Thread: Upper Midwest Shaving Club meet

It was Ethiopian, and really very good. In the rush to remember important things to say, that got left out. I don't think I even made a pot of the decaf Columbian, that day and no one had any serious tremor that I noticed.

I appreciate the generosity of all involved, especially those who donated food and the giveaways. I was lucky enough to jump on the "Picasso" paddle that Bruce brought along. See, if you're not here you miss out on adding to your art collection too.

Next time we estimate what to have to eat, and cut that in half. We had lots of leftovers.

Originally Posted by rodb

Really big thanks to Chris and Bruce for the pasted paddle strop, it brought a blade to the "scary" stage after 20 rounds on the green side and 70 on leather. I never had that on a blade that I honed myself.

Rod

That's great news, Rod! It reminded me to mention to everyone that brought a pasted paddle home, due to dust inherent in any working shop, you might want to blow on or lightly brush some sort of lint free cloth over the chrome ox side. If when stropping on the paddle you hear any sort of grit noise, that's not good. You should only hear the sound of the razor going over the paddle.

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

It was good to have some new faces to tag to nom's de net. It's always tough to not get to go to a happening like this and those of you who couldn't make it were sorely missed.

But, there will be another. Kent's wife brought him along and gingerly dropped him off and we were all appropriately sure to let her know how much we appreciated him being allowed to come out to play...

I had a great time paying attention to ChrisL and Randy's lectures this time. There were tons of good questions even from the old guys and lots of working through the reasonable puzzles those represent. There were a lot of little nuances that just don't come across through this medium of words. Seeing a few things happen really brought those into focus in no other comparable way.

Mike

Thanks for hosting again, Mike. I really can't think of a better location to host our meets. What more could someone want when there's access to everything we'd need.

I'm getting work straight away on a marketing plan for the 100# stropping springs we talked about.

Thanks Pyment for the coffee. It was very good and much appreciated!

Thanks to Bruce for making such great paddles. That was a hefty project and so generous to devote your time and the materials. Free well made paddles! Very nice.

Thanks Randy for coordinating this one and handling the honing demos. Everyone learned a lot from it, rest assured.

Thanks to everyone for coming. What a great time.

Kent, kudos to your wife for not only being cool with being there for winding up the meet, but also for taking notes on razor related stuff! With all due respect to my wonderful wife, a transition from feigned interest to obvious disinterest would have occurred and would have taken about five minutes or less.

And.......thanks to Lynn for making SRP the place to be!

Chris L

Originally Posted by ChrisL

... I'm getting work straight away on a marketing plan for the 100# stropping springs we talked about.

I'm on to Mod 2: rare earth magnets...cheap and you'd get a reference to down force if the magnet slipped too. Much less than a two axis strain gauge. We'll need data points at 41.5 inches and 42.5 inches and so forth...

Eventually then we'll have the optimum curve and we'll be able to tell those who know from those who don't.

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

I'm on to Mod 2: rare earth magnets...cheap and you'd get a reference to down force if the magnet slipped too. Much less than a two axis strain gauge. We'll need data points at 41.5 inches and 42.5 inches and so forth...

Eventually then we'll have the optimum curve and we'll be able to tell those who know from those who don't.

How would we keep this properly aligned with true magnetic north to optimize the magnetic effect?

Originally Posted by rodb

How would we keep this properly aligned with true magnetic north to optimize the magnetic effect?

Couldn't you just build a compass into the unit? Of course those magnetic blades would mess with the needle as you strop. Maybe a magnetic dampening field work work to compensate?
Kent

During Randy's honing demonstrations he was alternating between the 4000 and 8000 grit Norton. I seem to remember that he did 3 to 4 laps on the 4000 and then moved to the 8000. He would alternate between the two until he was satisfied. What I don't remember is how many laps on the 8000 before he tested the edge. Anyone remember that number?

Also I have written down 10 laps on the diamond paste and 15 laps on the green paste. Does that sound about right?

I should have taken notes during the meet, instead of waiting until after.
Thanks,
Kent

Originally Posted by keenedge

During Randy's honing demonstrations he was alternating between the 4000 and 8000 grit Norton. I seem to remember that he did 3 to 4 laps on the 4000 and then moved to the 8000. He would alternate between the two until he was satisfied. What I don't remember is how many laps on the 8000 before he tested the edge. Anyone remember that number?

Also I have written down 10 laps on the diamond paste and 15 laps on the green paste. Does that sound about right?

I should have taken notes during the meet, instead of waiting until after.
Thanks,
Kent

The number was 15 on the 8000 for your W&B. Luckily I did not have to do a full conservative honing progression on your blade.
If you look in the SRP Wiki you will find the Honing Pyramids. That should be your general guide for honing.

The diamond paddle strop is anywhere from 5-10 laps, the chrome ox is 10-30. But both of those are only to be used when the razors edge starts to pull when your shaving, they are not to be used every day.
remember to strop just before each and every shave for 30-50 roundtrip laps.

More later, Dr's appointment is calling,.

I had a couple thoughts for future meetings, maybe some of us "newbs" would benefit from it:
1) different grinds of razors and examples. I know what a wedge is; I know what a fully hollow is; that's because I have one of each. It would be great to see other examples.
2) Randy talks about beard prep. I feel like I have it down but maybe I shouldn't assume that. Maybe some demonstrations would be helpfull.

Of course, Randy's honing demonstrations are always great to watch, even if I don't want to hone yet.

Just a couple ideas; if no one else would benefit from these, then never mind.

Phil

Great ideas, Phil. It would be easy, given that Mike has hot water available in his water cooler to show lather creation and beard prep. Heck, even a shaving demo. I think Bruce would be good for a shaving demo. He seems to be able to get his skin as whiskerless as something that's whiskerless. My beard prep is admittedly lackluster. I'm knowlingly very guilty of taking almost no time to prep. The result even when great razors are used, is adequate to above average shaves rather than absolutely perfect shaves in all ways. I'm actually fine with that at this point. Too many steps and too much preparation brings a tedium into the mix for me rather than enjoyment. I freely admit though, that my shaves do suffer to some degree because of this.

We've already talked about having a honing table where those who want to learn or want to hone can sit at one of the large tables and hone together simultaneously while those who teach can offer real time pointers and assessments. We're fortunate to watch Randy work, but "hands on" learning can add another beneficial facet that viewing a demo can't. We certainly have enough hones and stones to go around.

Great ideas.

Chris L

Originally Posted by ChrisL

We've already talked about having a honing table where those who want to learn or want to hone can sit at one of the large tables and hone together simultaneously while those who teach can offer real time pointers and assessments. We're fortunate to watch Randy work, but "hands on" learning can add another beneficial facet that viewing a demo can't. We certainly have enough hones and stones to go around.

Great ideas.

Chris L

This is a REALLY good idea, especially if there's a few "junker" practice razors available. I know for me I had to go to antique stores and buy a few "very used" razor for honing practice before I would touch my new Dovo or NOS Henckels. Unfortunately this started a "horrible" addiction to antique store razors and hones, but that's another story.