Thread: Does this look like a good bevel?

Good work, the 10 laps is just a guide, experiment to find the right combination for you. Stropping will enhance the edge a bit more, use lite pressure.

Progress rather than perfection.

Yea, with practice, your edges will get better. The better you prepare the edge with your Welch slurry stone, the better your edges will become.

If you watch vids of guys that really know Coticules, they do a lot of laps, slowly breaking down the slurry and refining the edge.

Then lightly polish a micro bevel with the ark. Then just maintain with your ark as needed.

I've now been straight razor shaving and reading this website for two years. I know technology and things like that improve over the last 100 years but how in the world did barbers 50 years ago shave their clients without the aid of loupes and digital microscopes? I like to think they used the thumb pad test and shaving arm hair and then shaving the customer and that was and is it.

Originally Posted by gfro

I've now been straight razor shaving and reading this website for two years. I know technology and things like that improve over the last 100 years but how in the world did barbers 50 years ago shave their clients without the aid of loupes and digital microscopes? I like to think they used the thumb pad test and shaving arm hair and then shaving the customer and that was and is it.

Not all barbers honed their razors so it must not be that easy.
Actually some 70 years ago Kousuke Iwasaki recommended looking at edges thru a microscope in his book so while the KISS principle is "good" there are those who prefer "better"

Magnification is a nice tool but it's definitely not a necessity. I can "see" everything happening on a bevel with the thumbnail test. I'd suggest that you constantly test your blades with other methods as you're learning to develop you're skills. Over time TPT's and TNT's will tell you all that you need to know. Sometimes I can feel imperfections that I can't see under a loupe.

Originally Posted by gfro

I've now been straight razor shaving and reading this website for two years. I know technology and things like that improve over the last 100 years but how in the world did barbers 50 years ago shave their clients without the aid of loupes and digital microscopes? I like to think they used the thumb pad test and shaving arm hair and then shaving the customer and that was and is it.

100 years ago barbers were shaving people all day every day. Most of us shave one face a day. I'd guess most of them were vary familiar with honing and maintaining razors. I'd bet their blades got a few strokes on a hone on a daily basis.