Thread: Best...Shave...Ever

I just had the Best Shave Ever!

This is a big shout out to Mentor Marty Euclid440

He suggested we meet here in SoCal so he could show me some tips on honing. NOW that I actually know what I'm DOING...it is so much better! Before, I was really just honing blind.

Now, the posts here are great, and I've read a LOT of them. Seen some videos. Read the Wiki and Library stuff. But in person makes a BIG difference.

Others have said it, now I will repeat it. If you can meet with a mentor in your area, it will be great. You will learn more in a few hours than in many many months of reading posts. It is SO TRUE!

I now have 3 shave ready razors. The daily shaver I had been using was close, but had some chips and we reset the bevel and honed it nice and sharp and it's now the sharpest it's ever been in its life.

I did not shave for a couple of days, knowing I'd like to test out the newly honed razor. I decided to use the Beau Brummel wedge, which I posted here so that the extra weight of the wedge might help with extra beard growth. I love the Brummel! Turns out cell rot was there, but may be slow, I'll keep an eye on it. Does not affect the cutting edge. With Marty's guidance, I know the blade is in good condition and the bevel is set and the edge is perfect.

Least amount of skin irritation ever! Many trouble spots are now no longer trouble spots, as I have a truly sharp razor! Some of those trouble spots were due to a dull razor, improperly honed as I was a newbie. Now not a worry.

Next up tomorrow will be a Claus that Marty helped me clean up and hone. I have no doubt it will be another great shave.

I was intrigued about SR shaves. Now I am truly hooked!

I am a little amazed at the generosity and time so many guys here will spend to help out a newbie. The posts and knowledge base here is great. Photos are especially appreciated. But in person mentoring to show me tips and tricks you just can't learn on a computer screen? Priceless.

Thanks, Marty. Your time to show me the ropes is greatly appreciated.

MarkC

Great story!!
I did the same thing when I first was learning (Randy Tuttle, randydance062449), now Randy and I have done the same for many others. It really good to pay it forward!

Great news. I was hoping to make that little meet, but work got in the way.

Marty is good people! Been an awesome mentor to me as well.

Jer

Now cleaned up 2 vintage blades today. Metal polish is all they needed. One was a George Wostenholm & Son, Sheffield. After a nice polish, took to the hones with what I learned from Marty, and sharpened that blade fine. Today did a test shave, and it's as sharp as the blades I honed with Marty, so I know I did it right and learned well from Marty. Thanks, dude!

I like the Wostenholm, it's a good shaver.

The other is a Joseph Rodgers. I also polished and honed her up, will test shave with her another day.

Building my collection!

Awesome! Glad to hear that you're well on your way.

Do you have any tips for us new guys when it comes to honing? What were some of the things you were doing wrong that were pointed out to you?

I learned the following...

Less pressure on the spine, more pressure on the blade edge. But not too much pressure. The right amount of pressure is something I learned. Tape the spine. NO pressure on spine, as you're not trying to sharpen the spine. You're trying to sharpen the edge. All your focus goes there. Lightly. Basic, but when someone points it out, it clicks.

Also, what to look for with a glass. Striation marks are left behind with each grit of stone. Really, it's the job of each stone to remove the previous grit's stria. Higher grit stones merely polish the edge. The smoother the bevel edge, the smoother the shave. No stria, just a mirror finish. Must use a glass or magnifier, cannot really be seen with the naked eye. Bevels meet, stria honed out, mirror finish, straight edge. Hair test. I did the shave test at home, and it was night and day compared to before.

A glass also helps to look for microchips in the bevel. Must remove those with correct honing.

Learned the difference between jointing and breadknifing. I've never done breadknifing, likely never will. Jointing helps, a small little move, that makes the edge straighter. Looked through glass to see the difference before and after jointing, before and after each grit, before and after every step.

Found out I was stropping correctly, but wasn't sure. It was good to get feedback. I assumed my honing was OK and my stropping was making a mess of things. Turned out my honing wasn't quite right and my stropping was good. All of it improves with time and practice.

And like I said before, which is really quoting many here before me: a few hours with a mentor you can learn more than months of reading posts.

I think of it this way; when a person wants to learn to ride a bike, they don't read about it, they get out there and do it. Successfully riding a bike is self evident. Successfully honing a SR, not so much. Guidance goes a long way.

Good luck and have fun!

Originally Posted by MarkC

I learned the following...

Less pressure on the spine, more pressure on the blade edge. But not too much pressure. The right amount of pressure is something I learned. Tape the spine. NO pressure on spine, as you're not trying to sharpen the spine. You're trying to sharpen the edge. All your focus goes there. Lightly. Basic, but when someone points it out, it clicks.

Also, what to look for with a glass. Striation marks are left behind with each grit of stone. Really, it's the job of each stone to remove the previous grit's stria. Higher grit stones merely polish the edge. The smoother the bevel edge, the smoother the shave. No stria, just a mirror finish. Must use a glass or magnifier, cannot really be seen with the naked eye. Bevels meet, stria honed out, mirror finish, straight edge. Hair test. I did the shave test at home, and it was night and day compared to before.

A glass also helps to look for microchips in the bevel. Must remove those with correct honing.

Learned the difference between jointing and breadknifing. I've never done breadknifing, likely never will. Jointing helps, a small little move, that makes the edge straighter. Looked through glass to see the difference before and after jointing, before and after each grit, before and after every step.

Found out I was stropping correctly, but wasn't sure. It was good to get feedback. I assumed my honing was OK and my stropping was making a mess of things. Turned out my honing wasn't quite right and my stropping was good. All of it improves with time and practice.

And like I said before, which is really quoting many here before me: a few hours with a mentor you can learn more than months of reading posts.

I think of it this way; when a person wants to learn to ride a bike, they don't read about it, they get out there and do it. Successfully riding a bike is self evident. Successfully honing a SR, not so much. Guidance goes a long way.

Good luck and have fun!

Great info!
Would be good to have this in the "honing" section, too.

I got back into SR shaving about a year ago. A few weeks ago my friend and mentor Roy (cudarunner) spent 3 days with me sharing his knowledge. These guys are great.

This is actually really encouraging to me ! Im Glad you made progress and to hear and that you're well on your way.