Thread: The great experiment

I just want to take the time to THANK Harold, and Tom For a great thread!!!

Okay, Ive finished my run with the first razor in my experiment.

First up was the Felt Pad Razor Works razor that was gifted to me by a friend at SRP. Ill let him identify himself if he wishes. The Felt Pad is a 5/8, full hollow razor. The origin is not marked on the razor. The company was out of St. Louis, Missouri but I don't know if Felt Pad made their own razors or imported them like their neighbors Shapleigh and Simmons. Estimated date of manufacure is 1905.


I honed this razor in late November under the direction of a very experienced homer and mentor. The progression was 1k Naniwa traditional, 5k, 8k, 12k Naniwa super stones, and finished on the 20k Suehiro Gokumyo. I shaved with the razor once in November a day or so after it was honed, and recently three times in a row.

My impression is that this razor shaves much like my other 5/8 full hollow razors-easy to handle and nimble. It surprised me once again how little pressure is needed with a freshly honed razor. Because shaving with the Felt Pad seemed so effortles, I became a little too confident and nicked my chin on the last shave. This razor did make noise while shaving but not near as much as some of my other full hollows. Finally, it seemed the razor was especially light so I weighed it. It weighed 38g. For comparison my Ralf Aust 5/8 weighs 42g. The other two Razors I am going to continue this experiment are a 6/8 full hollow Thiers-Issard and a 13/16ish Wade and Butcher near wedge. They weigh 48g and 66g, respectively.


Next installment will be in around a week with the TI.

Great post. Now I'm going to have to weigh mine! I have so far gone purely by feel, but weight, like size and grind of blade add to that perception of "feel". Thanks for that idea! I may try to check balance too.

Harold, I don't know if a couple of grams will make a difference in the shave, but the blade on he Felt Pad just seemed so light I wanted to weigh it. The scales have two felt pads and four extra brass pins and it still weighs less than the Aust; I think the blade is fairly light.

Round 2:
6/8 Thiers-Issard

This is a full hollow, carbon steel blade. It is on the large side of 6/8. I bought this razor last spring and chipped the edge in early summer. It was re-honed in November going through a Naniwa 1k, 5k, 8k, 12k, and Suehiro 20k progression. I shaved with it once the week it was honed, then four more times consecutively at the end of December. The first shave went fairly well despite feeling a bit awkward. This is a large blade for me and it does not feel as natural in the hand as my 5/8 and 6/8 razors. Stropping in particular felt unbalanced with the combination of a smaller tang and wide blade.

Shavewise, I struggled with the area near my cheekbone and sideburns due to the large blade blocking my sight. The edge did hesitate in tough whiskers like the moustache and chin. I haven't determined if this was due to poor technique or an edge dulled by bad angles or stropping. Or maybe it just needs some time on the hones. At any rate I what I take out of this round is some needed time driving a bigger blade. This should come in useful in a couple of weeks. I intend to spend some more time with this razor at a later date and figure it out.

Up next is another TI, the #69 frameback. The innagural shave was fantastic so I'm really looking forward to this round.

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

Round 2:
6/8 Thiers-Issard

This is a full hollow, carbon steel blade. It is on the large side of 6/8. I bought this razor last spring and chipped the edge in early summer. It was re-honed in November going through a Naniwa 1k, 5k, 8k, 12k, and Suehiro 20k progression. I shaved with it once the week it was honed, then four more times consecutively at the end of December. The first shave went fairly well despite feeling a bit awkward. This is a large blade for me and it does not feel as natural in the hand as my 5/8 and 6/8 razors. Stropping in particular felt unbalanced with the combination of a smaller tang and wide blade.

Shavewise, I struggled with the area near my cheekbone and sideburns due to the large blade blocking my sight. The edge did hesitate in tough whiskers like the moustache and chin. I haven't determined if this was due to poor technique or an edge dulled by bad angles or stropping. Or maybe it just needs some time on the hones. At any rate I what I take out of this round is some needed time driving a bigger blade. This should come in useful in a couple of weeks. I intend to spend some more time with this razor at a later date and figure it out.

Up next is another TI, the #69 frameback. The innagural shave was fantastic so I'm really looking forward to this round.

Show us the razors? I am not versed in TI's, but might elaborate based on grind, type.
Some prefer smaller blades. Nothing wrong with that. TBH, when one of my big ones comes up in rotation, I sometimes skip back and forth! Big ones and really small ones take a lot of concentration.
5/8 to 13/16 is a breeze!
YMMV

OH! You added pics! Looks like the big one has seen some hone time.
I am always on about this, but the edge looks dead-straight while the spine has a sway to it.
Could be that it has been straight-honed from a slight smile?
They always seem to cut better with the original profile to me.

That frameback looks like new almost to my eye.

After a crazy holiday period and then medical controversies (discussed elsewhere) I got back to SR shaving.

The picture above is what I've been using for the last two weeks. My wife loves Pre de Provence balm (she smells and rubs my face post shave) so I ordered the soap. . The brush is a Pixelfixed (Bill) custom -- my favorite. The razor was originally a Robert Williams, which Sharptonn (Tom) and others thought had a slight frown, although I loved it, except for its corners. I sent it to that same Tom to look at it in person and improve if he thought it was feasible. Those of you who know him, know that he thinks anything is feasible if there is a well considered and executed plan (or a plan that is "adjustable" along the way). In passing, I also whined about the micro-fasteners which were used in place of pins and collars and were always loosening at the pivot.

To my surprise (not), Tom made a plan and executed it to perfection, creating a smile where there was, in fact, a frown, and replacing the fasteners with beautifully done pins and collars. It shaved like a dream right from the mail, but has improved, as many heavy-ish blades seem to with each stropping. I strop on fabric and three leathers before each shave, a total of 120-150 passes. Since it's the shave that counts let me me say it shaves my beard like it is going through butter.
I think it is now a "Tom" Williams

I must say, it reinforces my love of heavy smiling blades, but I still prefer the vintage ones. I'll do one of those next week!

Glad to be back!