So, last time we spoke I was trying to find some affordable slipstones so that I could start my own honing. Well, I have to start this update with an absolutely huge THANK YOU to Wildtim for so generously helping me out by shipping the stones to me across the border. Class act all the way, thanks so much.

While I was waiting for those stones to arrive, I actually tried to use the razors that I had purchased from a couple of members here. My first shave was very pleasurable - only 1 little slice and no irritation, although I did finish up with a DE. However, my next few attempts were absolutely atrocious. The pulling was too much for me to even finish a first stroke. Then on about my 6th attempt, there was no pulling but the razor did not cut any hair either, it just glided right over top not really doing anything. Then, for some inexplicable reason, my 7th attempt with a straight was the most amazing shave I have ever had I was really not expecting it considering my previous attempts and the fact that I was attempting to shave off a week's worth of growth (I was saving up for a Super Troopers Moustache party which fell through). Anyways, the only reasoning that I can think of behind this weirdness is that somewhere along the way I magically figured out how to strop properly, but honestly, I have no idea.

Ok, so thats the shaving update, now for the other stuff. While I was waiting for the stones to arrive, I got my student loan and for some unknown reason it was double the amount I was expecting. So, like a good little boy I hit Ebay and made a few impulse purchases which I probably should not have. A couple of them have arrived and I have gone to work trying to polish up a couple of them. I have a Kropp and Boker which are starting to look quite nice but I cannot find any Maas, Simichrome or Flitz in the city to do a final polish. Meanwhile, there is a Boker King Cutter which I picked up which has a couple of tiny rust spots on the blade but I am afraid to sand them out for fear of losing the "King Cutter" wording on the blade. Any tips? This is also the first blade that I tried to hone using the slipstones. There were quite a few chips in the blade (only visible through the microscope) and I had basically got them all out but when I looked back through the microscope before moving to the 8000 grit, I noticed that a new nick had appeared in the heel Why would this happen?

Ok, sorry for the essay but I just want to say THANK YOU once again to Wildtim for his help and to everybody else on this board for all the amazing knowledge that you share. Plus, I love looking through the pictures that you guys post for motivation to get these razors polished up real nice!