The Tale of Two Bokers

[CaliforniaCajun]

The one on top is a 5/8 Red Injun and shaves like a dream.
The one on bottom is a 5/8 King Cutter (vintage) and my face feels like it's been in a catfight after shaving with it tonight.

They look identical in appearance, both in pristine condition. The edges of both look the same under a 100x Radio Shack $15 microscope. I had a very uncomfortable and subpar shave with the King Cutter last night so I whipped out the Lynn Abrams DVD and applied the Pyramid method:

3x 4k
3x 8k
1x 4k
3x 8k
1x 4k
5x 8k
10x 12k
Strop

This is how my face feels:

Is there any obvious problem from looking at the razors?

[Lynn]

Had you set a bevel on either?? If not, you started at a pretty low count pyramid. Both look like they should hone up fine and be nice shavers.

Have fun.

[sleekandsmooth]

those are beautiful! a very nice pair. I hope you get the edge figured out on the one.

[CaliforniaCajun]

Had you set a bevel on either?? If not, you started at a pretty low count pyramid. Both look like they should hone up fine and be nice shavers.

Have fun.

They look like they have a bevel. I did get a good shave from the King Cutter but my face feels like it did back in the days of cartridges and disposables.

What I'm trying to decide is if some razors just aren't made for certain people. The reason I raised the question is the fact that the King Cutter (uncomfortable) and the Red Injun (wonderful) look like one and the same except for the model stamp.

I got the Red Injun from someone whose dad used it. All I did was a minor touch-up on a Swaty and it shaved wonderfully well. I tried the same on the King Cutter (the person I bought it from used a Swaty) and got the discomfort. Since that didn't work I tried the low-count pyramid given the outstanding condition and the bevel under the microscope.

Oh well, back to the drawing board.

[CaliforniaCajun]

Oh no!

In the video I noticed that Lynn had the hones perpendicular to himself, which was a new position for me. I marveled how much more comfortable and easier it was for me to hone this time.

Call me Lefty. It just occured to me that the reason it felt so good and was easy to keep steady was because I was using my LEFT hand, which means I was using a REVERSE "X" pattern. Oh no! I have been trying to picture in my mind whether or not it makes a difference since we hone razors on both sides and everything works the same. I can't decide.

I got a fine shave, but it left my face very irritated.

[epd]

I have that identical razor, Imo king cutters are one of the easiest razors I have had on the stones.
What I have learned recently is, the longer and the smoother you are on the 1k, the finer the edge.....to an extent.
Id say your bevel needs work. I've been fooled by good "looking" bevels before, many times, they are a bugger.
Good luck.

[CaliforniaCajun]

I think I'm going to start over. It was shave ready when I got it and did shave more comfortably. Thank you.

[CaliforniaCajun]

Worked on it about 4 hours and got horrible results. What I can't understand is that I got the razor to pass the hanging hair test (first time ever) on the 1000 grit stone, then after 20 laps on the 4000 grit it could no longer pass. I went back to the 1000 grit and never could re-capture the passing hanging hair test. So I went ahead and finished it up. It's like, if I left well enough alone after passing the test with the 1000 grit everything would have been all right. It looks great under a microscope. I don't understand what went wrong.

[epd]

Head back to the stones and monitor your strokes, note your pressure- I start medium pressure, them down to no pressure on 1k.
Also Id be watching your forward stoke, seems like a common area for rough uneven strokes..
I used to occasionally lift the spine at the end of my strokes mildly, wrecking my previous edge and back to 1k.
If you have been on it for more than 45 mins better to put it down for another day.
I'm just typing for encouragment, I got all my lessons from gssixguns videos, as well as a group lesson with holli4pirating (very grateful for both)
See it through!

[epd]

Oh Btw anyone here will tell you HHT is useless, when it cuts arm hair real easy along the entire edge at 1k move on