Corking blades

[JohnD]

All,
I was reading the "other forum" and picked up on this. I can't remember it being talked about here, though. Essentially, I run my Feather blade through a cork 5 times lengthwise on each side. The resulting shaves are so smooth, you get a "day 3" smooth and comfortable shave on the first day of a Feather. The roughness is honed out. And I may add I really don't see any longevity decrease, either. It has saved my face, because the first day of a Feather would sometimes set the rest of the week off on a bad note. Give it a try, it may work for you.
John

[Wil]

When you 'cork' length wise- on each side- can you elaborate please- I thought that you could 'cork' just by "cutting' the cork- thus attacking the cutting edge of the blade.

[JohnD]

Wil,
I run the entire edge of the blade through the cork smoothly and gently in a slicing manner, almost like if I took breadknife and sliced though a loaf of bread. Pull towards you, don't push away from you. I don't go in too deep though, just deep enough to encompass the razor edge.

[Wil]

Thank you John- another bit of information for me - when I finally get up enough dosh to purchase one.

[ouch]

I've heard of corking bats..............


Knew those thousands of corks from wine bottles would pay off someday.

[JBHoren]

Knew those thousands of corks from wine bottles would pay off someday.

And with this new "blade-corking" trick, you could sell the used blades on eBay as... vintage blades!!

Sometimes I crack myself up

[dojohnso]

OK. Im a skeptic. Fired up a new feather this morning. drew a styro block across the blade twice each way on both sides.

Popped it in my new 38C and away I went.

I have been wet shaving with a cartridge for about 3 years. About a little over a year ago, I switched to using a DE exclusively.

Ive tried Derbys, Merkurs and feathers with most all the razors out there. Feathers seem to be the only blade I can use that works. Merkurs and Derbys just dont cut it for me. I use a 4 pass method. N-S, Left angle, right angle, S-N. Always tended to get a nick or scrape every time....so had resolved to assume that was part of shaving.

Skeptical, but desparate to try to stem the red tide, I did the styro treatment.

Maybe beginners luck, but with a new feather, and a heavy razor, I had no nicks, no scrapes, just a small amount of razor burn on the neck...

I would like to actually see some reviews by some of the veterans out there such as Scotto, Goosemeplease, Guenron, Leisure Guy and others. Wanted to actually hear of them trying this, then giving us some feedback.

[JohnD]

dojohnso,
You sound as though you need peer approval for something that has been proven to work for so many. Read the previous 10 pages of this thread and you will find it has been a total success for everyone who has tried it. The only people who scoff at it are the ones who refuse to try it. Their loss. What you have done is you have transformed DE shaving to the most comfortable of levels. Keep doing it no matter what any of the skeptics say.
Johnd

[dojohnso]

dojohnso,
You sound as though you need peer approval for something that has been proven to work for so many. Read the previous 10 pages of this thread and you will find it has been a total success for everyone who has tried it. The only people who scoff at it are the ones who refuse to try it. Their loss. What you have done is you have transformed DE shaving to the most comfortable of levels. Keep doing it no matter what any of the skeptics say.
Johnd

Yep, gotcha. Im not changing. As I stated, this is the first time Ive been able to get a great shave with the first crack at a Feather.

The only reason I tried this was because I had read through the prior 10 pages. Seemed an odd thing, but was willing to try it.

Only because I get superbly close shaves have I made it a rule not to go back to a cartridge razor....this despite the nicks, cuts and weepies.

Now, this seems to do the trick.

Many thanks to you and the other folks that wrote this up here. This has taken my DE shaving experience to a more enjoyable level.

Best,

dojohnso

[JohnD]

dojohnso,
Good for you. Remember, there are no "expert" shavers.
Johnd

[Kingram]

All,
I was reading the "other forum" and picked up on this. I can't remember it being talked about here, though. Essentially, I run my Feather blade through a cork 5 times lengthwise on each side. The resulting shaves are so smooth, you get a "day 3" smooth and comfortable shave on the first day of a Feather. The roughness is honed out. And I may add I really don't see any longevity decrease, either. It has saved my face, because the first day of a Feather would sometimes set the rest of the week off on a bad note. Give it a try, it may work for you.
John

I had almost 50 bladed that my dad gave me. They were awful on my face and I was thinking to give them away. Today, I thought I should give them a try and see how they would turn out. Corking was outstanding. They are working perfect and I got a very good shave. Thanks.

[Jatte]

I just spent the weekend trying a bunch of stuff to do with corking blades,

the cork acts like a micro abrasive removing any grinder marks , slight imperfections, a bit of oil, and in essence aligns the blade correctly in the same way that a strop does,

i tried gillettes, merkurs, wilkinson, and no names, and had, the girlfirned shave her legs, a buddy shave his head, and myself shave my face with each blade just a bit at a time, side by side, with different techniques for corking the blade, and the results are in,

okay

if done correctly a no name brand that cant do a hanging hair cut, can do it easily if corked correctly, now, for it to be done correctly the corner of the blade has to be the only part of the blade that pushes through the cork, then the edge has to very very lightly slide through the v shaped depression without applying downward pressure to the edge of the blade just letting the bevels be lightly polished, for all razors chosen and with the gillette adjustable my buddy has the general consensus was that no pulling or scraping was felt when Correctly corked and the closest shave was acheived when it was corked, also, blades that were corked correctly using an existing groove in the cork would maintain their sharpness indefinitely if corked correctly after every shave, the only reason that the cork works is because it is slightly spongy and applies the correct side preasure without applying preasure to the very edge of the blade, you could technically strop a de blade and use it over and over again for a long time IF they are able to keep the correct angle on the blade, which is very difficult to do ,
Enter cork,

when i handed my buddy a nicely corked razor to finish shaving his head, he thought that i had forgotten to put the blade into the razor, untill he applied pressure and cut his head ultimately it acts as a easy strop for de blades, as long as the corner is used to createa a groove and the razor is slid through it with the most minimal of pressure,

also, Synthetic corks dont work, and champagne and other tight corks dont work,

the best to use is a brand new cork like found at wine making supply shops,
and the very best would probably be a block of real cork without any glues or epoxys to hold them together,

anyways,
i guess in the end everyone can say what they like about corking razors but i think just like everything else, if done correctly the outcome is alot different than if done sloppily



also , if you look at what happens to an edge of a blade under a microscope the fine edge curls over slightly, and thats what dulls the blade, this seems to rub that away atleast on the ones we looked at

best shave of my life from a safeway no name razor

[paul.c]

I would try corking, but I am a straights guy, and I use leather. I do see the potential benefit, and would be on the supporter side of this idea, since it doesnt seem very simple to strop a DE blade in the same manner that you would a Straight.

[MikeLip]

I have been using a Cobra Classic with, of course, Feather blades. While the combo gets me closer than anything else I have tried - including a slant - that first shave or two can be a little rough. I have found that correctly done, corking the blade does not take away from longevity, but makes shave #1 feel like shave #3 - nice and comfortable.

[Haiku]

The return of the corking thread!

And on the same day that I posted my 2000th post too!

[ateace]

The weather's starting to get nice. Maybe it's time for a softball game between the corkers and the hand-stroppers.

[El Comanche]

All,
I was reading the "other forum" and picked up on this. I can't remember it being talked about here, though. Essentially, I run my Feather blade through a cork 5 times lengthwise on each side. The resulting shaves are so smooth, you get a "day 3" smooth and comfortable shave on the first day of a Feather. The roughness is honed out. And I may add I really don't see any longevity decrease, either. It has saved my face, because the first day of a Feather would sometimes set the rest of the week off on a bad note. Give it a try, it may work for you.
John

How many shaves do you normally get after corking?

[Gafer]

How many shaves do you normally get after corking?

Wow, I thought this thread had finally died.

I was an early corker and got over it. I found that while it did help a little it just wasn't that spectacular. As far as blade life, I never noticed a different.

[Futur]

I was Having very good shaves with the Merkur blades that came with my Futur razor when I read how the Derbys was supposed to be kind of the perfect middelground between the MUCH too sharp and harsh Feathers (for me) and the Merkurs. This led me to order a 100 pack of Derbys.
When the Derbys arrived, I got the new vertical packs that many people are complaining about. I certainly understood that, because the Derbys was VERY uncomfortable, they felt very scratchy on my skin and gave me a lot of cuts. I was considering throwing them in the trash, because I couldn't in good faith sell them to anybody and there was no noticable manufacturing defects either.
Then I read this thread the other day, and today i tried corking a Derby on a styrofoam peanut that I got from Charles with my DE89. I did 5 light strokes on each side.
I was just amazed, the blade went from beeing totally useless and even dangerous to giving me one of the best and most comfortable shaves I have ever had. Now, 15 hours later I only have light 5 o'clock stubble, that means I got a really superb shave by my standards. I normally have to shave twice a day, maybe I'll get off with once a day, if this keeps up :-)

I'm definatly a Corker from now on :-) I have to be, or I'll have to trash 97 brand new Derbys :-)

Btw. With the speed and ease that the blade can be removed from the Futur, I'll definatly be corking the blade every day :-)

[El Comanche]

Hey Guys, I'm interested in corking my feathers and bluebirds, but wondering if you have a safe method to do so as I play guitar for a living. Holding on the sides still seems a bit risky to me. -