So I ordered myself a coticle and at the weekend I decided to try my hand at honing up the razor that I have been using for the past couple of weeks. It had certainly lost quite a bit of keeness (probaly due to my newbie technique) and was definitely in need of a touch up.
Now, when it was restored the gent who initially honed it for me did say it was a difficult razor and needed a couple of layers of tape, so I followed his example. I tried to use the dilucot method from coticle.be and I did do a stroke on glass first so the razor would no longer shave arm hair.
Well, I have to admit that I struggled at first to even get an edge that would shave arm hair again (I think maybe my slurry was too thick), but after several false starts I did manage to do this, and then continued to the end of the process. I was pretty pleased with the result - HHT 3 after stropping. Good work, or so I thought.
Today I shaved with the razor and Good Lord was it rough! Uncomfortable, lots of tugging (especially round the chin) and only just sharp enough to remove hair.
Today I honed up another flea-market find in the same way and managed to get it to HHT 3 once again without stropping, but then I noticed that I had also somehow created (or perhaps uncovered) a tiny dink in the edge. I had to bread knife it, and I think that a 1k stone will be necessary to set a new bevel as it looks as though it will take a looooong time on the coticle. That is no biggie though, as I had a mind to get a 1k stone anyways.
I guess the real question is, can anyone suggest why today's shave was so awful even though the razor was apparently good for HHT 3? I suspect part of the answer is that I just need to be patient and accept that this is not something that you learn overnight, but any pointers would certainly be appreciated! Is it likely that a 1k stone for bevel setting might help ensure that the bevel is properly established and improve the final results?
I know I am trying to learn a lot of skills at once, but I really thought I had managed to get a shaveworthy edge and was dissappointed that the shave was so terrible, especially as I have several more flea-market razors that I would like to hone up and put to use.
I suspect that the answer is probably patience, but I can't help thinking that I must have been doing something drastically wrong...I am just not sure what it could have been!
Now, when it was restored the gent who initially honed it for me did say it was a difficult razor and needed a couple of layers of tape, so I followed his example. I tried to use the dilucot method from coticle.be and I did do a stroke on glass first so the razor would no longer shave arm hair.
Well, I have to admit that I struggled at first to even get an edge that would shave arm hair again (I think maybe my slurry was too thick), but after several false starts I did manage to do this, and then continued to the end of the process. I was pretty pleased with the result - HHT 3 after stropping. Good work, or so I thought.
Today I shaved with the razor and Good Lord was it rough! Uncomfortable, lots of tugging (especially round the chin) and only just sharp enough to remove hair.
Today I honed up another flea-market find in the same way and managed to get it to HHT 3 once again without stropping, but then I noticed that I had also somehow created (or perhaps uncovered) a tiny dink in the edge. I had to bread knife it, and I think that a 1k stone will be necessary to set a new bevel as it looks as though it will take a looooong time on the coticle. That is no biggie though, as I had a mind to get a 1k stone anyways.
I guess the real question is, can anyone suggest why today's shave was so awful even though the razor was apparently good for HHT 3? I suspect part of the answer is that I just need to be patient and accept that this is not something that you learn overnight, but any pointers would certainly be appreciated! Is it likely that a 1k stone for bevel setting might help ensure that the bevel is properly established and improve the final results?
I know I am trying to learn a lot of skills at once, but I really thought I had managed to get a shaveworthy edge and was dissappointed that the shave was so terrible, especially as I have several more flea-market razors that I would like to hone up and put to use.
I suspect that the answer is probably patience, but I can't help thinking that I must have been doing something drastically wrong...I am just not sure what it could have been!
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