Another Shaving Journal....

[global_dev]

Don't rinse the thayers!

[cameraflier]

It's amazing how many little things contribute to a great shave....

Don't rinse the thayers!

Tried it. Liked it. Gonna do it again.

Another reason to keep this shave journal alive.


Thanks!

[cameraflier]

The last few days have been hotel shaves, with Cella and the Genco 'Fluid Steel.' This is slowly becoming my favorite razor. I'll be keeping my eyes open for more Genco steel, maybe some other shapes and grinds.

Thayers WH has become part of my routine. I'm using the 'original,' and while I'm not so sure about the scent, everything else is wonderful.

Today was a day off, so I pulled out the "Paris" razor to give it a try. This is my first experience with silver steel. First off, it sure polishes up nice. It honed easily too. The shave was very pleasant. The edge was plenty sharp (off 0.5 film and CrOx) but it had a softness to it. I should be wary with this one. That softness could lead a fella into using too much pressure, or less vigilance. I think it like it. I wish the blade was a tad wider. Still, I'll keep it in the rotation for a while. It's a fun experiment, with an interesting razor. I had decided to leave the blackening down the spine and tang. More photos and details on the restore here http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...y-silver-steel

[cameraflier]

I had a great shave this morning….

I spend a lot of time outdoors. I routinely bicycle commute, and my weekend job offers no A/C. With summer’s heat, the salty sting of sweat brings a new critique to my shaves. Luckily I started my straight shaving habit in the winter. Now summer is here.

For some reason, today’s shave was brilliant. As I sit here at work, I feel a BBS- shave, with no irritation at all, even after a 40 minute ride at soaked my t-shirt. Usually the sweat stings a bit as I walk into the building, but not today. I didn’t do anything unique to my recipe. It’s not even a fresh blade.

Homemade preshave (80% olive oil, 20% castor oil), MdC, 3.5 passes with the “Paris” 9/16 quarter-hollow silver steel, Thayers, AoS ASB.

I did focus on being gentle today. Still, I’m surprised.

[cameraflier]

Today I brought the Genco 'Fluid Steel' back out. It wiped off a 4-day growth effortlessly. No doubt, this is my favorite blade right now.

[Grips]

Today I brought the Genco 'Fluid Steel' back out. It wiped off a 4-day growth effortlessly. No doubt, this is my favorite blade right now.

What's the grind and size on the Genco CF ? Looks about half-hollow and 5/8 but I'm no expert. I'll have to try to hunt one down but most antique stores where I am charge an arm and a leg for something needing a lot of restore work.

[cameraflier]

This morning I tried Musgo Real for the first time. For me, it was thirsty stuff, plenty slick, and it didn't' dry out. I got a few micro-weepers, but I won't blame the product. Gotta love that scent. I can see why this is generally regarded among the "classics."

What's the grind and size on the Genco CF ? Looks about half-hollow and 5/8 but I'm no expert. I'll have to try to hunt one down but most antique stores where I am charge an arm and a leg for something needing a lot of restore work.

You have a keen eye. Yes, it's 5/8 and something near half-hollow. Good luck with the hunt. I'm keeping my eye out too.

[cameraflier]

In the spirit of the “How Many Shaves” thread, I’ve been using the Genco ‘Fluid Steel’ for the last two weeks. It’s been mostly travel shaves, with Cella. Saturday I shook it up by trying Musgo Real for the first time. Today I went back to my MdC. While the other two products are nice, I will be very sad when I see the bottom of this MdC jar.

The edge is holding up well. It doesn’t feel hone-fresh, but I can’t complain.

Months ago, when I was having real troubles with edge longevity, I started stropping big numbers. Im unsign a regime of 25 on leather preshave, then 50/100 on wool/leather post shave. I’ve not varied. While sometimes I feel a little lazy, and consider shortcutting the process, it hasn’t happened yet. If I’m really pressed for time, I go the DE route. Otherwise I stick with the full process.

The rain gave me justification for spending time in the basement. That resulted in two more restores, now ready for the films. When they get ready, I’ll post some photos. The scars left of the CMON give it some interesting character.

[Grips]

Looking forward to seeing the results of the restores.

As both my shaving and stropping technique improve my edge is lasting longer. I go ~20/30 (Felt/Leather) post shave and ~10/40 (F/L) pre-shave. My numbers aren't much different but the focus on my technique is light-years ahead of where it was.

[cameraflier]

I got nearly three weeks out of the Genco. That's probably ~15 shavesfor me. Last Friday it finally started pulling a little, and the shave was less than I expect. I HHT'd it out of curiosity. It cut down the full length of the blade, but it was louder and could just barely feel the catch. That was my inspiration to finally hone up some new-to-me steel. Saturday evening I went to work.

Below are pictures of a CMON I brought back from the dead. It was a long journey without power tools. You can see the scars. I like the look. It's a hair under 6/8, and a little shorter than most. The honing was straightforward but slow. I started with 1000 grit sandpaper glued down to glass. While it whiped sharpie off the full length fairly easily, it took three pieces of sandpaper paper to start hitting HHTs. I progressed through the films fairly quickly. For me, the bevel is often the slowest step. I finished on CrOx, stropped and shelved it for later.


Today was judgment day. CMON vs. a three day growth.

I like this razor. It gave a really nice shave. I like the shorter 6/6. It felt plenty sharp, without making me nervous. My only weeper was on the WTG first pass. It was probably my fault.


I might re-hone this one sometime soon, if time allows. The edge could probably be better. note: the photos below were taken prior to honing. Only one of the edge pits remained, and it was diminished greatly. It's very hard to locate it now.

I'm down into my jar of MdC. Four months of shaves and I'm now passing the threads at the top lip. This one could take a while, even with a Chubby 2.

I've become a huge fan of Thayers.

[Grips]

Great stuff CF. I like the restores. I am also using Thayers after yours and noah's comments about it. I'm liking it alot.

[cameraflier]

I put 4 shaves on the CMON. The first one was acceptable, but they degraded quickly. By #4 it was pulling, bad. It was totally unacceptable. I know CMONs have a fair reputation, so I figured this must be entirely my fault. I went back to the films. I reset the bevel and went very slowly and methodically down the progression. I made especially sure that any pitting left over from the restore were not present in the edge. The result: now I might be too sharp. I never thought I would say that, but I have. The shave was super smooth, but after two passes I was already feeling a touch over-shaved. Maybe it’s in the size or weight of this razor. Was I using too much pressure? Is it less forgiving of a heavy hand? Maybe I didn’t strop enough…. I should be more delicate with this one. I’ve still so much to learn.

I’m on the road this week, and I’ve brought the CMON along. I’ll see how it wears. Maybe some use, heavy stropping, and a lighter touch will help.

Also, I modified by honing set-up again. Long ago I posted photos of a big piece of glass with sandpaper and films. I’ve decided to move the sandpaper away from the films. I scored a cast-off chuck of granite countertop. That’s where the bevel setting happens now. I think grit and/or overspray from the adhesive was migrating too close to the films. I separated them for better honing hygiene.

[cameraflier]

It's a hotel shave today. I started with 50 laps on leather, and a face full of Cella. I paid particular attention to not to use too much pressure this morning. It worked out fine. The CMON behaved gracefully and I finished with a top shelf DFS. Go figure.

[cameraflier]

I gave the CMON a full week of hotel shaves. It started out great, but deteriorated. It’s on the shelf now, awaiting a refresh. I had high hopes for that one. I think it’s a vintage CMON, and the old ones seem to have a good reputation. I really like the look and feel, and it takes a brilliant edge for that first shave. I only wish it would hold for a few weeks like the Genco. Oh well. Considering how little I spend on these acquisitions, I won’t complain.

Today was a first shave on another restore. This one is a John Curtin “Invincible.” I’ve not been able to find much history on this one. Any leads would be much appreciated. It’s heavy, and the tang is really thick. It could really use some jimps, as that thick polished surface is slippery. I was pleasantly surprised by the shave. It wiped off 3 days of growth without hesitation. With so little promising intel on the brand, I had little expectation. It’s a good razor though, so far. I’ll give it the week and make another assessment.

[Grips]

Looking forward to how it shaves.

[cameraflier]

I spent a week on the Invincible. The shaves were fine. The high polish with no jimps made it a bit slippery in my hand sometimes. It's heavy for it's size. The edge was good for about 4 shaves, then it started to falter. I set it aside for now. It's a BST candidate.

Next up is a newly restored Henckels. This one I like. I wish it was a tad bigger, but for the price I won't complain. I really like the tight little jimps underneath. I've got about 6 shaves on this one, and it's still going strong. I should have taken a few pictures before I started using it, while it was still freshly polished. oh well.

[cameraflier]

When AoS discontinued the rose cream, SWMBO had a meltdown. She loved that stuff. She's not into straights or DE's, but she loves a brush and her AoS rose. To pacify her I scored samples of every rose cream known to man. She's been doing the survey. After looking at all the samples, I'm a bit suprised by the one she's chosen: Trumpers. At first glace it's the darkest colored rose product. I thought the scent lacked the authenticity of AoS, but she's going for it.


I think she'll finish off my MWF first before going Trumpers 100%. She tried that in the interim. She likes the fat.


The Henckels is still going strong. I like it.

[cameraflier]

It’s week three on the Henckels. The edge is holding up quite well. In one way, it’s nice to use the same razor over and over. It gives me an opportunity to make other observations, and learn things…. Like stropping.

Stropping: I’m still stropping big numbers. My standard is 50 felt and 100 leather, on a 3-inch Star Shaving strop. A few times I got lazy and shorted the count. The difference is noticeable. I’m not willing to strop even more, but I’ll strive to be patient and persistent with my 50/100. I’m sure it only costs another minute in my day, and I can accept that… though some days I have to remind myself to be patient.

I’m about ¼ into the MdC that I scored back in February. It’s great. I don’t rotate soaps at home. This has been getting the majority of my attention. At this rate it’ll take well over a year to kill the jar. When I travel I use Cella, still a favorite.

Once every few weeks I punk out and use a DE. Usually it's due to a time constraint, or simple lack of sleep. I figure that keeps up my DE skills. The fun part: the shaves are indistinguishable. Sometimes I think the straight shaves are better. It’s hard to tell. Close is close, no matter the blade.

[cameraflier]

I’m still here, and I’m still straight shaving. A little time off work for the holidays allows a journal update.

Product: I just finished my MdC last week. That’s nearly a year’s worth of shaves. I got that jar in early Feb. I miss it already. I’m using Cella from my travel kit for now, until I decide what new soap to start for home use. I think it’s going to be Cade.

Hardware: that restored a Henckels that has become my new favorite. It’s older, simple 5/8’s blade, but I’ll be looking out for more. I’m curious about Friodur’s now. I’ve never use an inox. My Genco’s are a close second. The challengers are backing up on the workbench. Hopefully I can sneak in some restoration time soon.

I traded for an old Sheffield wedge restored by Doc. It’s a great blade, with beautiful custom scales. I’ll be watching out for more of his handiwork on BST.

Santa got me a Straight Razor Designs strop. It’s a big one, with English bridle leather and nylon. I’ve only used it once. It was this morning after putting a fresh edge on the Henckels. I’m liking it so far. I’m unsure about the nylon, but time will tell.

In case you missed it, I have a thread in the general forum, giving away DE blades. Check it out. Tell your friends. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...little-project



As always, if you have any abandoned restoration projects, drop me a PM. I might trade or buy.


Happy Holidays

[cameraflier]

I stayed up last night working on a restore. It's a 5/8-ish Genco "Registered". I had most of the work done when I found a crack. Argh...


Current plan is to continue putting time in this one. The bevel is nearly set. Those pock-marks don't appear deep enough to be a problem, and the crack is way down at the shoulder. I'll report back and admit my foolishness if this fails.