The Sham Wedge

Take a great old Sheffield full wedge, have to honed to the perfect edge by Sham and what you have? Pretty much the perfect shave. This has not been touched by me except to strop it and it was  SO sharp and smooth today.

Pretty much a one pass shave but I did two cause it was so much fun :)) Using his edges always reminds me of what a perfect edge actually feels and shaves with so it's good to do occasionally, when I forget my place in my honemeister's journey. I'm still such a beginner but that's fine.

I only brought out this one blade to shave with this morning because I knew I wouldn't need anything else AND I wanted to just see what one blade shave feels like after using two and three to test things out virtually all the time now. This was nice.

Things NOT to forget

When honing Wedges, of ANY size, tape the damn blade. it makes it so much easier it's stupid.

My Russian blades like the Japanese stones. My stubborn 63 Russian which would not get smooth, smoothed out perfectly after yesterday's finisher on Nakayama one with soft and hard Uchi slurry, finishing on water.

Finish on water for the smoothest edge,whether it's a Jnat or  a coticule.

Flaschner Family Tree touch up

Pulled this baby into the rotation last night and decided to touch it up for today's shave.
Uchigumori base stone with Oozuku nagura  20 X strokes
                                         Hard Uchi nagura 20 X strokes
                                     on Water 40 X strokes
 35 linen
40 leather 
20 palm

Shave Report:
Perfect! Sharp and smooth Two passes with just the one blade, quite a rarity for me these days. Had the Sham Wedge out just in case but didn't need it. Sweet.

That Uchigumori is an amazing stone and when used with various slurries always creates an amazing edge.

Russian bevel re set

One more attempt at getting a decent edge out of my latest Russian blade.  I took it back down to start over again

Dull on Chosera

Chosera 800/slurry
Half strokes and circles til arm hair shave pretty quickly this is a fast stone

Cretan with tomo slurry
Circles and X strokes, keener fast too.

La dressante coticule with slurry ( milk)
X strokes for 25 reps then dilute
X strokes one drop every five( slurry already almost gone at start)
Definitely keener, this is also a great coti I don't use enough

Uchigumori on Hard uchi slurry
20 X strokes big bump!
Water 25 X strokes Very keen

35 on linen
40 on leather
20 on palm

I almost think it was better just off the Uchi with water before the strop!
we'll see

also,60 laps on leather for the Flaschner Dovo

SHAVE REPORT;


SUCCESS!! WHEN IN DOUBT, RESET THE BEVEL! THIS SHAVED LIKE A DREAM, FINALLY.


THE DOVO WAS GOOD BUT NOT GREAT AROUND THE CHIN, FOR SOME REASON. PERHAPS A BEVEL RESET HERE AS WELL?

Does it advance the edge?

That's what I asked myself as I decided my strategy for re honing my Vintage Flaschner Dovo. Instead of trying to use as few hones as possible I would try the Sham approach of smaller jumps between hones, with the idea that if the stone didn't advance the edge it would easier to go back and correct it than if one took very big jumps between hone grits.

I've never tried it before but 1) it's one way to use more of the too many hones I have, and 2) it will get me much more detailed info on the hones grit and place in the progressions afterwards.

Plus, there is the category differences of coticules, japanese naturals ( hones as well as naguras) and german hones. SO many toys to play with :))

Dull the Dovo on glass twice

BBW on slurry ( used slate side of bout; first time, not sure if it was a good idea)
this took longer than I expected but got to shaving arm hair in minutes.
I also thought about starting with the Cretan. One thing I am learning is that certain blades like certain stones more than others, Of that there is no doubt.

So BBW is about 1-3k grit

Nouvelle Vein coticule on light slurry
circles: definitely advanced the edge so perhaps 4-6K grit

8k Norton synthetic 25 X strokes

Threw this is there as a definitive marker. I KNOW this is 8k
definitely advanced the edge.

Les Latenuese coticule/ water
20 X strokes. the blade didn't like this coti OR I because I went right to water it didn't give the surface a chance to "warm up" . This advanced the 8K so it's at least 9-10K with water
Either way I went to

La Petite Blanche/water
30 X strokes
Now this the blade liked, right from the start on water with no bout used first.I REALLY love this coticule more every day. One of the one's I grab out of the house if I could only have a few.This definitely advanced the edge so I assume its 10-12K.

Oozuku on tomonagura slurry
circles and push strokes. one refresh of slurry

Oozuku on water
20 X strokes keeps getting keener

Oozuku bout /water
20 X strokes ( very small surface but great hard stone)

Uchigumori on water
50 X strokes
WAY advanced the edge. Without a doubt my finest finishing stone. The first stone I would grab going out of the house. This stone can do it all!

35 linen
50 leather
25 palm

then Russian 63 re do on Nakayama Asagi
NO dulling first

tomonagura slurry circles, 2 refreshes
hard uchi slurry circles then X strokes
water for X strokes,40 x strokes

totally different feel this time on water after warming up the stone with slurry work first. Definitely had a much better feel and connection between the hone and the stone.

MUCH keener tests, and the blade looks sandblasted under the microscope. we'll see tomorrow.

SHAVE REPORT

THE DOVO WAS GREAT! THE PROGRESSION WORKED BEAUTIFULLY AND THE BLADE WAS SHARP AND SMOOTH.EXCELLENT INFO ON THE GRITS AND PLACE IN THE PROGRESSIONS OF ALL THOSE HONES. HAVE TO PLAY WITH THIS IDEA MORE WITH OTHER HONES TOO.

BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW IT PROGRESSES WITH MORE STROPPING.

THE RUSSIAN WAS SHARP BUT IS JUST NOT A GOOD SHAVER FOR ME I HAVE TO CONCLUDE. TO THE BACK OF THE PILE:))

Nakayama Asagi

The guy who got me into all this straight razor madness loaned me his very hard Nakayama Asagi to play with.Perfect timing for my 62 Russian 5/8 that needed a redo

So first I used just the slurry stone he provided on the Russian.
4 sets of circles refresh the slurry. so so. I do think this blade is warped. but lets go on
30 reps of push strokes keener
10 X strokes on tomonagura slurry
on water 40 X strokes

it didn't seem to like water, as would be the case with the next blade the Antique Hungarian Dovo above. but the edge progressed so we went on

35 linen
40 leather
20 palm

Next the over 100+ year old First Production ( number 00) Dovo that I got in Hungary from Kalman Flaschner

dull on glass
 4 sets of circles on soft uchi
20 push strokes on hard uchi
20 push strokes on tomonagura
15 X strokes on tomonagura
40 X strokes on water

again, it didn't seem to like being on water and the blade never got into the groove. but the edge progressed so we'll see
35 linen
40 leather
25 palm


SHAVE REPORT


NOT GOOD AT ALL. NICKED ME IN THE STACHE AREA AND WAS NOT KEEN AT ALL. GOING TO TO A RE DO LATER TODAY. VERY SURPRISED.HAD TO FINISH WITH THE RUSSIAN.

Translucent Arkansas

A new addition to my hone collection: a translucent Arkansas stone. It's a tiny one but one of the sharpest razors I have ever shaved with was finished on one of these and when I saw this at the price I wanted I jumped. Not sure exactly how to use it yet so I am practicing.

I dulled this 63 Russian and reset things on my trusty Cretan stone

first with tomonagura slurry( it's finally making slurry !)
sets of circles, 3-4 laps shaving arm hair already! this thing is fast!
30 reps in push strokes refresh slurry
40 X strokes on water

then the Arkansas
50 X strokes on water : seems VERY sharp
35 on linen
50 on leather
25 on palm

Tomorrow!

SHAVE REPORT
NOT GOOD. NOT SHARP OR SMOOTH ENOUGH. IT WILL SHAVE BUT CONSIDERABLE RESISTANCE. THE BLADE ITSELF ISN'T THE BEST EITHER BUT I DON'T THINK THAT'S IT. WILL PUT IT ON A FINISHER LATER TODAY.


Finisher report:


The Nakayam asagi on water did NOT work. Better than before but not good enough. Not sure if I should waste any more time on this blade, something's not right, but I will try one more thing: an Oouku progression and see how that works.

Revisor touch up

Decided that instead of retiring the Revisor I would play with some touch up on it. Pulled out my Les Latenuese coticule and made( tried!) some light slurry with my favorite hybrid bout. Didn't think I was getting much made but when I put the razor on the stone I was amazed at how fast the slurry started turning grey ( cutting) Just a few laps of push strokes then onto some X strokes diluting every two laps for 10 total reps

then onto clear water and 25 X strokes and test; Keener! 15 more laps on the very small hybrid side of the bout and then 40 laps on leather. we'll see how much that sharpens it tomorrow.

SHAVE REPORT


THIS WAS GOOD BUT I NEED A REST FROM THIS BLADE. DEFINITELY SHARP AND SMOOTH THOUGH.

BBW Cretan La Petite Blanche progression

Wasn't sure yesterday if the BBW coti was coarser or finer than the cretan so I decided to dull the 4/8 Clauberg and hone it in the opposite order of yesterday: BBW first THEN the Cretan. When I did it the other way yesterday the BBW reversed the edge of the Cretan

Today I did
BBW with DMT slurry 3 sets of 30 circles shaving arm hair easily so
2 more laps of 20 circles and some X strokes Keen!

Cretan with DMT slurry 3 sets of circles as well and tests sharper
Then refresh and 30 reps of push strokes and 10 X strokes good!

Vintage La Petite Blanche with Les Lat Hybrid coti slurry
2 laps of circles ,keener.
Start dilute after 10 X strokes then every 3 X strokes 5 times. ( perhaps 2 laps too many)

Rinse all and go to pure water
25 X strokes and test. Better!
25 more x strokes and test better

35 laps on linen
45 laps in leather
25 laps on palm

tests are great! So the BBW goes first, THEN the Cretan. that Cretan hone is the BOMB! and the Petite Blanche is a much better coti than I first thought. Was going to do a few X strokes on the hybrid side of the bout but forgot.


SHAVE REPORT:


THIS WORKED PERFECTLY! SHARP AND SMOOTH EDGE. ONE OF THE BEST I'VE HAD ON THIS LITTLE BLADE, TOO. NICE


REVISOR HAS REACHED IT'S PEAK I THINK. IT IS STILL SHARP BUT LOSING IT'S SMOOTHNESS.I DID FIVE LAPS ON THE BOTTOM SIDE OF MY SWATY BARBER HONE AND THEN 5 ON THE FINISH SIDE AND IT WAS DEFINITELY IMPROVED. 2 WEEKS IS A GOOD RESULT. ONTO THE NEXT EXPERIMENT.


ALSO  USED MY NEW TRANSLUCENT ARKANSAS STONE ON A 63 RUSSIAN BLADE, JUST A FEW X STROKES ON WATER TO SEE IF IT IMPROVED THE EDGE AND IT DID! VERY COOL. SHARP AND SMOOTH. MORE PLAYING WITH THIS.

5/8" Sheffield wedge bevel reset

Since I honed the 5/8" Sheffield wedge with tape last time I decided to reset the bevel with no tape; which meant a fairly laborious processes. I wanted to play with a multi hone approach as well and started out with the Cretan hone on dmt slurry
dull on glass
1) Cretan with dmt: 5 sets of circles and test: eh..
                         3 more sets of circles , better- onto BBW with slurry
2) Nouvelle Vein BBW slurry 3 sets of circles , test = worse. so the cretan is finer than the BBW. BBW would have to go first in the progression. Re dull
3) Cretan with dmt slurry start over with circles. at least 5 sets.  tests are good.
4) Nouvelle Vein coti side/ slurry: 4 sets of circles; tests good
5) Chinese 12 k DMT slurry 25 laps X strokes
                         water  30 X strokes : test sharper!
6) Welsh Thuringian DMT slurry: 25 laps X strokes test keener
                                 Water 30 laps Nice!
7) Oozuku tomonagura slurry: 25 X strokes
                                  Water: 25 X strokes
8) Oozuku Nagura water 30 X strokes ( couldn't stop:))

35  linen
40 leather
30 palm

all tests are go, we'll see tomorrow

Day 12 on Revisor 100 laps leather 20 palm


SHAVE REPORT:


SHEFFIELD WAS AWESOME! SHAVED WHOLE FACE AND IT WAS SHARP AND SMOOTH. VERY SOLID EDGE


REVISOR FOR DAY 12 WAS EXCELLENT TOO,VERY SHARP ALTHOUGH not AS SMOOTH AS I EXPECTED. WE'LL SEE WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS.

Les Lat touch up on Antique sheffield mini wedge

 decided to shave with my newly re scaled Sheffield wedge and wanted to see what 40 x strokes on my Les Lat bout on water would do. I enjoyed the process so much I ended up doing about 50 laps lol,

then 35 on linen and 40 on leather.we'll see soon


SHAVE REPORT


NOT PERFECT. THE WEDGE WAS ORIGINALLY HONED WITH A LAYER OF TAPE AND I EITHER HAVE TO RESET THE BEVEL WITH NO TAPE OR USE SOME ON THE TOUCH UP. NOT BAD JUST NOT PERFECT


AND THE REVISOR ON DAY 12, IS FINALLY SHOWING SIGNS OF SOME PULLING AND SOME DULLING. STILL DID GREAT BUT I GUESS JUST A DAY OR TWO MORE AND IT WILL NEED A TOUCH UP AND SOME REST . WHAT A GREAT EXPERIMENT AND LEARNING PROCESS FOR ME THOUGH.

Clauberg WT touchup

Decided to see whether the Welsh Thuringian could upgrade the edge on the already keen 5/8 Tonsorial Gem Clauberg. Set up a light slurry and did 20 X strokes on it. A bit worried at this point as it seemed sharp but not that much better. This is definitely one of my best shavers and the best of the Claubergs that I have. It seems wider than 5/8 too but I haven't measured.

20 laps on water and things seemed much better. So another 10 laps and things were popping very nicely.
40 on linen and 50 on leather then 20 on palm( which really seems to work,lol)

Then 90 laps on leather for the Revisor and 20 on palm day 11 tomorrow!

SHAVE REPORT:


CLAUBERG= SHARP BUT NOT SMOOTH ENOUGH. BACK ON THE OOZUKU FOR A FEW LAPS TO SEE IF THAT SMOOTHS IT OUT


REVISOR= PERFECT STILL CRAZY! DAY 11 100 LAPS TODAY


Report 2:


All went perfect. The 6/8 Clauberg( not 5/8) was smooth as silk after just 25 laps on very light tomonagura Oozuku slurry and 20 on water, then 40 on leather and 20 on palm:))
 The Revisor keeps on keeping on! 100 again today for Day 12 tomorrow.


Got my Edelweiss Boker back and did a very light touch up on it on my Les Lateneuse bout on water and it was KILLER as well

63 Russian touch up on La Verte

Aftre me Cretan to Uchi experiment went south I knew i had to bring the edge up with something and I haven't used my La Verte in awhile. It's taken me quite awhile to "get" this coticule but now I think I do. It's a hard stone and great on water to still increase keenness but with it's own slurry it's a decent cutter as well. Just not super fast and not as good on regular coti slurry as it is on DMT tomo slurry

SO DMT slurry and 25 X strokes then dilute one drop water every 5 laps, then every 4 then every 3. Not sure total. THen rinse blade a few more X strokes, then wash it all and 40 laps on water.
40 on linen and 50 on leather. I'm really getting into stropping now> used to hate it because I would consistently dull my edge by stropping.

Technique's better now :))

85 laps on leather for the Revisor and day 9(?) and then
20 laps on palm of hand.

SHAVE REPORT;


PERFECT ON BOTH BLADES. THE RUSSIAN GOT THAT SO SMOOTH COTI EDGE AND WAS BASICALLY A ONE PASS SHAVE. I THINK I HAVE THE COTI DILUTE DOWN FINALLY AND THE LA VERTE IS A GREAT COTICULE. IT'S HARD SO IT LEAVES A BIT MORE KEEN EDGE WHEN DONE RIGHT. THIS WAS VERY NICE. PLUS I LOVE TO HONE ON COTI'S, SUCH GREAT FEEDBACK.


THE REVISOR WAS ALSO PERFECT, PERHAPS EVEN BETTER THAN YESTERDAY! 90 LAPS TODAY AND TOMORROW WILL BE TEN DAYS. I WONDER IF I CAN GET 20 OUT OF THIS. SEEMS LIKE IT SHOULD BE NO PROBLEM

You REALLY have to have your stropping technique down for this! Definitely don't want to nick that strop.

Cretan one stone hone

Decided to try to use the Cretan as a base stone and use a jnat slurry stone progression.have no idea if the cretan is fine enough to finish the blade, even if on slurry but I'll find out. Dulled a 4/8 Clauberg and started with

soft uchi slurry  circles 3 sets  shaving arm hair effortlessly. a good start

Chu Nagura stone 30 reps of push strokes in sets of 5

Oozuku nagura ( hard to get slurry on this combo) 25 X strokes

very keen so far
40laps on leather and that's it.

also touch up on the
53 Russian: DMT slurry on Uchi for 40 x strokes and 50 laps on leather
5/8 Ivory Clauberg  Chu nagura slurry for 20 X strokes
                              DMT Uchi slurry for 20 X strokes
                              50  laps on leather

we'll see tomorrow!

SHAVE REPORT:
 FIRST OFF THE REVISOR WAS PERFECT AGAIN. I'M STARTING TO THINK THAT STROPPING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HONING FOR REALLY DEVELOPING THAT PERFECT EDGE.


THE CLAUBERG AND THE RUSSIAN WERE MUCH BETTER AFTER THE UCHI SLURRY. THE ONE STONE CRETAN HONE ON THE 4/8 WAS STILL ROUGH. SHAVEABLE BUT NOT COMFORTABLE. THE CRETAN IS A GREAT FIRST STONE BUT DEFINITELY NOT A FINISHER. DON'T HAVE TO EXPERIMENT WITH THAT ANYMORE,LOL

The Next Experiment, from Cretan to Uchi

Someone on Artisan.org, the coticule devotee's website , asked why I didn't finish the blade on the Cretan hone on water before going to the  Welsh Thuringian slurry and I said previous efforts on water were not so good but I also said I would try again and here it is.

I took the tonsorial gem that I shaved with this morning and did 50 laps on water on the Uchi to see if that would improve the edge, and like the champ it is, it did. If hair tests are any indication and they usually are..

So I decided to go right from a Cretan hone to the Uchi and see if that would work
so I dulled a '53 Russian 5/8 and built DMT slurry then on the Cretan

3 laps of circles- shaving hair easily!!!!!
25 X strokes on same slurry
25 X strokes on water  very keen!


then onto the uchi
50 X strokes on water

hairs dying silently off leg  ,lol.

35 laps linen
50 laps leather

test tomorrow but I know it is shave ready sharp AND smooth. The UCHI ROCKS!!!

SHAVE REPORT


THE UCHI DEFINITELY IMPROVED THE EDGE OF THE TONSORIAL GEM, THE RUSSIAN THAT I TOOK FROM THE CRETAN TO THE UCHI WAS GOOD AS WELL, ALTHOUGH NOT EXCELLENT AND THE REVISOR ON DAY 6 IS STILL AS GOOD AS DAY ONE, 80 LAPS ON LEATHER TODAY

Ivory Tonsorial gem re do

Decided to re hone the 5/8 Tonsorial Gem with the Cretan and the Welsh Thuringian as I did yesterday with the russians. It turned out so well.

This time I soaked the Cretan for 15 minutes first and then made slurry with the DMT

same formula
30 rep sets of circles for 4 sets. slurry graying almost immediately,this stone cuts FAST!
wanted to do more it was so much fun but stopped myself as it was shaving leg hair effortlessly

30 reps of push strokes in sets of 5 on the WT with DMT slurry
same thing, keener

50 laps of X strokes on the WT on water;definitely NOT as suctiony as with the the russian yesterday, not sure if it's the blade or the prep
or nothing.
35 on linen
60 on leather

If this works again the next experiment is the Cretan with Jnat Naguras!

70 laps on leather for the Revisor, day five

SHAVE REPORT


THE REVISOR CONTINUES UNABATED IN KEENESS. AMAZING. I'VE NEVER GOTTEN SO  MUCH FROM THE STROP.


THE TONSORIAL GEM WAS A GEM.JUST LIKE THE RUSSIAN THE HONE WAS AWESOME AND IT SHAVED VERY SMOOTH AND EASILY.I WILL PUT IT ON Y UCHIGUMORI TODAY ON WATER TO SEE IF THAT PROGRESSES THE EDGE OR NOT.


BUT THE CRETAN/WT COMBO WORKS, NO DOUBT


75 LAPS FOR THE REVISOR TODAY

Cretan/WT hone combo

Decided to play with the Cretan hone AND Welsh thuringian on my 61 Russian. I realized that if the Cretan acts like a  JNAt than I probably can use all my nagura'son it to created different levels of grit and then finish on the cretan itself on water as it's such a hard stone.
But today I wanted to use my DMT 600 for tomonagura slurry on the Cretan as well as the WT and see what kind of edge it gets

so dull the blade on glass

bring up Cretan slurry on the hone and do 3 sets of 30 circles

had to refresh the slurry and the water at least three times, this is one thirsty stone! ACK!  I forgot I'm supposed to soak it before I used it; next time.
 tests are sharp. nice.

then onto the WT with DMT made slurry. Thick too.
30 reps of push strokes and slurry got thick very fast too. Refreshed and watered it. Had me worried it would dull it as the slurry got very thick so fast but it was keener.

washed all off and did 40 laps of X strokes on water. Had a 'suctiony' feel right from the start! crazy different from the first times I used it and I think all the honing and lapping is polishing the stone into a much different, smoother one.

tests were great
35 on linen
50 on leather

Revisor strop= 65 laps. tests great. day four


SHAVE REPORT:
AWESOME! ON BOTH BLADES . THE REVISOR WAS JUST AS KEEN AS DAY ONE AND THE STROP EXPERIMENT SEEMS TO BE WORKING WELL. THE 61 RUSSIAN WAS ALSO PERFECT AND I SEEM TO BE FIGURING OUT THE CRETAN AND THE WELSH THURINGIAN HONE.




THE COMBO WORKED GREAT, FAST AND FUN TO USE AS WELL AND I THINK AS I USE BOTH HONES THEY ARE GETTING BETTER AS THE TOP LAYER IS GETTING LAPPED AND THE REAL HONE IS COMING OUT.


BOTH WORKED GREAT WITH THE DMT SLURRY AS WELL.


WANT TO EXPERIMENT WITH THE JNAT NAGURAS ON THE CRETAN HONE AS WELL.

today's honing

Revisor 6/8 shave number three coming up 65 laps on leather. Plan on upping the number of laps until I hit 100 and see how long that keeps it keen

Russian '65 onto the Blue dressante coticule with light slurry for  3 sets of circles, then 30 reps pf push strokes then dilute into X strokes and 40 laps on water to finish. Not sure. 30 on linen and 50 on leather

Russian Wood scales 63 re do on Nakayama #1 start with soft uchi slurry for 3 sets of circles then Oozuku ( new nagura) with 30 reps of push strokes then hard uchi slurry for 40 X strokes . then 30 linen and 50 leather. Will see, did not finish on water for a change with the Jnat. This is the blade with the cretan/water edge.

tomorrow:))

SHAVE REPORT:


SUCCESS! ON ALL FRONTS. SHAVE NUMBER THREE WITH THE REVISOR WAS EVERY BIT AS KEEN AND SMOOTH AS DAY ONE. UPPING THE REPS ON THE STROP SEEMS TO BE WORKING. LETS SEE HOW FAR I CAN TAKE THIS.70 REPS TODAY


'65 RUSSIAN CAME UP PERFECT! FINISHING ON THE COTICULE WORKED LIKE A CHARM. COULDN'T ASK FOR A SMOOTHER SHAVE


'63 RUSSIAN AS WELL! THE NAKAYAMA CAME THROUGH AGAIN. THAT METHOD JUST FLAT OUR WORKS FOR ME.


ANOTHER SET OF BLADES TODAY.

Cretan hone on water from dulled blade

another experiment:

another 5/8  63 Russian blade, dull on glass

25 laps on Cretan on water, X strokes

Shaves arm hair EASY! wow
 25 more laps, keener :))

35 laps linen
60 laps leather

in the mix for tomorrow. this should be interesting. The more I use this blade the nicer it looks and performs and I just got it :))

Also, I used the cretan with the chu nagura slurry and it's wicked sharp very fast. there is a LOT to learn about his hone.

SHAVE REPORT
ACK, NO GOOD. The russian I tried to touch up with DMT slurry seemed the same as yesterday, rough. The one I honed on just water seemed just about the same as the other. I will put them on a coticule or other finisher to see what happens next

The Revisor on just the strop was perfect. Number 2

Cretan hone is here and 6/8 Revisor touch up

Got my turkish oil stone from Emmanuel in Athens finally and couldn't wait to get started with it.It's hard and kind of rough,especially when dry. when it's wet a great depth of colors and striations appear although it looks like it got sawed weird with an almost rainbow shaped cut pattern. it seems smooth enough but who knows?

lapped it wet with my DMT 325 and not much happened. drew a grid mark on it with pencil and not much moved. dried it off and tried it that way and much the same. It seems pretty flat but again, who knows?

I dulled my 66 Russian 5/8 built a slurry with the accompanying stone (which was easy and creamy) and got to work on circles. Tested after five and not sharp enough so three more and tested again. good on arm hair so two more sets then onto a dilute.

I wasn't sure at this point if I was going to use this as a kind of bevel setter initial sharpener or what, as it's definitely not a finisher stone, grit wise ( 3-4 k estimate) but it also is supposed to give that smooth coticule 'toothless'' edge so I decided to do a dilute and then finish on water and shave with it tomorrow and see what this edge is like

so that's what I did. 10 sets of circles. then a bit more slurry and 40 sets of 5 push strokes into dilute with X strokes.


then 50 laps on water. leg hair tests were surprisingly good. popping leg hairs like a finisher :))


35 on linen 50 on leather


Then Revisor 6/8 and Uchigumori

this 6/8" Revisor could be my absolute favorite blade. the weight and the feel and action and the character of the blade just all feel right. It feels great in my hand, so well balanced and stable. The edge always sharpens easily and stays sharp. So I put it on my best  stone my Uchigumori Samurai Sword Rock :))
dulled on glass


soft uchi slurry sets of 30 circles for 5 sets shaving arm hair easy
2 more lower rep sets
very keen already. love this rock and this blade :))


hard uchi ( tomonagura) slurry
30 reps push strokes
Niiice.


Water
50 laps of X strokes
the usual leg hair suicide that the Uchi induces.


35 laps linen 50 leather.

tomorrow  :))

SHAVE REPORT:


I'm such an idiot. I started with the Russian blade completely forgetting what hone I used and was disappointed in the smoothness of the shave, NOT THE SHARPNESS.It shaved very close but just a BIT rough. I thought I would have to re do it on the Jnat until I put it away after the shave and realized   I HAD HONED IT ON THE CRETAN HONE!!  that things about 3 k grit and it produced a VERY shaveable  edge. Nice.


next up was the 6/8 Revisor finished on the Uchi and it shaved like a dream, sharp and smooth. Perfect. Did the second half of my face on the first pass with it and finished it up on the second. Perfect


Going to take the edge of the Russian and finish it on the Uchi today too and see what that does.

Edit


Read this by Bart at coticule.be http://www.coticule.be/the-cafeteria/message/26869.html and realized that the cretan is more like a Jnat than a coticule. best to always read the directions first:)) the  cutting agents break down and continue to sharpen AS they polish the edge. Didn't know that.

They also assume the grit of the nagura which I didn't know. Tested this out on my Japanese chef knife using the Chu Nagura as the slurry and it worked great! Re sharpened the edge fast!

Also put the 63 Russian back on the cretan with tomonagura slurry( SO hard to make with the slurry stone) and did circles and x strokes without dulling the edge first. Did ok until I refreshed the slurry and diluted a bit then it dulled.

Pulled out the 600 DMT to build slurry (easily and lots) and re did circles til it popped arm hair and then did 30 x strokes on the same slurry. tested very keen

60 laps on leather and tests sound good.

60 more laps on the Revisor and we'll see how many shaves I can get out of it without a touchup on a hone.

tomorrow.

Lessons in stropping

 Stropping was one of the hardest skills for me to pick up when I started this straight razor journey. It's tough for many, as I hear and can imagine. The motion is the polar opposite of honing and shaving and it's amazingly easy to do it wrong and wreck a perfectly good shaving edge.

As I've written I even have experimented with forgoing the strop and just shaving off the stone but that's not the answer; learning to strop properly is and, like everything else it takes practice and patience.

But I didn't really get how much an effect the strop can have on a dullish edge or a sharp edge that you want to take to the next level until I shaved with my Sheffield 5/8 near wedge that was not really shave ready and then I put it on the strop. WOW>

It went from a rough tug of war to an effortless glide with 40 laps in linen and 60 on leather. Crazy! I did the same thing last night with my Bridge Russian and got the same result. I really have to start experimenting with how long I can maintain an edge now with just the strop.

Experienced shavers and honemeisters say they get no less than 20 great shaves off a good edge with JUST maintenance on the strop. Don't know if I have that much patience but I should experiment more.

TOday is the day I get my Cretan Hone  too. can't wait. So I guess my strop experiment will get the back burner as I'm already anxious to play with the new hone and see what it can do:))

Welsh Thuringian and Oozuku Tomonagura

Got my little Oozuku tomonagura slurry stone yesterday and it's a beauty.

Not too small either and i could definitely hone on it, no problem It's hard as ,well, a rock,lol, and quite a different color from my other Oozuku( no surprise there). I wanted to see if this was a good finisher as well as a good slurry stone so I did 30 X strokes on water with my newest Russian blade which already had a keen edge but had not been stropped. I will shave with it this morning and see the effect.

It passed leg hair tests very well.

I also re honed my 5/8 Sheffield wedge on the WT, using a DMT 600 plate to raise the slurry for the last part before water as the slurry stone provided did not bring up any appreciable slurry it's so hard!

SO I used the Tam o Shanter slurry stone for the first part( brought up tons of great slurry for the circles. then went to the DMT for the push strokes and X strokes then went to water for 50 laps of X strokes.

Since I'm pretty sure I taped the sheffield last time it took extra time to reset the bevel so I could hone the edge and not just the bevel but I think it worked. We'll see in just a bit. No strop either ,want to see what the finished edge off the WT is.

Finally hones another 5/8 russian( this is what I bought them for- practice) on the Oozuku asagi with the normal progression ( soft uchi, hard uchi, water) and didn't strop either to feel that edge this morning.

Should be interesting!

SHAVE REPORT:


EPIC FAIL! LOL on all counts. The wedge was no where near sharp enough  although when I put it through 50 laps on leather strop it shaved very well( on the second pass) very strange. The Russian on the WT with no strop was not good either. The Bridge russian that I topped off on the new Oouku and no strop was decent but not great.it was better just off the oozuku by itself


The experiment was a success, I just got different results than I expected.  Back to work


SHAVE REPORT 2:


Wow, what a difference the strop made on the wedge! Crazy. From a non shaver to a very very close easy shave. Hard to believe, actually but there it is. One layer of tape would make it perfect but I think it's good enough right now. I actually think using the DMT for slurry was a mistake on the WT but we'll see
 The bridge Russian was also stropped and performed very well although I think it was overhoned on the Oozuku


The 63 Russian was good too after the stropping but needs a do over on another hone.Good experiments though.

Shaving off the hone

Decided to do a little experiment and shave off the hone with no stropping. Just wanted to see how fine the finish was on the Nakayama #2 but it could have been any hone. I first dulled my Bridge 5/8" 1955 Russian blade and used soft uchi slurry for circles.
3-4 passes and then refresh the slurry and did push strokes still on slurry, tested well so went on to hard uchi slurry and 30 or so X strokes.Also tested well so onto water and 50 X strokes.

that's it and shaved with it this morning

Damn near perfect shave, sharp, smooth and quiet! Almost a one pass effort but i even went against the grain on the jaw/chin to see if it would handle it and it did no problem. Nice. I could theoretically just use the stone with water for touchups when it starts to pull ,instead of stropping. we'll see.

interesting experiment though and very pleased with the results. Now I can find out exactly what the specific stone's edge will actually be like, without mudding the waters with another hone( which is what a strop really is.)

Dovo update

Just shaved with the Dovo that I dulled on glass and then re honed with slurry for 4 laps of 30 circles then onto water for 50 laps with no pressure. Great shave today. no harsh edge at all and cut through the stubble with no problems. I played with a tam o shanter slurry stone I have and it made GREAT slurry on the WT whereas the WT slurry stone provided barely makes any at all. Must be enough though as it worked great.

Going to experiment with a 3 part slurry process just like the Jnat:
tam o shanter slurry
WT slurry
Plain water

This is one very hard stone. as hard as the Uchigumori or harder! It definitely benefited from a solid lapping and I even made the mistake of starting to hone on the non lapped side( it's one solid piece of stone both sides useable) and could immediately feel the difference. 


I also tested the Flaschner 4/8 that I re did on the oozuku and what a difference! Smooth as silk and sharp as could be. As much as I hate to admit it, the Nakayama 2 is just not a finisher. Good pre polisher for sure and I can use it in a multi stone progressions( nakayama with soft uchi slurry, then oozuku with tomonagura then uchigumori on water ) but not as a one stone hone.


Also did a second pass with the Ramapo that I THINK I redid on the Oozuku and man was it sharp and smooth. No tape either this time .Shaved quiet as a mouse and I like that.