Thread: Beginners, The 1k shave . . .

Ducksfan: I'd just say maybe you ought to count strokes, and concentrate on following the honing guides posted in the SRP library at first. I'm glad you've joined epd's 1k challenge. But when first starting out, it's tough to know what you ought to be feeling with razor and stone. If you concentrate on that portion, you're liable to learn what wrong feels like, without knowing that what you're feeling is wrong. Make sense?

epd: If we're gonna move to the 4k, maybe we ought to start a different thread for it. I don't think this one's even at full steam yet. Some of the guys can't start til the weekend. How about half the face with the 1k, and half with a finished razor? That would allow you to enjoy your Escher edge, while still participating in your 1k challenge. You started it friend, you gotta finish it! jmho ofc, it's up to you. I'm on board for three 1k shaves.

Thanks for straightening me out there Joe, im going to keep at the 1k as promised. Tonight im going include the crox paddle 5 strokes only, ill increase the strokes from there.
I am going to change the razor out, my Greaves "fine india steel" will be joining us on this journey... This razor is was a PITA to set the bevel in the first place, and im expecting a challenge to 1k shave from it ( I realize in theory it should shave the same as the wosty)
Off topic, I recieved my coticule today! Looking forward to test shaving off of it tonight. Im going to check the library for info on them now.

How about half the face with the 1k, and half with a finished razor? That would allow you to enjoy your Escher edge,

What about if, EPD - just for yourself - finish on the escher after the 1k and see what it adds in terms of smoothness and see how it affects your edge? I have no idea, but it might be worthwhile.

I shaved off my naniwa 1k and its surprisingly sharp shaver, but the Naniwa seems a slow 1k so it may give a smoother edge than other 1k's.

kind regards
Alex

My second shave came out like the first, sans super high strop count. I used linen for 50, and shell for 80. The shave was just fine. Once again, if there weren't higher grits, I wouldn't be suffering. I am looking forward to the third shave being over with though. I hope this little exercise will reprogram my own defective routine of getting almost there, and then thinking I'm going to take it over the top with a higher grit stone. That's just not how this works. Didn't somebody say that before? lol. I'm thinking there should be a link in the "Stropping is King" thread called, "Setting the bevel is the King's mother". This thread has been another life saver in my honing journey for sure.

Tonights shave was on par with the rest, a little more irritation.
I dulled the edge of the greaves which wasnt really necessary because I added an extra layer of tape.
4 layers of tape, I realize thats a lot of cushion, however I am unhappy with the large size of the bevel with three layers.
25 rolling x with pressure
25 rolling x little pressure
10 rolling x zero pressure
5 laps Crox
50 linen ( I just noticed its a "geuine belfast linen"? )
50 leather
I thought it was pretty smooth, but my wife just came over to me and said my face looks really red and irritated... maybe it has to do with the heavy wedge + low grit? crox? tape cushion? different strop? Im voting for a not so great prep... maybe Ill take a magnified look at it later> Edit: the bevel

I plan on introducing a new razor tomorrow, something with a heavy hollow. filarmonica?
As requested going from 1k to escher (pretty sure its still going to act like 1k with a shinier bevel) on the greaves
Also Im going to attempt the unicot method on the Wostenholm from the 1k

"sometimes we forget what can be done with very little." quote of the day!

EPD if you read the "One Stone Honing" stuff that Lynn and I did last year you will find 1k to Escher in there, I think you are going to be rather surprised with the edge that you will get doing the One stone hone routines.. Especially now that you are confident in the 1k shave...
Once that bevel is in the condition you are now getting to you are going to find that honing is going to become much different for you...

Honest I have been saying that 90% of honing is in the bevel set for quite a long time now, this whole experiment you guys just did should really be an eye opener once you add back in other stones and hones...

Alright guys you roped me in.......as always! i took part in this little test tonight! Here was the set up.......

Chosera 1k
Tony Miller Latigo and Linen
Filarmonica DT 13...........DON'T WORRY GLEN IT WASN'T THE ONE I JUST GOT BACK FROM YOU...

This is what i did.....

there was a small chip i needed to get past to i took the blade across the side of my Norton 220/1k combo 3times to get a little closer to removing the chip. I followed that with a set of 20 circles on both sides with firm pressure and then 20 firm pressure X strokes....tested with the TNT and it was OKAY not great but close...however a small bit of the chip was still there! So......20 more circles on each side followed by 25 firm pressure X strokes with a tad more pressure focused on the chip area.....VOILA chip gone and TNT passed along the whole blade!!! So i did an Arm hair test and it was good but not yet great! So 20 more light/no pressure circles on each side followed by 40 NO pressure X strokes.....arm hair was RUNNING from the Filly so i figured lets go to the strop! Did 50 laps on the linen and 80 on Latigo (this was the first time i had used this TM and LOVED the feel of it may have to put it in the rotation before the Old No. 2s i have)

NOW THE MOMENT OF TRUTH.....THE SHAVE........

did my normal shower/proraso prep, whipped up some RazoRock LE and took a DEEP BREATH.......and HOLY S&!*$ it was a DFS!!!

did a 3 pass shave with VERY little irritation at all which was a total shock i was for sure there was gonna be a big sting with the Alum but there wasn't....even SWMBO commented on the shave!

NOW i don't know if the Filly shaved my A$$ or if i actually did it right but this is probably one of the best shaves i have had with a razor i honed! i am gonna try again for my next shave with a different razor to see how it goes!!

In conclusion GLEN IS RIGHT 90% OF HONING IS IN THE BEVEL SET!!!!! and i learned that in a GREAT way tonight!!! thanks again guys for thinking up this idea!!!

This thread has been an eye opener for me.
Yesterday I decided that I had to do something about my honing skills, since I never seem to be 100% satisfied with the shave readyness of my razors,
and I allways seem to need more hours honing than you guys here on SRP
Having read this thread with great interest , I decided to start with the basics.



Shapton 1k
Dovo prima silver steel ebenholz
Dovo paddle ( I didn´t use the CroX side )

I blunted the razor with a bevel to the side of the glass move.
40 circles on each side, 20 ordinary strokes and 20 X strokes with quite heavy pressure seemed to create some microchipping.
30 circles on each side, 20 ordinary + 20 X strokes all with light pressure makes the razor pick some of the arm hairs above the skin.
30 circles on each side, 20 ordinary + 20 X strokes all with no pressure at all, and the razor is grabbing and cutting hair about 1\3 inch above my skin ( some of the hairs atleast)
I did 20 more ultra light strokes over the hone with not even the weight of the razor ( to help the quite rugged looking edge under the microscope) that didn´t seem to help at all, so I decided to do the rest with the paddle strop.
80 strokes over the paddle and time to hit the shower.

The shave was suprisingly smooth, probably better than some I got of my 12k a couple of years ago.
I don´t want to lie, the shave was not very smooth, and the stubble on my upper lip pulled something fierce, but no razorburn and no cuts.

Never again will I spend 4-5 hours polishing a bad bevel from 6k to 30k and back to 6k again , thanks to this thread I now know what a bevel looks like when it is ready atleast on my Dovo.

[QUOTE=regularjoe;935981]Ducksfan: I'd just say maybe you ought to count strokes, and concentrate on following the honing guides posted in the SRP library at first. I'm glad you've joined epd's 1k challenge. But when first starting out, it's tough to know what you ought to be feeling with razor and stone. If you concentrate on that portion, you're liable to learn what wrong feels like, without knowing that what you're feeling is wrong. Make sense?

Well said Joe. Spent a bunch of time yesterday reading through the library. Is there a way to check the bevel without magnification? Everything looks good to the naked eye, and the TNT seemed good. I might take them back to the stone though and count strokes this time.
I'd rather learn what right feels like. Anyone in west Texas want to give me some pointers?

Alright, final shave to stropping standards complete. Honestly I didn't complete the shave with my 1k razor. This isn't because it was too uncomfortable due to it being the 1k. This is because it was too uncomfortable due to an inadequate bevel set. It's so nice to be able to say that definitively!

Lessons learned:
1: I still need plenty of practice on identifying an adequate bevel set.
2: Bevel, bevel, bevel, bevel, bevel...done?? Nope...BEVEL!
3:Until I can figure out the proper way to read the bevel set tests, I may just have to shave test every razor at the 1k before moving on to a higher grit. This test works EVERY time, and relies on a sense I am genetically predisposed to avoid-Pain. No learning involved on that. :P

Ducksfan: I use a 30x scope, TNT, TPT, sometimes HHT....But as my results in this thread attest to, I've not got them completely figured. I hope you're able to sit down with an expert. I've had some skype time with one, and it definitely made a difference for me!

So tomorrow...Do I drive on with 1k shaving using some crox on denim? Maybe...But only after I get that bevel set!