Applied Forum

[jackslimpson]

Below is a picture of a Gens No. 14, 15/16 razor. It is the fourth razor I've honed. I've known nothing of honing razor but for what I've learned in this forum, the wiki, and the associated videos. I bought this razor as NOS and shaved with it immediately, stropping only. It was not bad, but was clearly not the greatest. This weekend I decided to hone the razor the best I knew how, and to see if I notice any improvement. For prior razors ( a Mastro Livi New Grind, a Dovo Best Quality 1/4 Hollow, and a Kanenaga Kamisori) I used the stones that I had that best approximated the 4000/8000 pyramid honing scheme, finishing each on a 4X4 piece of balsa strop with sides treated with boron carbide 1 micron, chromium oxide .5 micron, and diamond spray .25 micron. I ended up with very good, comfortable results.

So, with the Gens, I decided to try to simplify things. I used only a red akapin (aoto) Jnat (3000-4000 equivalent), a Takashima Jnat )8000 to 10,000 equivalent, I'm told) for the pyramid progression. At the end, I did a test, and found that the blade would pop the hair off my arms by gently raking the edge across the hairs. That is about as good as any other razor had been when I got a comfortable shave. I then refined the edge by making 30 laps on a Yaginoshima Jnat. The Yaginoshima is very hard, compared to the others. The edge then wasn't noticeably better, but the bevel was smoother, more misty looking. So, here, I deviated from most of the wisdom on this forum and my previous habits. I did this because, with my other razors, I started getting really good results when stropping included a warm up on the split side of my strop. I thought, well, let me try to skip the CrOx, etc., and go directly to the strop. I did 50 laps on the split side, and 100 laps on the grain side.

The shave was perfect, as good as I'd had with any of the others. The very wide, very hollow blade has taken some getting used to, but was a pleasure to shave with. Before, I thought maybe I got lucky. Now, I'm sure that the lessons in this forum, from the moderators, founders, and the participants, are truly valuable. It just works.



Cheers,

Jack

[Hirlau]

That's a beautiful looking razor.
Can't comment on your honing, I've never used a JNAT. It's great to hear she improved & gave you a good shave.