Thread: The Noob Chronicle - My Straight Razor Experience

I feel you on the kamisori. I would love to try it and if I dont like it, i bet it would still look good nestled in with these katana hanging on my wall. Its just a pretty chunk of change for a wall decoration though. I mean I could by another sword for that price.

He was something I noticed with my CH12K. Take this with a serious grain of salt, I am new to straights and have done a touch up hone (on the CH12K dry) and this is from my first attempt honing a straight. However, I have a bit of experience sharpening other edges, and a bit of a studied touch for it. Mind you I heard the CH12K are all bit different. all the following is 1 layer tape on spine. I did a DMT extra fine -> DMT extra extra fine -> CH12K slurry. felt dull as heck. So I took it back to the CH12K dry for a few more passes (probably like 20+). lightly stropped and the whiskers fell off like butter.

Thanks for that, LameBMX. I'll see how it goes with the kamisori in the next couple of days and let you know.

The Straight Road - Part 59: Kamisori Day
We had a bit of an adventure last night at my house, as SWMBO Jr. came home with a very sore tummy. She'd been having some pains ever since a mild bout of stomach sickness last week, but yesterday it was bad enough to have her in tears, which warranted a trip to the emergency room at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Luckily, there was nothing serious found, though we did end up having a very late night. Today I stayed home with her to watch her while SWMBO went to work, so we had quite a bit of time on our hands. When we finally decided to take a break from one another, she settled down in front of a couple of her favourite TV shows and I decided to touch up my Yamamasa Kamisori, again, taking it to the Norton 8k and then the CH12k to see how it would respond. It seemed like it was good to go, so I opted for a test shave.

The Anticipation
A small oasis of "me time" on a day like today, along with the relaxation of a shave, were a welcome change of pace. I decided to try Tabac again, so I pulled the whole lineup down off the shelf. The brush of choice was my Bryce C Ironwood 24mm Silvertip, which is always a pleasant experience. With the gear ready to go, it was time for me to get myself into a similar condition.

The Prep
I filled the scuttle with hot water and dunked the brush, being careful that the reservoir wasn't overly full in order to protect the handle from damage. Then I hopped into the shower with my scrub brush and Tabac body wash. That out of the way and the razor already having been stropped, it was time to build some überlather.

The Lather
It had been a while since I tried an überlather, so I opted to pull out the glycerine and the Tabac shaving cream to go along with the soap. The lather produced was moist and slick, which proved a benefit for shaving with this razor. Overall, I had enough for three passes and touch-ups, which got me where I needed to go. That said, I think I am done with the Tabac lineup. The scent, which I have given a chance, just isn't working for me and there are too many other great products out there for me to use one that I am not enjoying 100%.

The Shave
The kamisori shave is still a bit of a strange animal for me. While the blade seemed like it was sharp enough, without much tugging or any issues with removing the stubble, it still wasn't very comfortable, as I'm sure my angles and my technique still need some work. Three passes probably could have been reduced to two in this instance, as the third one left me with a bit of razor burn along the jawline and in the chin area. Still, I got quite smooth, which is always a plus. The other nice thing is that I have managed to avoid nicks or cuts for the past couple of shaves, something that had been giving me troubles in the previous few.

The Post
First of all, I dealt with the brush and the scuttle, making extra sure to rinse the brush thoroughly to get the überlather out before setting them aside. Then it was a lot of cold water and a very stingy alum block, which was followed by witch hazel. The Tabac aftershave did sting a little bit, but not as much as I thought it would, perhaps thanks to the alum and witch hazel. Still, the scent is lingering with me and I don't think it will continue to be in my rotation. I can't say I didn't try. The final touch was some of the Tabac balm, which soothes and moisturizes quite well. Too bad about the scent.

The Verdict
My honing on this kamisori is still at the rookie stage (as is all my honing), so I think I need to figure that out a bit. The 8k-12k progression definitely improved the edge, but it still needs more refinement to get smoother. My technique probably needs the same treatment, so I'm not going to try to do too much with this razor and wear it out, as I've noticed they wear quickly on the stones.

Tabac is out, kamisori stays and that is the lesson of the day on The Straight Road.

There is still another shave test waiting before I can get back to my JaNorton razors. I did want to shave with my Friodur and my Dovo Ironwood again, but those can wait until after JaNorton is done. One shave with the W&B I restored will be it, then back to the Le Canadien for a solid 4 or 5 shaves to really dial in the edge. Then it's on to the W&B Bow Razor for a similar number of shaves which should take us to the end of the experiment. I've been eyeing some new shaving gear and products, but I'm holding off until the end of January or early February. Let's see how my willpower does.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Jack

You gotta have them Valentine Day funds.

Originally Posted by LameBMX

You gotta have them Valentine Day funds.

Very true. That, along with my anniversary, which is the 3rd.

I felt my wallet cry out in pain.

This is an awesome thread, i am totally transfixed but i got to get some sleep. Will start on page 7 in the morning.

Its like reading a how to bible please keep it going.

Kindest regards

Ritchie

JD,

I thought I remember you telling me that your Mrs. reaaalllllyyyy wanted a Robert Williams for your anniversary? Am I making that up?

Originally Posted by Maxi

JD,

I thought I remember you telling me that your Mrs. reaaalllllyyyy wanted a Robert Williams for your anniversary? Am I making that up?

How many scotches had we had at that point?

Finally finished this thread late last night. It has been a wonderful journey that i will look back on so as to help me chart my own progress next to yours. Of course after reading about it all day i finally convinced myself that i really did have some stubble and that a shave was definately called for. This is where jealousy sets in, after reading about all your products both pre and post shave and now your wonderful variety of razors i went upstairs to stare at my shavette a tub of cheap cream and a tiny synthetic brush which is the sum total of my shaving products bar some nivea a/s balm. Nevertheless i struggled on manfully with a hot shower, then lathered up in my daughters breakfast bowl(SWMBO was not impressed). I still got what i believe to be a lovely lather out of it which lasted for two shaves with no problems. The shavette was definately feeling rougher by the end so i think it must be time for a blade change.

The end result was not to bad no major cuts and only a few little nicks, i think an alum block must go down on the list for next month though as i am curious to see what effect this has post shave. In the meantime i shall look forward to your next installment and continue with my shave envy until i can start to increase my own collection.

Kindest regards

Ritchie