Thread: The great experiment

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!

Cool, Harold! That's a great shaver! RW makes some neat smiling blades, some not so smiling. I cannot help but think somewhere along the way, yours developed a slight frown.
Funny how experience with worn vintage razors has come to help out with newer ones.
Funky process to convert that one from the microfasteners to traditional pins as the 'nut' side was countersunk a lot.
Should it loosen up, send it back and I have a few more ideas!

Tom, the TI in the faux tortoise came from the vendor with a curved spine and straight edge. I'm sure the edge was that way from the factory since the vendor is not a a razor/shaving specialist and the edge was far from shave ready. I also beleive the spine and edge should be the same. If one smiles the other should too.

Harold, Glad to se you back. I'm happy to hear Tom got your razor dialed in. I find I'm leaning toward vintage razors also.

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

Tom, the TI in the faux tortoise came from the vendor with a curved spine and straight edge. I'm sure the edge was that way from the factory since the vendor is not a a razor/shaving specialist and the edge was far from shave ready. I also beleive the spine and edge should be the same. If one smiles the other should too.

Harold, Glad to se you back. I'm happy to hear Tom got your razor dialed in. I find I'm leaning toward vintage razors also.

I understand! I began looking at those models and see that is the case.
No inference to any maker, but fads in the way of 'slashing' straight edges, yet a nice, smiling spine seem to have been popular for a good while these days.
100 years ago, they would have been laughable. Makers made blades to be honed and used. A totally straight edge from most quality grinders was not done, FME.
The reason is it did not give the user room to maintain the razor without considerable work as well as delivering a harsh edge quickly.
A slightly smiling edge is an easy pattern to follow. Shaves smoothly and is maintained easily.
YMMV

Round 3

This round's razor is a vintage TI 69 frameback. The razor was finished on an Escher. The blade measures @5/8 at the heel and @7/8 at the toe. I have seen a comment that the slant on the blade makes the guillotine stroke with a straight north to south pass. I tend to agree.

I shaved with this razor five times. The SRP member who gave me the razor had remarked that the razor felt light. My scale weighed it at 52 g. The weight and balance during shaving was very good. I never felt the need to correct or compensate for weight being in the wrong place. During the shave the edge felt really, really smooth. I was pleasently surprised by just how smooth. These past five shaves were right up there with smoothest shaves I've experienced. Stropping was awkward, however. The wide and thin tang felt different from my other razors and I really had to focus on finger placement.

Overall TI 69 is a fantastic shaving razor. I look forward to it coming up again in the rotation. Vintage razors finished on an Escher have become my preferred razor.

Sorry, my phone is out of commision so I can't upload any photos.

Cool! We get it! One on the left? Looks great!