Thread: The great experiment

Those old heavy Sheffields like lots of strop to be optimal after honing, FME, Harold.
I have found that lots of strop for the first 10 shaves or so gets it there and then, you can ease off some and see.
Seems there are some with which you cannot ease off on but for a few shaves, if you get my drift.

Tom, are you saying more laps or loosening tension on the strop to let it flex more?

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

Tom, are you saying more laps or loosening tension on the strop to let it flex more?

Oh! More laps!

I have been getting that feeling from most of my razors. I've upped my routine to 25 fabric/50 leather on my SRD strop. Plus, with a some hand rubbing to warm up the leather, the draw feels magnetic. I absolutely love stropping my W&B on it. Taught me a lot about stropping just using that razor.

I'm back, this being post-Easter. My wife and I agreed, painfully, to give up the internet for Lent except for business and banking....:drop jaw:

It was painful, as I had become addicted to SRP and a number of non-shaving forums to do with my other hobbies -- and also Amazon

Anyway, I have been shaving, mostly with SRs and mostly with vintage ones that I have in my collection. I have learned a lot new about shaving, one of which is that most of the soaps I have in my "shave den" (small bathroom) work almost equally well IF enough time is spent with them to strike the soap/water balance. Strangely, while i still have my favorites (most of which are the Sheffield heavier grinds) most of my razors will give me a better shave in 2 passes than a cartridge ever did.

I've also re-learned that stropping is my friend, and, especially on the heavy grinds, more is better in terms of passes on the cloth and leather.

Glad to be back, I have missed you guys, and the learning curve is faster with help from friends' experiences.

Oh, Thank God! I thought you were kidnapped by Gillette. Glad you're back.

Originally Posted by nipper

Oh, Thank God! I thought you were kidnapped by Gillette. Glad you're back.

Nah!

Actually, through some work I've been doing I've learned a lot about Procter & Gamble which bought Gillette (along with lots of other companies). Similar to General Mills buying Pillsbury. I have a theory that big conglomerates, instead of driving prices down and quality up through economies of scale, are doing the opposite...squeezing out small specialized manufacturers, and spreading their corporate overhead across product lines, driving prices up while quality becomes secondary.

Welcome back, Harold!
I don't suppose you have missed much. Good to take a few steps back on occasion!

I have been shaving with a variety of thin Germans for a while, 6/8 with 13/16 total width.
Man, I could get spoiled here. Think I will go 3 days without shaving and use the Greaves wedge.

Should bring me back off the cloud!

So, what did I learn today with my Henckel's #50 shorty?!? Overall, I guess I re-learned that it is a different razor on the face and in the hand than its heavier rotation-mates.

It is very sharp and very maneuverable, which makes it a bit hard to get used to, because the toe is about an inch short of where most other razors end and I needed to be careful to overcome my inclination to dig the point into my face by lifting the heel, assuming that I was changing angle on the middle of the blade I didn't do it to the extent required to nick or cut my leathery skin, but I did do it enough (twice) to say, "Pay attention, dumbo." I especially had a hard time with my neck, which has more "give" than it did when I was younger

Last lesson is that I was slow with it and needed to keep my lather refreshed as i moved along, to keep the old face slick.

The great news is that even though I started with a full 2 days growth, in 3 passes I was clean as a whistle, and unmarked, except to those marks God has given me over the years.

This was a special shave because it was April Fools Day when I first replied some years back on a post of Sharptonn's that he had dropped or otherwise destroyed a very special beautiful razor, which turned out to be an "April Fools" post. He rewarded me and a few others of the fastest and most sympathetic fools with gifts, and mine was this cute Henckel. I learned that day the "pay it forward" aspect of the man and the forum here.

A tip of the hat, Tom! Great fun!!

PS -- This shave is shown in the SOTD today.

Well, it's a Henckels kind of week! I shaved today for the first time in a few weeks with this Henckels 66 in beautiful MOP scales



As usual, it gave me an amazing shave in 2 passes. It has perfect balance, a keen edge, and a beautiful smile. It makes shaving a treat, so I chose MDC to help it do its best, used my Simpson brush to face lather, loaded it for 30 seconds and it held enough in reserve for two wonderful passes.

What did I learn today? That shaving can be just a wonderful experience with a SR!



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