Thread: Another hone test - Shaving off the Naniwa 5k

I don't remember when or where, but I know I recently posted somewhere that I would try shaving off my Naniwa 5k. I put it off for a bit, because I wasn't looking forward to it. I was anticipating pulling, general discomfort, a poor shave, and having to go back to finish razors. I am happy to report that none of the above happened.

I did my little experiment with two razors -
King Gun Metal - 5/8, full hollow, American steel
Joesph Elliot For Barber's Use - 13/16 ish, quarter hollow, Sheffield steel

I only did two for the above mentioned reasons. I chose American and Sheffield to cover harder and softer steels; I chose grinds on opposite ends of the spectrum for more diversity.

I'd honed both razors using my current "normal" honing; I set the bevels on a DMT1.2k, then went to the Naniwa 5k for some circles and X's. Each razor then got 50 laps on my new SRD English Bridle strop, and then came the test shave.

In order to normalize my face, I used these razors while test shaving a number of other razors that were finished on my vintage Thuringian. I did this because I wanted to have a direct comparison to a really great shave, as opposed to having a subpar shave with no comparison and, as a result, thinking it was pretty good.

The shave was very comfortable. There was maybe the slightest amount of pulling, the razors cut smoothly, and I got a close shave. I only went WTG (because I only ever shave WTG), and each razor got one stroke on my cheek and one stroke on my neck (again, just to get some diversity).

Next time I head over to visit JoeD & Co, I'll have to remember to bring some razors to finish off a Norton 4k. How low can you go? Haha.

I suppose now I'll have to update my signature....