CBLindsay's Journey into Mixed Blade Mastery

[CBLindsay]

Wonderful shave Chris.

Must resist looking to buy Cosmo... as I am over budget in your Vader thread.

You DO know the VADER is about ENABLING your various acquisition disorders? You could just wait until July. I was going to wait until I got another visa thing for doing an industry survey (I'm supposed to get one in the mail soon) but I found somebody selling the set soap/as on eBay for $50 or $55 shipped and it was only used a "couple times". When I got it, it was essentially brand new with the original packaging and all. THATS why I started the VADER, why skip a decent opportunity in the name of restraint only to spend the full amount later. I always ended up buying the stuff on my list after the restraint so restraints for me are like fad diets.
Now more importantly, I'm about to order the Fine aftershaves to match the soaps I just got and the soap to match the AS I have ...should hold out until I get that visa gift card though ...don't want to though.

I tell you what Chad, if you don't mind that I double dipped I'll scrape/ scoop a bit of the COSMO from my container and send it your way. You can feed the beast and maybe hold off until July. (Or not)

 

[CBLindsay]

Nice shave and read Chris, Glad the Cosmo is showing its power, just a hint, wring the brush out and load somewhat dry and add water as needed you should get a creamier consistency, and the glide and slickness will be even better

I guess I might need one more day with COSMO before I rotate to another. I might want that special glide for the test flight.

oops, how'd that get in there?[emoji849]

 

[cvargo]

You DO know the VADER is about ENABLING your various acquisition disorders? You could just wait until July. I was going to wait until I got another visa thing for doing an industry survey (I'm supposed to get one in the mail soon) but I found somebody selling the set soap/as on eBay for $50 or $55 shipped and it was only used a "couple times". When I got it, it was essentially brand new with the original packaging and all. THATS why I started the VADER, why skip a decent opportunity in the name of restraint only to spend the full amount later. I always ended up buying the stuff on my list after the restraint so restraints for me are like fad diets.
Now more importantly, I'm about to order the Fine aftershaves to match the soaps I just got and the soap to match the AS I have ...should hold out until I get that visa gift card though ...don't want to though.

I tell you what Chad, if you don't mind that I double dipped I'll scrape/ scoop a bit of the COSMO from my container and send it your way. You can feed the beast and maybe hold off until July. (Or not)

Oh I know all to well about the restraint. I just buy what's on my list at the end of the restraint anyways.

I will pass on the COSMO because I know I am going to want it... On a Utah facebook wetshavers page, I had a fellow Utahn send me a sample awhile back. I know I want it... It is just a matter of doing it at the right time and for the right price.

I need to find a good way to pay for my acquisitions by earning Visa gift cards. That is a great way to pay for the hobby.

 

[Guestabc]

I guess I might need one more day with COSMO before I rotate to another. I might want that special glide for the test flight.

oops, how'd that get in there?[emoji849]

"Push the Button Max!"

 

[Devonmoonshire]

Very nice shave my Friend and definitely on pins and needles awaiting the full view of the new creation my Friend the front view looks stellar!

 

[cmh737]

Looking forward to seeing that razor

 

[CBLindsay]

Looking forward to seeing that razor

Oh boy. I just finished putting the final polish to the whole thing and boy does it look great. I hope to get to the hones tonight and maybe shave test tomorrow. Keep an eye on the journal page!

I got the cotton strop in the mail today! It looks very promising, thanks.

 

[Devonmoonshire]

Oh boy. I just finished putting the final polish to the whole thing and boy does it look great. I hope to get to the hones tonight and maybe shave test tomorrow. Keep an eye on the journal page!

I got the cotton strop in the mail today! It looks very promising, thanks.

 

[labrax]

Oh boy. I just finished putting the final polish to the whole thing and boy does it look great. I hope to get to the hones tonight and maybe shave test tomorrow. Keep an eye on the journal page!

I got the cotton strop in the mail today! It looks very promising, thanks.

Looking forward to the unveil!!!

 

[CBLindsay]

Pre: Musgo Glyce

2016 GD66 mod Competition razor #1
Outlaw Strop 25/50 (First full hone on Welsh Stones w/Hard Ark finish
WD24mm Silver Tip
SV COSMO
CBL Medi/Menthol Witch Hazel (New batch)
Lustray spice ...ViJon/Spicy chaser

The much anticipated un-veiling and shave test of the 2016 GD66 mod competition razor (part 1) has indeed occurred as planned. To make the competition razor shave ready I stayed up until 2 am, getting about 3 hours sleep before the big shave test. I believe the edge to be in very good condition but I for purposes of the final submission I feel I must re-hone to establish a more cosmetically uniform bevel and return the spine to the original squared/polished state. I won't go into every detail about this razor now but will touch on some of the highlights as appropriate ...which might mean every detail is covered.

Sadly, I had another sub-par lather beyond the first pass. I did as suggested Dave (@skypsyd), squeezed the brush to leave it just damp while loading on a wetted puck, adding water until a creamy lather was formed. I think my problem lies in simply not having loaded enough product. I only wetted the soap prior to the shower, I did not float any water on it. Although I don't think this is an issue, I think I just didn't work a good amount of soap into the brush. As before, the soap is capable of making up for a good amount of short comings on the part of the user, but by the third pass I was really tempting murphy to strike out and leave the mark of the brotherhood.

Now a review of the "razor". The initial Goat Lip Test was flawless, a perfect 5 in every way. The first pass (with the perfectly creamy lather) was very comfortable and smooth, no tugging and no hint difficulty. The balance and handling was fairly natural and allowed for me to use my right hand for most of the pass while also allowing me to switch to my left as needed. As I switched to the second pass the only difficulty I experienced was directly related to deficient lather in the form of some sticking or tugging in a few spots. By the third pass it was clear I was getting a close shave and the razor was capable of delivering the shaving experience we all want. As I wrapped up the third pass the lather was so poor I was REALLY tempting murphy but I survived. The end result of the 3 passes and a little bit of touch up was a BBS+ shave that was very comfortable and fun.

Here is a photo of the gear!


NOW ...PUSH THE BUTTON MAX!

Spoiler

It is a Kamisori style razor with "Western Ground" blade. The blade is much more flat on the face/show side than the opposite side and the entire blade has been thinned significantly. The handle is a 36 layer Red/White/Blue/Star mycarta with 20+ layers of CA finish polished to 1500 grit and finished with a liquid abrasive polish. The handle is patterned after a Kai (I think) and is molded around the tang with a brass rod fixed in place.

A few more photo's

Spoiler

 

[cvargo]

WOW! It is hard to believe that is a GD. That is awesome!

 

[Guestabc]

OOOOH That is SO NICE, and love the butter knife pic, Funny

 

[Devonmoonshire]

Now That is absolutely Stellar Chris! I was definitely NOT expecting a Kamisori but you did a phenomenal job in the fusion of the Japanese Kami and Western Blade bringing them together with serious style And the butter knife touch is beyond reproach LMAO

 

[CBLindsay]

WOW! It is hard to believe that is a GD. That is awesome!

OOOOH That is SO NICE, and love the butter knife pic, Funny

Now That is absolutely Stellar Chris! I was definitely NOT expecting a Kamisori but you did a phenomenal job in the fusion of the Japanese Kami and Western Blade bringing them together with serious style And the butter knife touch is beyond reproach LMAO

Thanks guys. No joke that butter knife is a great shaver for sure. I have plans to make an enclosure for the blade similar to wood scales, the wood is cut and stained I just need to get to doing it. I have several other ideas in mind for that part of the show. Once the whole 'kit' it done it should be a nifty thing. I had planned to really grind the spine flat on one side and leave the other more prominent like a traditional kamisori but had to stop short because I had already thinned the spine some. It is kind of neat though, even with a very shallow angle the edge cuts very sharp. I hope to have a second razor that ties into the theme somewhat so maybe both can be entered into the mod contest. I suppose I better plan to post a photo in the GD66 mod thread soon so others can have a look ...I'll wait until everyone has had a chance to see it here first.

 

[labrax]

Wow Chris! Kami style a-la Kai Excella razor. Very interesting for sure. Blade looks very uniform in the thinning you did. Thanks for posting.

How do you like the Kami handle compared to traditional scales?

Sent via Tapatalk from phone

 

[CBLindsay]

Wow Chris! Kami style a-la Kai Excella razor. Very interesting for sure. Blade looks very uniform in the thinning you did. Thanks for posting.

How do you like the Kami handle compared to traditional scales?

Sent via Tapatalk from phone

Thanks Pete, the blade is thinned and hollowed so much it has become quite a bit more noisy too.

I like this kamisori handle a lot but I admit there are times it is similar to holding scales that are folded back. Stropping is not at all difficult and honing is way more balanced. I shortened this blade from the tang side so the total length is preserved and balance remained pretty true. It walks a pretty fine line between regular short straight and a kamisori. I expect I should get a list started for pass around ...it's kind of neat to play with and pretty cool looking.

 

[cmh737]

Awesome, Chris! Very impressive!!

 

[CBLindsay]

SATURDAY 6/4/2016

Pre: CO Bigalow Mentha

Vorpal
Outlaw Strop 25/50
19mm Horse Hair (I'll explain later)
CFG Cryogen
CBL Medi/Menthol Witch Hazel (New batch)
Pinuad blend "Lime Sec" & VIBR

A story of 3 Birthday's NONE of them mine
​

What a scorching hot day! ...and wind, don't forget about the dry 30mph wind. Today is/was my youngest daughter's 7th birthday and we had a pool party to get ready for. My OCWWRTR (Obsessive Compulsive Wife Who Rules The Roost) requires that things be absolutely perfect so this meant I was on the hook for a busy day ...and had been working all month long to trim trees, build steps and do generally everything. I chose to shave with the coldest stuff I have because it was HOT. The CO Bigalow Mentha is a decent soap bar but it doesn't have much punch so the Cryogen was the star of the menthol show.
The shave was a rather routine 3-4 passes resulting in a very close and long lasting BBS shave. I had worked outside the night before and the morning before shaving so the heat and the prickly beard sort of cause my neck to get irritated but he blade didn't contribute any further irritation. Not a bad shave but the Vorpal definitely disappoints in that it lacks the "special" edge originally supplied by Seraphim ...back to stones.

Oh and the three birthday's - my Dad on June1, my son who just turned 20 on June2, my daughter who turned 7 on June 4. OCD overdrive!

The Challenger returns
​

SUNDAY 6/5/2016

Pre: CBLindsay Not-yo-mammas Noxeema bar

The Chellenger
Honed and stropped
19mm Horse Hair (I'll explain later)
L.A. Soap Works "Myrkvior"
CBL "Oakmoss & Sage" Witch Hazel *NEW*

As it turns out I have been working on honing the Challenger for quite some time now, I am happy to say I finished it up Saturday night and decided to give it a proper shave test. I used my new horse hair brush to build a lovely lather. I chose the Mykvior because it has a deep beer scent with a hint of whisky ...and a bunch of other stuff. I figured the beer and whisky would pair nice with the lingering scent of horses *** that remained in the brush. You may think I'm crazy but the scent combo worked so well it transported me back to the days when I used to work the fair and sleep in the barn. The new brush worked pretty well for face lathering but it was a bit too small to hold enough lather for very many passes so I had to hit the coconut. More on the brush later.
The shave was very nice, the edge was wonderfully smooth and very keen, a definite improvement from the pathetic performances of past hone jobs. The size and shape of this blade is very different from others I have, it is long and heavy but doesn't seem overly wide. The grind is so near wedge that the blade tends to stick to my face if the lather is not just right. the stickiness is enough of a problem that I find I want to pull the spine away from my face when a narrow angle is more comfortable and is working well. The great thing about THIS shave was that the edge was "faster", allowing me to make bigger strokes. In just 3 passes and a little clean up I was able to sport a BBS mug.
I honed the Challenger using my 1k synthetic for a major bevel reset then I used the synthetic 3k and King 5k to continue to set and refine the bevel. I did try to use the Coticule but got no improvement over what I had prior so I stayed with the synths for a while longer until going to the 10k synth (which worked very fast like it was a lower grit). The 10k helped to remove the scratches from my days of back and forth on the other stones but it also seemed to improve the edge. Finally, I finished using the welsh trio and a hard ark, including a bit of soap/water work on the ark. Final polishing was done with a my 0.5u and .25u diamond balsa's. While not being mirror smooth, bevel edge looks very good.

 

[Devonmoonshire]

WOW, Happy Birthday to all and definitely a very great couple of shaves my Friend Now it is time to stop, regroup and take a breath or two

 

[cvargo]

We are very hot here too! We are supposed to hit 97! Which is not normal at all for us. Looks like you had nice shave and have been very busy with the birthday plans. Hopefully OCWWRTR felt that everything went well! And hopefully your daughter enjoyed the pool party. I am considering going and buying a blow up pool so three of us can relax in something cool!