Thread: Zulu grey...first hone

Well, the Dove still felt like the typical coti edge that I get... so no luck there. Yesterday, I honed up the Ralf Aust on the coti and shaved with it yesterday... great, comfortable coti edge.

Today, I decided to try the Aust on the Zulu differently than I had been. Since I've yet to have any luck with it, I decided to slurry it and see what happened. I started with a fairly thick (by Zulu standards) slurry. I diluted every 20 X strokes. After passing 80, it was almost straight water, so I rinsed everything clean, and did 20 X's on straight water... rinsed again and a final 20.

I just got done shaving with it a few minutes ago, and wow... I think I finally figured out the particular Zulu that I have. This baby just needed some slurry. Under magnification, the edge looked pristine, drastically different than prior to the Zulu today which showed a nice coti edge. The shave was amazing with near 0 burn with the aftershave.

At the same time, I do notice that the sharpness was kicked up from the coti edge as well... got a little bite. I guess I've gotten used to the forgiving coti edges these past few months. Not a bad cut, but enough to realize that I was playing with a whole different animal. Sharp, but smooth is how I would describe it. Took about 11 months to figure out my Zulu, but I think I may have now. Such a relief!

Congratulation! Now see if using the same technic you used with the Ralf Aust you can bring the others up a notch. I always say I rather be lucky than good! I considered my self lucky when it came to my first natural, which was a Zulu also.

Originally Posted by Double0757

Congratulation! Now see if using the same technic you used with the Ralf Aust you can bring the others up a notch. I always say I rather be lucky than good! I considered my self lucky when it came to my first natural, which was a Zulu also.

Hey, long time no chat! Unfortunately, I've got some not so good news about the Zulu... That first shave was great, but I used the Aust again yesterday and had a horrible, raw feeling shave. I'm not sure what happened with it. I always clean/dry well when I'm done, and used the same stropping routing/soap prep. Makes me rethink my Zulu success.

I wonder if the edge broke down during the first great shave I had or something. It was like going from a smooth comfortable shave, to shaving with a piece of broken glass. After the first pass, I had to switch to a backup razor to finish... but by then, the damage had been done to my face.

I feel like I'm back to square one again with the Zulu.

Not back to square one! You made progress, maybe too much. When the edge gets very fine, it could crumble on the subsequent stropping, or towel drying or Gods know what.

I would look at it with the loupe. A wire edge could mean a very fine edge that folded somehow. A toothy (micro chips) means a fine edge that lacked angle for the scratch pattern (too deep scratch pattern probably made by to much pressure on the lower grit stone, or not).

Keep at it Aaron! You're there, and you did it thru hard work and experimentation.

Originally Posted by Double0757

excerpt... A toothy (micro chips) means a fine edge that lacked angle for the scratch pattern (too deep scratch pattern probably made by to much pressure on the lower grit stone, or not).
...

By lacking angle, you mean too narrow of a bevel? Possibly add a layer tape to increase the angle?

Originally Posted by MikekiM

By lacking angle, you mean too narrow of a bevel? Possibly add a layer tape to increase the angle?

Yes! From what I have read and experience myself, microchiping could be corrected with a layer or two of tape. It makes for more meat (more of an acute angle) at the business end and therefore not as susceptible to microchiping.

Also too much pressure on the lower grit, makes for deep scratches that could make it hard to remove with the higher grit stone, making for a chipi edge. This is all theory, I think you need a powerful microscope to be able to confirm these.

When I started honing I used tape then got to thinking about how it changed the angle about 1 or 2 degrees & stopped using it ever since. My razors are all used by me & are tools. I like to use tools as they are meant to be. Do you think that in the 1850's they used tape on their razors? Razors are ground to keep the angle the same as they are honed & used. Using tape will not allow the to wear as it should.
Now this is just my opinion & many people use tape & love it & I respect that.

Slawman