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Rolls Razor

I've been getting into shavettes recently, and am starting to realise that shavettes and Rolls are the exact opposite of each other and both occupy a weird liminal space between Safetys and Straights.
As I read in another thread, the shavette "shaves like a DE but handles like a straight," whereas the Rolls Razor shaves like a straight but handles like a DE :confused1
 
Just hone and strop outside the case. Doesn't mess anything up. You wouldn't want to go back to case honing anyway after shaving with a nice sharp Rolls.
Well I honed and stropped outside the case, then stropped in the case and the result was fantastic!!!
The blade was good enough to begin with, but honing with 3, 2 and 1 micron papers and then stropping like a madman turned it into the smoothest shaver I've yet encountered :thumbup1:
$IMG01235-20130812-1831.jpg

A bit of help from the honemeisters though please:
I put the pictured Suprema straight through the identical honing routine with the same papers but got a very rough result- I stropped it with newspaper (low-end huh?), whereas the Rolls was stropped with leather.Is that what made the difference?
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Well I honed and stropped outside the case, then stropped in the case and the result was fantastic!!!
The blade was good enough to begin with, but honing with 3, 2 and 1 micron papers and then stropping like a madman turned it into the smoothest shaver I've yet encountered :thumbup1:
View attachment 358923

A bit of help from the honemeisters though please:
I put the pictured Suprema straight through the identical honing routine with the same papers but got a very rough result- I stropped it with newspaper (low-end huh?), whereas the Rolls was stropped with leather.Is that what made the difference?

Probably not. Newspaper makes a very effective strop, used properly. Did you fashion it into a hanging strop, or did you lay it down on a countertop? The best way is to fold it into a long strip and pass one end over a towel rod or something like that, pinch both ends together, pull it tight, and use it just like a regular hanging strop.

Looks like you have 12x12 tiles there? Hard to hold them properly. I prefer the 4x12 edge tiles. Be sure they are polished stone, not ceramic. It is also preferable to hold the plate loosely in the left hand, so that it sort of floats in space. The razor and film find their own alignment and you can better adjust your honing pressure.

Possibly one or more stage didn't get enough laps to do its part in the progression. Also, did you finish over damp paper? It makes a tremendous difference in shave comfort. You do your progression, including your 1u film, each until you can get no more improvement. Then apply damp paper to your plate, and the 1u film over that, and hit it again, typically 3 or 4 dozen very light laps but YMMV. We call this "pico-paper but it's just damp printer paper. Make sure you trim the picopaper to just slightly smaller than the film, and don't let any paper overlap past the edge of the film. Be sure there are absolutely no bubbles, and zero debris. Not a hair. Not any lint. Not a speck of anything.

Don't just count laps in your progression. Pay attention to tactile and visual feedback. The razor should cleanly undercut the water standing on the film. The razor should feel like it is sticking, like there is a vacuum between bevel and film, when it is nearly there. When in doubt, lighten up on the pressure and go a couple more dozen laps.

See this thread for more tips and tricks.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/283576-Lapping-film-try-it?highlight=lapping+film+try+it

Glad you were able to get your Rolls shaving nicely. Those razors really do shave good, given a chance.
 
Probably not. Newspaper makes a very effective strop, used properly. Did you fashion it into a hanging strop, or did you lay it down on a countertop? The best way is to fold it into a long strip and pass one end over a towel rod or something like that, pinch both ends together, pull it tight, and use it just like a regular hanging strop.

Looks like you have 12x12 tiles there? Hard to hold them properly. I prefer the 4x12 edge tiles. Be sure they are polished stone, not ceramic. It is also preferable to hold the plate loosely in the left hand, so that it sort of floats in space. The razor and film find their own alignment and you can better adjust your honing pressure.

Possibly one or more stage didn't get enough laps to do its part in the progression. Also, did you finish over damp paper? It makes a tremendous difference in shave comfort. You do your progression, including your 1u film, each until you can get no more improvement. Then apply damp paper to your plate, and the 1u film over that, and hit it again, typically 3 or 4 dozen very light laps but YMMV. We call this "pico-paper but it's just damp printer paper. Make sure you trim the picopaper to just slightly smaller than the film, and don't let any paper overlap past the edge of the film. Be sure there are absolutely no bubbles, and zero debris. Not a hair. Not any lint. Not a speck of anything.

Don't just count laps in your progression. Pay attention to tactile and visual feedback. The razor should cleanly undercut the water standing on the film. The razor should feel like it is sticking, like there is a vacuum between bevel and film, when it is nearly there. When in doubt, lighten up on the pressure and go a couple more dozen laps.

See this thread for more tips and tricks.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/283576-Lapping-film-try-it?highlight=lapping+film+try+it

Glad you were able to get your Rolls shaving nicely. Those razors really do shave good, given a chance.
Thanks! That's really helpful.
Getting such a great result with the Rolls has shown me I've got an effective set up.
Now your very encouraging words have inspired me to perservere with the straight.
 
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