Hello all...

I don't speak up much here, but I thought I would share a success story of sorts. I'm down here in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. To say the least, there is little around for resources.

This year I muled-in two razors from Whipped Dog, and have been learning everything in a trial by fire (AKA: YouTube).

One blade is marked with "English steel," and ironically seems to be stainless. The other is from Solingen, and bares the brand "Graef and Schmidt." That one has tarnished some over time.

They're both 5/8 half-hallows. The Solingen is my preference, even though the blade is loose in the scales, and I don't know how to tighten it... yet. It seems weightier and comes to a corner in the toe.

I think the biggest hurdle has been stropping correctly. I still think I could be a more gentle stropper, and I'm not sure about my pace.

This may drive you nuts, but I scuttle Ivory soap in an old coffee mug. It's cheap, it works, and it's available here. My brush is dying, but I picked up a new one last week so we should be good going forward.

Now the hones... Norton, 4K and 8K. I just brought them back from LA. I lapped them myself and used Lynn's circle method for setting the bevel on the 4K, and finished on the 8K. I also have 1K and 2K stones, but don't think I need them yet. What I should have picked up was a finishing stone.

After honing both blades to the best of my ability, I stropped them and shaved one side with one, and the other side of my face with the other blade. No nicks, but there is some hair left unshaved. The really fine hairs are not easy for me to get... so far.

I am still on a 2-pass with some clean up but hope to 3-pass in 2016 and become a better honer. I know, better equipment would be a good place to start, but other than that I am open to any advice on stropping, honing and fixing scales.

Thank for reading.

Damon