Thread: Honing a Gold Dollar is hard!

It is not just about sharpness, it is about smoothness and keenness. If the edge is not comfortable, what’s the point. A good progression and a fine finisher will give you both. So will experience.

If you have a heavy beard then you may need more keenness where a high grit finisher like the GS20, lapping flim, diamond or CBN paste/sprays, may be the answer for you.

That is the beauty of a straight razor, you can tailor an edge for a specific beard and skin type.

Originally Posted by AlienEdge

Sorry about that guys but I just got a new microscope today for fathers day. I have never use one for any thing straight razor related but this is so cool getting to see what the stone has done. Sorry for the interruption I could see you guys were having a great debate. One more thing I have not figured out the microscope yet either......working on it

You are on the low setting, go all the opposite way on the focus knob to the stop, then back off until it focuses, to get the high power setting.

Then adjust your blade angle and get closer almost touching the blade to put more light on in the picture.

There are some good USB threads in the workshop forum.

Originally Posted by almond

Just shaved with it again, 3 pass, WTG, XTG & ATG. Net result: BBS.

No, the edge ain't perfect, it may have micro-serrations but it is giving a smooth shave day-after-day.

curiously I did the HHT today again, sometimes it pops the hair, and in some places near the heel it splits and drags the hair. But I am not using the edge near the heel for any practical purposes. So it is ok.

My hair is thick, so shaving without soap and shaving with soap is a task. So the razor must have a mean edge, else it won't shave.

have put in an order for $2 60x magnifier, I will look at the edges more carefully from here on. On visual examination there seems to a micro serration somewhere near the middle, but I haven't been too bothered by it.

After you get some experience with shaving with a straight, maybe a couple hundred shaves after you know what a good edge feels like then you will have a good base to suggest it's a good edge, what I considered a good edge 3 years ago I would not even have in my rotation. Tc

>> what I considered a good edge 3 years ago I would not even have in my rotation.

typically I would have accepted his, had I not lurked across other threads in this forum. And not followed howard schechter on youtube, when he says the edge is as sharp as can be straight from the hone. But once it is stropped, the sharpness gets dulled,

now on this very forum the DE subforum has people complaining how the brand new feather is very harsh on their skin. They say that it takes a few shaves to soften up a bit and then gives a great shave. Doesn't that mean people really do not require a wicked edge, they need an edge that is comfortable on their skin.

my obsession with the gold monkey is because it is like an errant child, and demands more of my attention. I am obsessed with it because it often misbehaves and I feel, rightly or wrongly, that I can set it right. the incoming USB microscope will tell me how much close I am to a great edge.

Originally Posted by almond

howard schechter on youtube, when he says the edge is as sharp as can be straight from the hone. But once it is stropped, the sharpness gets dulled,

Quite simply, that is just not true.

Originally Posted by almond

>> what I considered a good edge 3 years ago I would not even have in my rotation.

typically I would have accepted his, had I not lurked across other threads in this forum. And not followed howard schechter on youtube, when he says the edge is as sharp as can be straight from the hone. But once it is stropped, the sharpness gets dulled,

now on this very forum the DE subforum has people complaining how the brand new feather is very harsh on their skin. They say that it takes a few shaves to soften up a bit and then gives a great shave. Doesn't that mean people really do not require a wicked edge, they need an edge that is comfortable on their skin.

my obsession with the gold monkey is because it is like an errant child, and demands more of my attention. I am obsessed with it because it often misbehaves and I feel, rightly or wrongly, that I can set it right. the incoming USB microscope will tell me how much close I am to a great edge.

Proper stropping "Trues" the edge of a straight; it does not dull it.

https://books.google.com/books?id=CigDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=stroppin g+trues+a+razor%27s+edge&source=bl&ots=aBcQogsF2J& sig=XxQ3G7PyQeMVj9WB79HASt04h0o&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ah UKEwjp4LyMo6nNAhVBElIKHZKnCV0Q6AEIQzAG#v=onepage&q =stropping%20trues%20a%20razor's%20edge&f=false


http://www.coticule.be/stropping-a-straight-razor.html

,,,,,,as for your obsession with the Gold Monkey,, any helpful advice is beyond me.

Originally Posted by almond

>> what I considered a good edge 3 years ago I would not even have in my rotation.

typically I would have accepted his, had I not lurked across other threads in this forum. And not followed howard schechter on youtube, when he says the edge is as sharp as can be straight from the hone. But once it is stropped, the sharpness gets dulled,

now on this very forum the DE subforum has people complaining how the brand new feather is very harsh on their skin. They say that it takes a few shaves to soften up a bit and then gives a great shave. Doesn't that mean people really do not require a wicked edge, they need an edge that is comfortable on their skin.

my obsession with the gold monkey is because it is like an errant child, and demands more of my attention. I am obsessed with it because it often misbehaves and I feel, rightly or wrongly, that I can set it right. the incoming USB microscope will tell me how much close I am to a great edge.

Your trying to compare apples to oranges with the statement I highlighted above.

For decades safety razors required maintenance of the edge, just like straights; in the sence of getting the most shaves out of a single safety razor blade. Many devices hit the market to try & achieve this. Some used a leather stropping device, others used ceramic or glass to achieve this. ALL were done to "true" the edge of the safety razor blade.

Then along comes "coating" of the edge for safety razor blades, to alleviate the need for these methods of maintenance; prolonging the safety razor blade's edge for more shaves per blade. Coatings help to keep the safety razor blade "True" , clean,, thus sharper (for lack of a better word).

The Feather brand DE blade that you refer to is possibly the keenest blade on the market. The fact that some prefer the second or third use (shave) of the Feather does not at all infer that shavers only need a comfortable , less keen edge. It does attest to the quality of the Feather manufacturing.

Straight razors don't have this same type of coating, thus proper stropping is needed.

stropping is a controversial topic, a strop after shave can realign the edge. That is true from personal experience.

what schechter said is that stropping upto 10 times retains the sharp edge, but stropping way above that or even the 11th time on a strop can curve the edge slightly. He observed this on a high powered electron microscope which most people do not have access to. Why should I not believe him.

we strop so that the edge is comfortable sharp and not scary sharp that irritates the skin. We strop on palms so that edge loses some of it's scary sharpness and behaves more humane. the human palm is not exactly a plain surface, it is very contoured leather even if we hold it as straight as we can.

This is tiring, now were using expensive microscopes on these razors, to prove what? We ought to have a thread devoted to this over and over again exam of cheap razors. Let's get back to honing and shaving, the skills that give you a great shave. The enjoyment of holding a razor you have honed, and the sting of astringent. If you want to own such razors, fine, but save us the endless diatribe on your brilliance at getting it sharp.

Originally Posted by almond

Net result: BBS.

No, the edge ain't perfect,

I am not using the edge near the heel for any practical purposes. So it is ok.

On visual examination there seems to a micro serration somewhere near the middle, but I haven't been too bothered by it.

Don't know how you got BBS with so many obvious problems going on, but well done.
The more you learn, the more you will learn to use the entire length of the razor. The heel is a part of the razor that you have good control of because it is closest to your hand, so it helps if it is as sharp as the rest of the edge. Good for trimming up those difficult spots after your first pass.
Release that monkey back into the wilderness where it belongs, get yourself a tidy vintage razor and learn to hone on that. The difference will be night and day. A pro honed razor is a good comparison to know where you are at with your own abilities.
A strop doesn't blunt your razor, it maintains your razor. It takes time to master, but once you do, expect to get 50+ shaves before it needs a touch up. Have a Bengall and a Puma with over 80 shaves on each of them...