Thread: Straight Razor Day (warning, long post)

This thread encompasses a lot of different aspects of the "Sport", so I figured the General Forum would be the best place for it.

So, yesterday I had a great day. Actually this whole week has been a great one. But yesterday was a great cap off.

I had an appointment in the morning with a client to finish up their site. I just had to run through the CMS with them. Showing them how the whole system worked and how to use it. If you are wondering what a CMS is, it stands for Content Management System. Anyway, I digress. It was a long and drawn out job that I was happy to finally finish. So I was feeling great about that.

So, feeling great already. I come home to find that all three of the packages I was expecting had come in. My custom British Leather aftershave from Sue was in the mail box, and my Moss Scuttle and Pasted Paddle from Tony were inside the house. I was ecstatic, and promptly decided to devote the rest of the day to all things straight razor related. It was great way to end the week, I have to say.

I had gotten my Norton 4/8k in the mail the day before, and so I decided to lap it. I broke out the sandpaper and the glass, set it up at the sink, got the water going, and proceeded to mark out my grid. Thins started out well. After a few applications I had the grid wearing off evenly and quickly, just like JoshEarl had told me. I then moved to the 600 and then to what I thought was wet/dry 800. It was labeled as such, but it definitely wasn't. The paper grit virtually disintegrated under the water. It stained the 4k side pretty badly. I thought for sure I had ruined it. I scrubbed with a scotch pad as best I could, and then went back to my 400 to re lap, hoping it would fix it. It did. I was able to get all the grit and staining off. I was very relieved, as I had thought for sure I had ruined my hone. I got it lapped nicely. Just like Big Spender said, the 8k side reflects like a mirror when held at the right angle. And just like Chris (C utz) said, the 4k feels like velvet. I may need to go back with the 8k side though. It feels as smooth as marble, but there are two places where the razor seems to catch something when honing.

Anyway, I took my pasted paddle out of the packaging. It truly is a thing of beauty. For some reason when I ordered it I was concerned about how the sides would be labeled. "How will I know which side is which?", I would ask my self. Maybe a sticker of sorts so you know which is which when you get it. Well, I was surprised by the tooling that Tony did on each side. Very nice and easy to read, but subtle. I love it.

I decided to take a few passes on the chromium side to practice technique a bit in prep for taking it to the hone. I laid it down like a bench hone on the table, and the proceeded to strop. Even though the spine was leading, I was still able get a feel for how to hold the razor to keep it flat on the strop. I then went to my hone and did the pyramid, and then back to the paddle for polishing. I ended up going back to remove a wired edge. Satisfied with the HTT and Thumb pad after stropping, I put the razor away and began to prep for my shave.

I opened the Moss Scuttle. It is truly a work of fine craftsmanship. I love hand throw pottery. It goes nicely with my mug. I set some water on the stove to start boiling, and jumped in for a quick shower. I used the banana mango soap from Sue, it was great. Got out just in time as the water on the stove was starting to boil. I filled the scuttle and let my brush set in it to get warm while I stropped up. I stropped and then emptied the top chamber of the scuttle. I lathered up with some of Colleen's Leatherneck, and then transfered it to the scuttle. I let it set a bit while enjoy a nice hot towel with Proraso pre-shave cream, I cant get enough of it. In hind site, boiling water is much to hot for the soap. The lather didn't like that much heat, I was able to rebuild up on my face though, so it worked out.

I lathered up my face, and then went to town. The razor was definitely sharper, but I think it could be better. I think its about a 7 or 8 on the scale that Alan posted here:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=10664
I may take it back to the paddle to put a finer edge on it. All in all the shave went well, though the lather did irritate my face a little bit, damn sensitive skin. I also noticed a bit of razor burn. Not horrible, but it had been a while sense I had gotten any burn from shaving. I don't know if this was due to the soap irritation, or the if my razor was improperly honed. It is definitely sharper then before. I think maybe my angle was too aggressive for how sharp the razor was. Any thoughts.

Anyway I finished off with another towel, and then my new aftershave from Sue. I love the smell of the British Leather. After finishing, I got dressed and went out with some friends. They instantly smelled the aftershave, and I got many compliments for it. Thanks Sue.

It was just a great day, and an awesome way to transition into the weekend. I loved it. This is why we do what we do. This is why we go through all the extra steps to hone and prep. It is just such a great experience. Can't get enough of it. A great day it was.

Matt

P.S. Sorry for the super long post, but I was happy about it all.

Congratulations, it sounds like you had a very enjoyable time as it should be.

On the 8K hone if the surface reflects the light equally well there should not be any defect on the stone. Its only if there is an area that doesn't reflect then you know you have a problem. It could be there is a defect in the razor that you are feeling as you hone. Usually if thats the case that sensation will disappear as you hone.

The fact that you got some irritation is either your technique or the razor needing a little more work. First I would watch how I was handling the razor very closly as you shave and make sure your not raising the razor as you shave. If your sure thats not the problem then I would look at the razor and some more honing. The fact that the razor seems a little rough on the hone would seem to indicate some more honing is in order.

Great post outlining your shave & equipment!

I'm going to point to the obvious culprit for your "razor burn" -- the excessively hot water. I tried using a regimen with hot towels that would make my beard area sensitive to touch & blood-pink in color for a good period of time. It went away when I stopped using the hot water/towels.

Originally Posted by Kentriv

... I may need to go back with the 8k side though. It feels as smooth as marble, but there are two places where the razor seems to catch something when honing. ...

You'll need to take care of that.

Congrats on an excellent shave. I almost feel like I was there.

X

Congrats Matt, You have waited for this day for a long time, and you are correct, that"is why we do it" I would think that the razor burn would be the hot water to. Try backing off and see what happens.
Phil

Thanks for all the tips guys. I will try cutting back on the hot towels, but I have been using them with every shave without any problems until yesterday.

I took the razor back to the hone today and improved the edge quite a bit. Todays shave was great. No razor burn. I did use hot towels again today. I actually came up with a way to steam them that I am going to post later.

I love this scuttle. I would shave more if I could. My hair doesn't grow back fast enough haha. Today I just used hot water from the tap and it worked great. I also didn't have to worry about it affecting my lather as much. I am using this thing everyday. Now I just need to find a proper bow for Colleen's creams and all my bowl and mug needs will be met .

I took the hone back for a touch up lapping. This helped smooth out everything.
I think part of it was that I didn't bevel the edges well enough. Anyway, the razor glides smoothly across the hone now. I am still working on my technique, but I am able to keep the razor flat on the hone with no pressure, so I think I am off to a good start. Years of sharpening knives helped lessen the learning curve I think. The technique is totally different, but both require a steady hand and patience, so I had an idea of what to expect going in.

It is very fulfilling shaving with an edge that you put on the razor. It was obviously sharp when I got it from Tony, but I think I rolled the edge through hasting stropping when I started out. It is now like new.

Matt