Thread: smooth vs sharp - how to

Originally Posted by kaptain_zero

All I can say is give it a try, assuming you have at least 2 razors! I do all my work on ugly junkers.... razors that will NEVER be good looking, but have plenty of life left, no issues other than unsightly pits and tarnish. Hone up what you consider a great edge on the 12K, then move on to either the Coti or the Zulu, don't be afraid to spend some time doing ultralight laps.... Most of my naturals seem to take at least 100 laps to be noticeable, but then even the fast synthetics seem slower for me than for other gents, so perhaps I'm just very light handed when I hone?

I will say though.... I seem to be having some good luck using a hard knit wool material stretched over a piece of wood and treated with some ChromeOx paste. After I'm convinced I've gone far enough with a natural, I will do 5 to 7 laps on the wool/CrOx to hopefully remove any faint wire edges that *may* have developed, and then go back to the hone for another 10 super light laps. Dry and strop... I generally only use my finest leather strop after a hone job.... after the shave, I do 10 very light laps on a linen strop and place the razor on one of the floor vents as we have forced air heating, but the fan runs 24/7 all the time so it filters the air.... it makes a very convenient place to dry a razor. I just have to remember to keep the door to the room closed so the cat doesn't bat it around!

When it's time to shave again, I give the razor 30 to 50 laps on leather.

The use of Crox on wool stems from my reading a translated book written by Kousuke Iwasaki.

I'll quote a few relevant paragraphs, and as I'm over 50, apparently I have withered arms?!?!? :



And for wool substrate, I substituted some nice 100% hard knit wool (the kind used for dress pants) from my local tailor, but here again Iwasaki explains what a Raxa hone is:




Once you start chasing the *perfect* edge, it becomes a fascinating but at times tedious journey. The ugly truth is that you cannot *buy* your way to the perfect edge, you can only practice your skills until you achieve it. As they used to say in stock car racing; "Run whatcha brung, you'll never win a race with that car you can only dream of owning". You already have all the hones you need to achieve an excellent edge, you just need practice.

If you know how to produce a "decent" edge, you'll always have fine shaves with your other razor(s) while you search for that better edge. It never hurts to bring your regular razor along when you go to test your freshly honed super edge.... (sometimes, you may have to go back to ol' reliable, and if you brought it along.... it's easy). And once you are spoiled by the ultimate edge... you'll be honing before every shave, trying to re-create that last perfect shave (or worse, trying to improve on it). It never ends.......<sigh>


Regards

Christian

You may have withered arms but at least you aren't an inexperienced woman hairdresser.

Originally Posted by gcbryan

You may have withered arms but at least you aren't an inexperienced woman hairdresser.

True, so true.