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Something to think about...
Last monday, the postman rang twice :) and delivered two different razors.
The first one was a Japanese NOS and the second was a vintage Svedish one to clean from some rust and hone.
Some expert friends (and japanese razors conoisseurs) suggested to test the NOS with factory sharpening and just some stropping. They said that could have been surprisingly good. Although hesitant, I accepted the advice and shaved that way.
Well, it shaved very close and quite smooth, despite a microscopic bevel aesthetically not very reassuring.
Next post I'll talk about the other razor, but this fact made me think about the importance of the basic sharpening and the creation of the bevel. It is a component that probably reaches 90% of the entire honing sequence: a well set and cutting bevel and we can shave in a good way. I believe to be able (once the bevel is set and that's already an hard job) to add a 5% more, to get a bit smoother shave (using a lot of time, work, knoweledge & stones)... but, the biggest effort for us amateur honers ... it is being able to add the missing 5%. And there the game gets tough. It takes years to refine techniques, knowledge, dexterity and ... that pinch of magic to take that last, apparently small step, which brings us closer to perfection.
Here's the bevel of the Japanese NOS:
Attachment 330149