First SR test run shave.

Tried out the new old shaver today, more of a test run to see if I want to commit any more money to this endeavour than a serious attempt to get a BBS shave.

Razor: Hugalt Works extra hollow ground King's Crown 7/8. A NOS shaver that I have been able to find very little about. It is a well made and quality piece of kit and much more than I expected, because this was supposed to be the cheapie that I would try out before committing to spending any more money.
Soap: Poraso
Brush: Omega Silvertip.
Aftershave: Ambree Jardin de France.
Music: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds "Murder Ballads".

The razor mows down arm hairs better than even my Sakai Kama-Usaba or my 10" pre-war K Sabatier Chef's knife so I know this thing is sharp sharp sharp, yet it doesn't pass the hanging hair test.

I've been using a badger brush and poraso soap for two weeks just to get that bit of the new routine down pat before pulling out the new razor and I'm still amazed at how much lather you can get out of a small amount of soap. I'd give my lathering about 3 out of 5, as I can see where it can and will improve with better technique.

Two passes WTG and one pass ATG. Being slow and careful. A couple of small nicks on the chin. Going ATG is scary. I could feel the razor hacking the stubble off, not slicing through cleanly.

The shave is as good as what I now get from my Mach 3 with the enhanced preparation and lathering. The strip from the bottom of the mouth to the bottom of the chin was a problem, so back to the DVDs and books to get more of an idea what to do there.

Results of this shave.
- I will spend money on a good strop, coticule, chinese 12K stone, DMT lapping plate and maybe a Japanese finishing stone.
- The razor will be oiled and packed away until the new stones come in.
- Two more razors have been bought and on their way (a Henckels Twin 70 1/2 4/8 [c. ~ 1930] and a Wester Bros "Atta Boy" 4/8[c. ~ 1925])
- Once I get the razor(s) properly sharp this will become my normal shave.

You sound like you dive right in to new situations. Already have about every aquisition disorder right out of the gates. :) Dont get hung up on the HHT it doesnt mean much until you get it down. Imo, the ATG pass is one not really needed, and is very hard to master. I do a WTG and a couple XTG passes instead, and have no trouble getting a BBS shave most times but it does take time to learn, I will only do an ATG every once in a while mostly for special occasions or if I am in the mood. Do you know if either of the your razors are shave ready or just have the factory edge? If I were you I would choose atleast one to send off to a pro so you have a benchmark of what to aim for before you start buying stones, there are quite a few listed in the classifieds. And as for your listening pleasure, I prefer the sound of the razor doing its job. Sounds like your off to a good start, but if it was me I would slow down just a bit, the more you get invested right off the bat the more you will expect right off the bat and shaving with a straight takes time to master, especially if your going to be honing your own. It might cause you to get discouraged. Just dont expect to be able to learn everything by reading and watching, it is going to take practice. Good luck and happy shaving.

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Originally Posted by Pauly

Tried out the new old shaver today, more of a test run to see if I want to commit any more money to this endeavour than a serious attempt to get a BBS shave. Congrats on your first

Razor: Hugalt Works extra hollow ground King's Crown 7/8. A NOS shaver that I have been able to find very little about. It is a well made and quality piece of kit and much more than I expected, because this was supposed to be the cheapie that I would try out before committing to spending any more money.
Soap: Poraso
Brush: Omega Silvertip.
Aftershave: Ambree Jardin de France.
Music: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds "Murder Ballads".

The razor mows down arm hairs better than even my Sakai Kama-Usaba or my 10" pre-war K Sabatier Chef's knife so I know this thing is sharp sharp sharp, yet it doesn't pass the hanging hair test.
Do you have a blade that does ? eg a DE or a straight ? In other words you need to calibrate the HHT before it means anything.

I've been using a badger brush and poraso soap for two weeks just to get that bit of the new routine down pat before pulling out the new razor and I'm still amazed at how much lather you can get out of a small amount of soap. I'd give my lathering about 3 out of 5, as I can see where it can and will improve with better technique.

Two passes WTG and one pass ATG. Being slow and careful. A couple of small nicks on the chin. Going ATG is scary. I could feel the razor hacking the stubble off, not slicing through cleanly.
At this point its not even advisable to go ATG but your problem could be a combination of things eg Lather, angle lack of shave readiness &/or simply inexperience.

The shave is as good as what I now get from my Mach 3 with the enhanced preparation and lathering. The strip from the bottom of the mouth to the bottom of the chin was a problem, so back to the DVDs and books to get more of an idea what to do there.

Results of this shave.
- I will spend money on a good strop, coticule, chinese 12K stone, DMT lapping plate and maybe a Japanese finishing stone.
If you get a J-nat the C12k will be kinda redundant but your choice of course. The coti is not a quick stone to master but I wouldn't be without my ones.
- The razor will be oiled and packed away until the new stones come in.
- Two more razors have been bought and on their way (a Henckels Twin 70 1/2 4/8 [c. ~ 1930] and a Wester Bros "Atta Boy" 4/8[c. ~ 1925])
- Once I get the razor(s) properly sharp this will become my normal shave.

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Sounds like you jumped into the deep end with both feet, honing your own first razor & shaving ATG but stay careful & focused as you obviously have & practice. You'll get there.

I was going to get the stones sooner or later anyway for my knives as I am a chef by trade. They're not needed as about 3K is as high as you need to go for functional sharpness in a commercial kitchen. But sharper is better and it keeps other people's hands off my knives. I have to get a DMT flattening plate as the stone I had been using as a flattening stone is starting to warp.

The Henckels is what I intend to be my main shaver. The Wester Bros. "Atta Boy" was a purely aesthetic purchase as it is a great example of Art Deco styling. If it shaves then that's a bonus.

Factory edge on the Hugalt as it was genuine NOS. The others I won't know until they arrive, but I expect to be honing them too.

I don't expect to be any good at straight shaving for a few months yet. I do expect that I will need to commit fully to become any good at it.

After dealing with numpties with belt grinders wanting for me to pay for the pleasure of letting them ruin my knives I have some trust issues when it comes to letting someone else near my blades.

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

Sounds like you jumped into the deep end with both feet, honing your own first razor & shaving ATG but stay careful & focused as you obviously have & practice. You'll get there.

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I was very careful with ATG. It was more to see if I could do than an attempt at a good shave. Scary but not frightening if that makes sense, I felt that as long as I stay focussed and in control I won't be re-painting the bathroom red. If going ATG was going to frighten me it would have been time to sell up the straight and go to a DE.

I keep my chef's knives sharp, but I'm not going to do the tomato drop test on a cut throat. As for calibrating the HHT, I do know that the razor isn't as sharp as I can get it yet. I know that the blade should be slicing through the beard more smoothly

I do know that I want a smaller more agile blade to get my technique down pat before letting Mr Hugalt wander over my face again.

My recommendation would be to back off on the Nick Cave music and move over to something more calming and soothing. Tops on the list would be some Lawrence Welk TV sound tracks, some of the old The Carpenters stuff if you can find it on eight tracks, and maybe some old Tom Jones stuff.

If you ever get into "speed shaving", I highly recommend Lou Reed's "Heroin" from the "Rock and Roll Animal" CD.

Just trying to help you out, mate! :)

And congrats on a great start!

Well, nobody will stop you from going all in from the beginning, but its usually recommended that beginners stick with WTG passes until their face adjusts to the straight and their technique develops more.

Just keep the skin tight and keep an eye on your angles and pressure and you'll do just fine.

Oh, and congrats on your first straight shave and welcome to SRP!

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Originally Posted by Pauly

After dealing with numpties with belt grinders wanting for me to pay for the pleasure of letting them ruin my knives I have some trust issues when it comes to letting someone else near my blades.

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If you search past threads here you'll find a few guys have had the same experience with their razors & "knife sharpening" services.

A belt or wet grinder is really a nuclear option & only for restoration purposes. You won't find any one on SRP that hones razors with a machine of any kind.

you have RAD already wow your gonna love this site then it has the cure(more razors for sale)

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Originally Posted by Deerhunter1995

you have RAD already wow your gonna love this site then it has the cure(more razors for sale)

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Yep..and then you have Max, Glen, or Brads websites to purchase from and give the rest of us "do it youselfers" something to strive for...lol. Either way it involves buying more blades!

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Originally Posted by Deerhunter1995

you have RAD already wow your gonna love this site then it has the cure(more razors for sale)

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I have something more serious than RAD - generalised BAD disorder.

I have resisted collecting swords, but that's mainly because the La Tene blades I want go for tens of gorillas or more.

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Originally Posted by Pauly

I was going to get the stones sooner or later anyway for my knives as I am a chef by trade.
...snip....

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In the back of your mind know that the Chinese 12K hone
can very much improve the smoothness of a kitchen edge.

There is no need to hone down to 12K.... Just
correctly sharpen your kitchen knife then give
it a short visit on the C12K....perhaps with a very
slightly elevated spine to get a micro bevel effect.

The C12K is the only fine hone I know that is hard enough
that a knife edges does not dig in and grab.
A barber hone also works wonders on kitchen knives.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by niftyshaving

In the back of your mind know that the Chinese 12K hone
can very much improve the smoothness of a kitchen edge.

There is no need to hone down to 12K.... Just
correctly sharpen your kitchen knife then give
it a short visit on the C12K....perhaps with a very
slightly elevated spine to get a micro bevel effect.

The C12K is the only fine hone I know that is hard enough
that a knife edges does not dig in and grab.
A barber hone also works wonders on kitchen knives.

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Thanks,

That is good to know. I max out on a Naniwa Chocera 6K at the moment so it isn't as if my edges are blunt and there is a practical limit on how sharp you want to take a kitchen knife ... but there is a little part of me that knows I can get them sharper still. For me with kitchen knives the most important thing for functional sharpness is to use a slick hone, not a grooved steel, I use a ~1910 F Dick smooth steel and it does the trick, but a good modern glass hone will work just as well.

I'm not a believer in micro bevels, but some people love them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pauly

Thanks,

That is good to know. I max out on a Naniwa Chocera 6K at the moment so it isn't as if my edges are blunt and there is a practical limit on how sharp you want to take a kitchen knife ... but there is a little part of me that knows I can get them sharper still. For me with kitchen knives the most important thing for functional sharpness is to use a slick hone, not a grooved steel, I use a ~1910 F Dick smooth steel and it does the trick, but a good modern glass hone will work just as well.

I'm not a believer in micro bevels, but some people love them.

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Maxing out with a Chocera 6K should result in a gosh sharp kitchen knife.

In my mind, there are two types of kitchen knife sharp for meat.
One slices through silver skin and tendon and the other is smooth
and can slide along and remove silver skin and tendon with minimal
waste.

Your Chocera 6K edge may give you an edge such that you can
do both by adjusting the angle. Chocera hones are top drawer....
if money was no object I would be auditioning a full set of them now.

For kitchen knives, folks that live in the common coarse, medium,
fine bench stone world the Chinese 12K could transform a slicer to
a smooth slider... for minimum bucks.