go onto

Deep Rock Coticule with milk slurry with tomonagura slurry stone
3o push strokes in sets of 5
backwards! dulling

back to BBW with slurry
2 sets of 30 circles
crisp again
crazy, the slurry doesnt seem to dull on the BBW like it does on the coti side

onto Le Dressante blue/water
30 X strokes
crisper

La veinette on water
15 X strokes
still crisper

La Verte on water
30 X strokes

Les Latenuese on water
30 X strokes

tests are good.definitely the correct progression in terms of grit levels and hardness.

35 on linen
60 on leather

test better. will see tomorrow.

Touched up the new 5/8 Russian ('56)
30 laps on la verte
30 on les lat
35 on linen
50 on leather

seems great but thee is definitely something wrong with the geometry at the toe.just doesn't get as sharp as the rest.

SHAVE REPORT:


Well the 6/8 clauberg was better but not perfect. Not sure why either but it doesn't seem sharp enough. I wonder if I have to re set the bevel? Not sure but will work on it. Perhaps it's just one of 'those' razors that never really get right.We'll see. I am thinking of trying it back on the Jnats first though and see what that brings. It was an 8 out of 10 but that's not good enough.


BUT the '56Russian WAS a 10 and the touch up worked perfectly. Cleaned up , effortlessly, all the chin stubble the clauberg left. Silently, too. Nice. Didn't have any problem with using the toe of the blade either. Nice.

A Tonsorial Gem shave day

Decided to play with both the gems today and see how the edges held up. WOW> that little guy is turning out to be one of my BETTER shavers. Crazy. the edge was just as sharp, crisp and smooth as the other day. I oiled up the sticky hinge and it opens and closes much better although I still need to get it rescaled some day as the old scales are just not right and I have to be very careful as to how I close it.

Way too tight a fit at the end and I'd hate to ruin an edge closing the damn thing :))

It was almost a one pass shave, that's crazy! But I brought out it's big brother for the second pass and it too was just as keen as before. I had a feeling about these German/American blades and I was right. Stellar

SHAVE REPORT


Well too much of a good thing is too much. I over honed the 6/8" yesterday OR it just doesn't like the Jnats as well as it's smaller brother. I put it on a very very light slurry on my Les Lat  for 20 X strokes and then onto the oozuku on water and the uchi on water , all for 15 x strokes each.

Started with it this morning and I could tell from the first stroke it wasn't right. A bit of pulling and left a lot of stubble on the chin. Switched over to the 4/8 Clauberg and it cleaned things right up for the first pass.


wanted to see if it was the coti the 6/8 liked so I pulled out the Deep Rock coticule on which I originally honed it and did 30 x strokes on water and did the second pass


Much better but not perfect so I know what I will be doing this afternoon:)). There seems to be one stone for every blade. Just have to remember not to mess around too much once I find it.

Still did third pass cleanup with the DE to get things right. Also, I used the proraso soap  and I NEVER have gotten a great shave when I use this so perhaps that figures in as well. Got a great lather but no go.


Will dull it on glass and start over with all coti's.


Edit


just re read my honing report and it seems the 6/8 likes the La Verte best. will finish with that today.