Lapping film, try it.

[life2short1971]

Where do you live?

 

[sooper8]

Me? Midlands UK

 

[Hoka Hey]

I read all 2,502 posts over the last 3 days. Time for a drink! Thanks to Slash and Seraphim. Looks like I don't need years of experience, expensive stones, or Mojo, and I still might be able to get/keep an edge on a razor.

Thanks to all that contributed.
Now off to re-read Slash's thread on balsa strops.

 

[Andy77]

Like Hoka, I read this whole *amn thread over the course of many days, and subsequently took up using lapping film. I have been producing excellent edges using the following progression:

1200 (Extra Fine) DMT
4000 (6 Micron) DMT
3 Micron Film
1 Micron Film
1 Micron Film with a proprietary Specially Treated Artisanally Prepared Lapping Enhancing Sheet underneath.
Felt strop with .5 mic CrOx

I've been using a spray bottle and a $4 squeege to get the dust and stuff of of the stone and film, otherwise my process is like everyone else's. Here's a pic of my honing station. I've been enjoying very comfortable shaves.

Thanks Seraphim, Slash and everyone else who contributed to this thread!!

 

[Slash McCoy]

1 Micron Film with a proprietary Specially Treated Artisanally Prepared Lapping Enhancing Sheet underneath.

Is that better than picopaper? Sounds awesome.

 

[Andy77]

Is that better than picopaper? Sounds awesome.

Shhhhh. It's the same thing as picopaper, but costs a little less. Don't tell anyone...

 

[driftwood]

What is picopaperbexactlt

 

[driftwood]

Picopaper exactly (missed the space bar in my last post)

 

[Slash McCoy]

What is picopaperbexactlt

Specially prepared (moistened) honing paper that is placed on the plate when performing the finish on a razor. The final grit of film is placed on top of the picopaper. Picopaper has just the right resilience to it, to enable the film to faintly deflect downward a couple of nanometers or so under the weight of the razor. This puts a very faint convexity on the bevel right at the apex, which greatly gentles down the shave while not noticeably compromising cutting power. It also prevents proud abrasive particles or dust under the film from making scratches quite as deep as otherwise. This step is not necessarily needed when finishing with 1u film, but if you continue to .3u, you will definitely want to use picopaper. .3u film edges can feel rather harsh to the face, but with picopaper, the edge is rather comfortable, sort of halfway between a Jnat edge and an extremely fine coticule edge. Most hardcore natural users will say it doesn't even feel like what they expect a synthetic edge to feel like. It does require a bit of skill to get the best results from this technique, so usually newbies are recommended to stop at 1u film.

There are members who will cheerfully sell you a sheet for the low low price of only $10 or so. Or just take a sheet out of a ream of office copy paper.

 

[robphilldog]

I read all 2,502 posts over the last 3 days. Time for a drink! Thanks to Slash and Seraphim. Looks like I don't need years of experience, expensive stones, or Mojo, and I still might be able to get/keep an edge on a razor.

Thanks to all that contributed.
Now off to re-read Slash's thread on balsa strops.

This thread makes me dread the transition to straights. I've got a few vintage razors that I've bought, and another on the way from a BST trade on here (a Genco Old Dutch).. I've bought myself a belgium coticule so hopefully that will be able to keep the edge. I have read a bit of this thread though and maybe I should have gone for this sort of approach.. O well, I'll see how it goes. I've definitely been doing a lot of research and can tell you, I won't be sending my razors off anytime soon to be sharpened until I know the credentials of the sharpener.

 

[Hoka Hey]

This thread makes me dread the transition to straights. I've got a few vintage razors that I've bought, and another on the way from a BST trade on here (a Genco Old Dutch).. I've bought myself a belgium coticule so hopefully that will be able to keep the edge. I have read a bit of this thread though and maybe I should have gone for this sort of approach.. O well, I'll see how it goes. I've definitely been doing a lot of research and can tell you, I won't be sending my razors off anytime soon to be sharpened until I know the credentials of the sharpener.

You could certainly use a Coticle and film. There was an interesting thread on personalizing an edge, and folks were using lots of different combos. More than one way to shave a cat.

 

[robphilldog]

You could certainly use a Coticle and film. There was an interesting thread on personalizing an edge, and folks were using lots of different combos. More than one way to shave a cat.

Oh that's promising.. In that case I will definitely read through this thread.. Probably when I have a bit more time like a weekend.. All the SR jargon I've read though does my head in, it's like learning a new language.. I've googled countless times just to see what the heck things are.. I'm slowly getting there though. I've wacthed a few videos on youtube and I thought it would be fun to start a few vintage projects before I try to keep a nice razor sharp.. The one's I have so far, I've managed to get sharp enough so that they cut forearm hair, but can't seem to get them shave ready sharp. The razor I bought on BST here I'm hoping will give me an idea of what shave ready should feel like, so I'm waiting till then to actually try SR shaving (other than using a cheap shavette a few times)

 

[Hoka Hey]

Oh that's promising.. In that case I will definitely read through this thread.. Probably when I have a bit more time like a weekend.. All the SR jargon I've read though does my head in, it's like learning a new language.. I've googled countless times just to see what the heck things are.. I'm slowly getting there though. I've wacthed a few videos on youtube and I thought it would be fun to start a few vintage projects before I try to keep a nice razor sharp.. The one's I have so far, I've managed to get sharp enough so that they cut forearm hair, but can't seem to get them shave ready sharp. The razor I bought on BST here I'm hoping will give me an idea of what shave ready should feel like, so I'm waiting till then to actually try SR shaving (other than using a cheap shavette a few times)

You might want to read up on setting the bevel. There's a thread " setting the bevel with the burr method " that might help. It's mentioned in the lapping film thread. If you don't get the bevel right, every thing else is a pain, and or waste of time. Just a thought from a fellow newb.

 

[robphilldog]

You might want to read up on setting the bevel. There's a thread " setting the bevel with the burr method " that might help. It's mentioned in the lapping film thread. If you don't get the bevel right, every thing else is a pain, and or waste of time. Just a thought from a fellow newb.

Thank you, I'll look into it! I don't have a low grit stone yet, so I've been using the coti with a very thick slurry mixture.. maybe i will need to invest in a low grit stone though, just to set the bevel.. I'm hoping the shave ready edge will give me an idea of whatt to aim for and should just require touch ups with the coti

 

[driftwood]

Specially prepared (moistened) honing paper that is placed on the plate when performing the finish on a razor. The final grit of film is placed on top of the picopaper. Picopaper has just the right resilience to it, to enable the film to faintly deflect downward a couple of nanometers or so under the weight of the razor. This puts a very faint convexity on the bevel right at the apex, which greatly gentles down the shave while not noticeably compromising cutting power. It also prevents proud abrasive particles or dust under the film from making scratches quite as deep as otherwise. This step is not necessarily needed when finishing with 1u film, but if you continue to .3u, you will definitely want to use picopaper. .3u film edges can feel rather harsh to the face, but with picopaper, the edge is rather comfortable, sort of halfway between a Jnat edge and an extremely fine coticule edge. Most hardcore natural users will say it doesn't even feel like what they expect a synthetic edge to feel like. It does require a bit of skill to get the best results from this technique, so usually newbies are recommended to stop at 1u film.

There are members who will cheerfully sell you a sheet for the low low price of only $10 or so. Or just take a sheet out of a ream of office copy paper.

Thanks Slash appreciate the answer. Here I thought it was going to be something rare and hard to source. Ive recently used film down to .3u. The edge was, keen, very keen. It was a good shave but i will definitley try the picopaper under and see how the edge responds.

I think my office can spare a piece or two [emoji6]

Thanks again.

Sent from my LG-H873 using Tapatalk

 

[Neurotopia]

Thank you, I'll look into it! I don't have a low grit stone yet, so I've been using the coti with a very thick slurry mixture.. maybe i will need to invest in a low grit stone though, just to set the bevel.. I'm hoping the shave ready edge will give me an idea of whatt to aim for and should just require touch ups with the coti

Not a bad idea. Some cotis can be a real bear to set a bevel on.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Thank you, I'll look into it! I don't have a low grit stone yet, so I've been using the coti with a very thick slurry mixture.. maybe i will need to invest in a low grit stone though, just to set the bevel.. I'm hoping the shave ready edge will give me an idea of whatt to aim for and should just require touch ups with the coti

Or just use sandpaper if like most guys you will not be setting enough bevels to justify the cost. It works great and you have a wide choice of grits.

 

[Andy77]

You could certainly use a Coticle and film. There was an interesting thread on personalizing an edge, and folks were using lots of different combos.

I think that film is a great foundation for any progression I have a SB ark on the way that I hope to use after 1u film in exactly this way. . Why not Bevel set-> 3u film -> 1u film -> Finisher? It would have all the qualities of the natural stone with the conveniences of a film progression.

With a coticule you could probably even go bevel-> 3u -> Coti.

This way you could use the coti, and even experiment with coti vs 1u film edges side by side, and so on. Or shave off of film (an easier edge) until you master the coti. This sounds like it could be a pretty flexible setup for you.

 

[Neurotopia]

If I were starting today I would go this route. Film wasn't a huge thing when I started out 10 years ago, or at least I missed it if it was.

 

[robphilldog]

Or just use sandpaper if like most guys you will not be setting enough bevels to justify the cost. It works great and you have a wide choice of grits.

What!? U mean use sandpaper on the blade edge to set a bevel!??