Oct. 5, 2023
Great shave. Wow thats got some chill to it, Love this scent.
I refreshed the edge on this Heljestrand using the same method (trailing strokes only, deburring on a loaded canvas strop, followed by normal stropping) that magically transformed my Bismarck into a smooth implement of face pampering, but this edge feels tuggy by comparison. Back to the hone and hopefully a better edge tomorrow.
Stank++;
Once you get the refresh right, it transforms the razor. My MK No 10 is returning to me today or tomorrow. I’ll refresh it and let you know how it turns out.
You were right. My current struggle is that I know I can get a sharp edge, but I'm struggling with knowing when I got there. Short of shaving with a new edge, I don't know how to reliably check whether it's ready.
Something to figure out 🙂
Here's some info for you to consider. The coarsest stone you use (3K in your case) should do all of the shaping. These means that the edge coming off that stone should be a finished edge, geometrically. Cut tests off of this stone are very important. It should cut like a finished edge. A finished edge will be more refined, and will provide a smoother cut, but only by a little bit.
I stopped using hair to test edges many years ago. Of course, a standard for testing is tomatoes or grapes, but you need to have them on hand, and there is variation in ripeness to deal with. About a 6 months ago I ran out of the paper I test with and moved to polystyrene packing peanuts. Polystyrene peanuts (not the "nicer" biodegradable packing peanut) have a "skin" and an internal cell structure. You need to develop a feel for this, but push-cutting polystyrene peanuts turns out to be a good method to test. When an edge is too dull, the peanut will offer resistance to the push-cut and will make a sound when you break the surface. When the edge is sharp enough it passes through the surface without a sound and with almost no effort. When the edge is ultra-sharp, it passes through the skin as if melting through it; an amazing feeling. I expect my coarse stone my edges to break the surface soundlessly with almost no effort, and my final edges to have that "melting-through" level. And, I sample test at 4 or 5 places along the edge from head to toe.
Good advice! I spent some time yesterday honing my Parker, and ran out of hair on my arms and lower legs (yes, I completely failed, and then I had to abandon). I'll try again next weekend.
Thank you! As I mentioned, getting the feel of different sharpness levels takes a while with the packing peanut method, but it is consistent, you can test the entire edge, and you can test at each phase of a sharpening progression without much fuss.
Thanks for the advice! I'll get myself some packing peanuts and report back 🫡
Oct 5, 2023 - Theme Thursday: Football
Dirty, grassy, and leathery scents being on theme, the first thing that came to mind was Dirtyver and American Vintage. Great shave!
Rating: 4.5/5
SOTD 05.10.2023
I'm getting in the unfortunate habit of posting way too late. Anyways, this was actually a single pass WTG head shave - yep, finally did it again. My eczema didn't take it so well, but whatever. I started to look older than Jason Statham and that man is in his mid-50s...
Today's scent combo was really going well, both King of Bourbon as well as Riflesso Blue Vibe have a slightly sweet, slightly boozy profile.
Stando's Perun is slowly becoming my favourite DE - it's very mild, but with a really sharp blade it could also shine. This Voskhod is more on the mild side, as I hoped this would yield less irritation. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. Better luck next time.
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
And there we have it! The end of Settantisemo Straightember. 70 shaves on Saponificio Varesino 70th Anniversary in the year of my personal 70th anniversary. Wonderful experience.
Now there's the stress of what to use for tomorrow's shave :0
Fun fact: you could fit another 70 70th anniversary lathers this year. Just sayin'.
I think once this year is enough. If, over time, I decide to sell off my soap collection (which is large), I would make 70 70ths an annual event.
Finishing in style with the Fili 14 😊
Congrats for the finished 70²!
Now there's the stress of what to use for tomorrow's shave :0
Easy, it's TabOktober! 😉
TabOKtober did not go unnoticed. I have a backlog of new soaps to try, but there will be Tabac Tuesdays, Bleu Teusdays, Black Watchdays, and others coming.
I have a backlog of new soaps to try
Same 😅:
Black Watchdays
Oh, I'm looking forward to those in November!
Same 😅:
I know that DG has a soap called Delta-V. I looked at B Cubed and think, B -> Magnetic field -> Teslas. Can't think of an equation that includes B^3^. So I look at the soap description. A riff on bay rum? [Big fan of bay rum, I need to try this soap] What's with the name?
@gcgallant
The bending stiffness of a beam with rectangular cross section a × b ~ b³. Finally years of teaching structural mechanics have paid off! 😅
@[email protected]
Thanks for that! I spent too much of my university years with Maxwell's equations.
@gcgallant
Oh, and the name is derived from "Blackberry Blossom Bay ", and it's a bay rum
@[email protected]
October 5, 2023
Hamami doesn't always smell good to me, but some days it hits just right. I decided to toss the Personna 74 that I've been using, so it made it to 41 shaves. I have 9 more of them I think.
Something that I'm starting to notice with boar brushes is that I don't have to add as much water to the lather, because it already starts with a healthy amount, even after shaking it out. Starting with a similar amount of water in a synthetic or even a badger would result in the load being too sloppy.
@[email protected] a.k.a. u/gallant has called it, and he was right, much to my delight.
I started by killing the edge, went through the 3k -> 10k progression (again trailing edge strokes only), deburred the edge on loaded canvas, and the Heljestrand really came alive! Incomparable to this morning's meh shave, the razor is now smooth and cuts close. A real treat.
I was wondering about the etymology of the euphonious name "Heljestrand" (derived of the Heljestrands' hometown's name "Helgesta" = holy place, BTW), and the search led me to Carl Viktor Heljestrand's Swedish wikipedia page where I learned two interesting titbits:
TubeStank++;
Nice result! And good info on the Heljestrands!
October 5, 2023: The End of War, Beginning of the Pig
Here come my first impressions from the Koraat Sparschweinchen: the edge on this razor is way better than the one on my own razors; this gives me something to strive for. Congratulations to @[email protected]! The shave was very nice and comfortable; I avoided mutilation with the pointy end.
The Sparschweinchen smiles more than I had thought from seeing the photos, and I am not really used to shaving with a smiling blade. It was no problem though, even if I was tempted to apply pressure to get more surface area where the blade touches the skin. The Koraat feels considerably heavier than the Tiers-Issard or the Parker razor (I didn't weigh them, but it's noticeable) – but the balance is very good, and it's not that my arm felt exhausted after the shave or anything. I don't know whether this is because the steel is heavier, or if there is simply more of it on the razor.
On the lather front, once again, I got a luxurious lather with a good boom-shakalaka. I tried to tell myself a dad joke at the beginning, but I the volume was off, and I spoke so softly that I didn't really understand.
All in all, a very good first try of the Koraat!
Have a good evening!
Congratulations to @[email protected]!
Yayy! I'm still nervous when people shave with an edge of mine: "what if my honing skills are shit, how would I know?"😂
The Koraat feels considerably heavier than the Tiers-Issard or the Parker razor
That's probably the thick Sheffield-style grind. It's just not as hollow as your TI
The shave was very nice and comfortable; I avoided mutilation with the pointy end.
Glad to hear it. Enjoy the Schweinchen! 🍻
Yayy! I'm still nervous when people shave with an edge of mine: "what if my honing skills are shit, how would I know?"😂
Well, now you know!
Oh, I'll find a way to feel nervous again next time😅
But thanks, I appreciate it!
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