Menard's Union Razor

[coachschaller]

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.








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.

[coachschaller]

Second shave:
Pleasant. Did my quick two pass, XTG, ATG. There is a slight bit of stubble in my normal problem area.

[coachschaller]

Shave three:
A very good shave!!!

I focused on the toe a little more while stropping. The sound was indicative of a very good upcoming shave. I did a quick two pass, XTG and ATG shave. Normally the 2nd or 3rd shave after a honing is the pinnacle or peak of shaving in my experience. While I would not longingly reach for this blade, so far it has held up.

[Johntoad57]

Shave three:
A very good shave!!!

I focused on the toe a little more while stropping. The sound was indicative of a very good upcoming shave. I did a quick two pass, XTG and ATG shave. Normally the 2nd or 3rd shave after a honing is the pinnacle or peak of shaving in my experience. While I would not longingly reach for this blade, so far it has held up.

Glad it worked out for you. I'm sure your face appreciates it as well!

[coachschaller]

number 4:

Two pass quick shave this morning, xtg and atg. Normal shave for today

[coachschaller]

shave 5:
4 pass shave.
No tugging and a nice feeling shave.
Some stubble seemed to come back quicker than normal.... so, maybe not as close?

[Johntoad57]

Sounds like your $3 straight razor has been a worthwhile investment. Sometimes there are things that can't be explained. Good for You!

[coachschaller]

Sounds like your $3 straight razor has been a worthwhile investment. Sometimes there are things that can't be explained. Good for You!

Thanks. So far so good. This is not a nice razor, maybe if I put a new set of scales it would handle better. I thought I would take a little risk and let everyone know how it is going. I will try to keep the thread updated so I can track the edge longevity.

[coachschaller]

found a hiccup:
I was stropping and noticing a tiny set of scratches on the strop - more like markings than scratches. I pulled out my loupe and found a tiny hangnail in the steel. There was a piece sticking up right near the toe. Not on the cutting edge, but perpendicular to the cutting edge right near that corner. It almost looked like a microscopic band saw or microscopic Dremel with a disc had cut into it.

I took it to the side of my Choser 1k and tried to file it out. I think I got it but sandpaper might work better. I still shaved with it and the results are in:

Shave 9:
Very good 4 pass shave. Might need to take it back to the hones as the toe was not up to the rest of the blade. Perhaps because of the repair I had to do...