Best.Shave.Yet!

What a difference a hone makes.

My stones arrived Friday, as well as a nice Kismet (it was a GOOD Friday). Soaked the stones, worried about slurry, decided not to worry about slurry based on good advice here, watched some videos (again), practiced on a different blade, was satisfied, and put the "new" Kismet to the hones. 8K and 12K.

Pasted linen strop, then the Russian vintage strop I got in surprisingly good shape.

For the first time, I truly understood the HHT. The touch of the edge was sufficient to cut the hair. Wow.

Shaved.

What an EXQUISITE experience. I Had.No.Idea. Really. Didn't.

Suffice to say, I'd never shaved with a well-honed razor. Now I have, and I'm thrilled.

The shave was still almost entirely WTG, but it's as good or better than I'd get with a cartridge blade.

This is an Easter Epiphany, and I'm tickled pink!

Good for you!!

It is always nice to have a first honing experience go so well.

Hello, BobKincaid:

Well, sir, you did it. Congratulations. This is only the beginning of a wonderful journey.

Regards,
Obie

It's always good to hear about a happy experience when someone's new to this. I assume you've done your homework and read up on all the honing articles in the SRP Wiki and watched all the training videos you could fine.

A lot of guys get all hung up on how many laps on this or that stone. Always keep in mind that it's not the number of laps that matter, it's whether or not you've accomplished the task at hand,i.e., bevel setting, development, refining, finishing and polishing.

Another main stay bit of advise around here is to send a razor to a honing professional so that you'll have a benchmark to judge against.

Away congrats on a good shave and here's hoping you have many more.

Pelkey

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ZethLent

Good for you!!

It is always nice to have a first honing experience go so well.

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Thanks. First honing. Second razor. Spent some time screwing up a piece of junk first.

Dang! Grow, beard! GROW! I feel like I'm 14 again! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bobpell

It's always good to hear about a happy experience when someone's new to this. I assume you've done your homework and read up on all the honing articles in the SRP Wiki and watched all the training videos you could fine.

A lot of guys get all hung up on how many laps on this or that stone. Always keep in mind that it's not the number of laps that matter, it's whether or not you've accomplished the task at hand,i.e., bevel setting, development, refining, finishing and polishing.

Another main stay bit of advise around here is to send a razor to a honing professional so that you'll have a benchmark to judge against.

Away congrats on a good shave and here's hoping you have many more.

Pelkey

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I'm obsessive-compulsive about studying before doing. I was registered for a year here before I actually got a "real" shave under my belt.

One of the things I love about this community is that there's a very definite skew toward the idea that there's no such thing as "Too Much Information," or so it seems to me.

I am, in a word, hooked.

Nice job! You're quite fortunate to have been so successful on
your first try, my first attempts were filled with frustration and
despair :)

Enjoy the blade!

- Scott