Well for $3 USD what could go wrong? I purchased the Menard's razor package that came with a stand, synthetic brush, and Union razor. It was less than 11 dollars shipped to me. The stand and brush look really nice! The razor is a bit pedestrian.
The scales are thick and clunky. It has a spacer instead of a wedge and the plastic scales necessitated a third pin/ spacer.
Blade was not so bad. Jimping on the bottom of the tang and seemed to be mostly straight. There was a slight smile and small bevels. There was some uneven hone wear and a small grinding chunk perpendicular to the hone wear line. However not too bad.
Attachment 355554
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First shave off the factory edge was a quick two pass shave after 12 to 15 hours since last shave - not ideal to test. However, it seemed to shave, if not comfortably.
Second shave two days growth:
Stropped 45 on cotton and 69 on leather.
With the grain was tugging and painful. Tried against the grain and would not shave...
Onto the hones!
For context, I have honed exclusively on film, with the exception of one finishing session on a recent addition of a Naniwa 12k. I have been able to keep my dozen or so razors sharp for over a dozen years. I had ordered the full progression from Maggard's and had to wait till I could find time to lap and hone.
I lapped all my stones with the DMT D8C. Progression was Naniwa 1K (Chosera), then Super Stones in 3k, 5k, 8k, 12K.
Bevel set :(
Saturday after an hour or so of lapping I set into the bevel set. This was a bear to set the bevel on. The middle was just fine, however the heel and toe were not jointing up. Sharpie test revealed I was missing the first half inch on the toe and the last eighth inch of the heel. I spent almost an hour trying to set the bevel. It was circles, x-strokes, pressure, no pressure, back and forth, tape, no tape, etc. Instead of getting fed up, I cleaned up and went to bed for the night.
Sunday after a wonderful day at church and post church pot-luck I took my prescribed nap and went back to the bevel setting. I was finally able to get the toe to pass the sharpie test. Finished setting the bevel, and honed up the progression.
I had to do some exaggerated x-strokes to actually hone the toe, but I got it to pass my initial sharpness tests.
Caveat: I have only shaved with my new Naniwa 12K edge once or twice on other razors. During the week I normally use a Kai disposable with feather blades. I am not widely experienced at honing with stones, but have experienced synthetic edges, film edges, pasted strop edges, and at least one JNAT edge.
Shave test:
It shaved very well! I did a full 4 pass shave. I use the toe for detail work on the mustache, top and bottom lip. I went WTG, XTG, XTG, ATG. The toe was not as refined as it could be, but gave a Good/Great shave. Middle and heel were fine. The pinning on the blade a scales are really tight, almost too tight - but did loosen up some. So far the ONE shave is on par with my normal, film edges. I normally omit stropping off a fresh hone, just to get a feel for the edge, but this time I went with 45 on cotton and 69 on leather before the shave.
Now that I have a 12K, I will be able to finally go down the rabbit hole of refining and finishing. If I ever find time maybe I will try to compare my edges.
Oh the grind was likely half hollow. It is a generous hunk of metal, but did not sing like a full hollow nor have the feel of a near wedge.
Now on to see how long the edge will last!! I will keep the thread updated.
