Thread: My new Escher is here...

Originally Posted by zib

I know I've posted about it before, but my Y/G Escher is my favorite finisher. I got one from Lynn some time ago.
Slurry really makes a difference, you don't have to go crazy, but a light slurry diluting as you go works. I got a slurry stone from Mueller at Timber Tools. It's great. I understand you can use the C12k slurries too.

I recently finished a blade on slurry, not finishing with plain water, and it was great, (Thanks Gary) It was a Torrey, kind of crappy, dull.
I did 15 x strokes, followed by 20 circles, followed by 15 x strokes, So 50, diluting as I went. I shaved with it today, right after stropping, 30/60 on SRD's Eng. Bridle, and it was great, very smooth, and resulted in BBS.

good to no, sham has always told me escher should be used with light slurry, this is how they work, i no he's most likely right. this is why i asked if any one else uses with slurry. i'll reprt back when i have shaved of my slurryed edge. i could tell by the feel on my thigh he razor was very soft and smooth. my face will let me no better.

Originally Posted by gary haywood

good to no, sham has always told me escher should be used with light slurry, this is how they work, i no he's most likely right. this is why i asked if any one else uses with slurry. i'll reprt back when i have shaved of my slurryed edge. i could tell by the feel on my thigh he razor was very soft and smooth. my face will let me no better.

Sham and lots of ole time barbers know and knew their stuff. So many of them came with rubbers. I think they work great either way, but the slurry feels so smooth and it is not so finicky as to having to thin it out or not, either way they are nice. Many of us are getting on them with good edges from better synthetics to begin with that helps.

A couple of the old barbers manuals would always recomend them for people who were learning and referenced them as a stone for not having to worry about over honing.

A wider one some day.........

yes i with out a dout would say you could not over hone on them, its a fact that with a coticule you carn't over hone. that is what i have found. Coticule with slurry just would'nt produce a sharenough edge, you have to finish on water to obtain a sharper edge , it seems like the escher with slurry is a total differant hone. In the way the slurry does not cut like coti slurry, only polishers a little quiker and still leaves a sharp durable edge , just like the label on the back says.

Originally Posted by zib

. I got a slurry stone from Mueller at Timber Tools. It's great. I understand you can use the C12k slurries too.

Using a C12K slurry stone would IMHO be preferable than the Mueller, reason being that it is harder therefore will not 'shed' any particles, rather the only slurry is coming off the Escher. Any harder stone in fact would act as a slurry stone.

Originally Posted by gary haywood

good to no, sham has always told me escher should be used with light slurry, this is how they work, i no he's most likely right. this is why i asked if any one else uses with slurry. i'll reprt back when i have shaved of my slurryed edge. i could tell by the feel on my thigh he razor was very soft and smooth. my face will let me no better.

i use mine with no slurry , but I come off a very high grit Jnat, so far it works just fine.

Originally Posted by gary haywood

yes i with out a dout would say you could not over hone on them, its a fact that with a coticule you carn't over hone. that is what i have found. Coticule with slurry just would'nt produce a sharenough edge, you have to finish on water to obtain a sharper edge , it seems like the escher with slurry is a total differant hone. In the way the slurry does not cut like coti slurry, only polishers a little quiker and still leaves a sharp durable edge , just like the label on the back says.

This has at least lightly been covered before, but I have not ever read any older reference for using coticules with slurries, just water or lather. Obviously, it can be done, just thinking....

Originally Posted by Kingfish

This has at least lightly been covered before, but I have not ever read any older reference for using coticules with slurries, just water or lather. Obviously, it can be done, just thinking....

From what I've read, lather and slurry were used synonymously in some cases. Remember Liam's videos using a coticule? I'm relatively positive that he didn't come up with it by reading anything on the Internet...

I always use Slurry on my YG escher too, It just seems to leave a nicer edger for me..I use a harder Thuringian stone for the slurry stone so all the slurry is from the YG stone. That and holding the stone half way on my hand so the other half kind of hangs off makes you use very light pressure, if you used too much the stone will tip in your hand, it's a great training too. Thanks, Sham!

Originally Posted by Kingfish

This has at least lightly been covered before, but I have not ever read any older reference for using coticules with slurries, just water or lather. Obviously, it can be done, just thinking....

I like using shaving soap lather on my coticules or dish soap...for some reason I always end up liking the edge better when I do this for a finisher. Maybe it's my subconscious but it works for me...

I began using slurry on my Escher because the label on the stone says to use it. I figured that if they were giving advice for best results on their product , going to the trouble and expense of including a slurry stone, there must be something to it. So I've done it both ways and in between , in the sense that I'm diluting as I progress.

The main thing I got from Sham is to get the razor sharp before finishing on the Escher. His rational , if I understood it correctly, was why waste a rare and valuable stone doing what can be done with a readily available and relatively inexpensive (compared to the Escher) stone.

I honed a Russian razor today before going into the shop. I work half a shift today so the boss can go to bible study at night. I set the bevel with the Chosera 1k, followed with a pyramid, yes I still do 'em, on the norton 4/8 and then a vintage 5x2 1/2 coticule. A natural combo that was owned by the owner of another shaving forum at one time. It is , he said, a kosher coticule and is a very pretty natural combo.

Try as I might, no matter the coticule, I can never get a razor to the level of sharpness/smoothness with a coticule that I can with an Escher. Maybe that says more about my skill level than about coticules and Eschers but that is where it is at.

I don't want to give the wrong impression though, I'm not saying I don't get a great shave off of an edge honed on a number of different coticules, I do. All I'm saying is that I get a better .... maybe a better adjective is 'different' feel on the shave following the Escher. Truth is I enjoy using razors honed by one or the other.