Thread: Corking blades?

My preferred cork is from Lanson Champagne - much superior to others I've tried.

Rob why is that? What is different about that cork?

I use synthetic corks for knives, they are denser than natural corks.

Gentlemen,

In traditional shaving, corking is the process of gently running the edge of the blade in a slicing move on a piece of cork — the blade barely penetrates the cork. Wine bottle cork is ideal for this. Corking is meant to reduce metal residue from the blade's edge, as well as to tame it.

I have seen this done mostly with Feather DE blades. Done it myself a couple times. Is there really a need for corking certain DE blades? Some gentlemen will say yes and some no. Not worth the argument. Try it for yourself and see what you think.

Originally Posted by straightshooter1911

Try any of the persona brand blades. Smoother than any of the 3 you mentioned by far, and almost as sharp as the feathers. I think the Israeli reds are a great value in their line, and tend to be easier on the first shave. I find 3-5 shaves per blade 5 as absolute max. is what I get for best comfort. Ymmv.

Exact same with me. Personna for 5 DE shaves or 3 per half blade in a shavette, where I mostly use them. I don't use anything else.

Corking is more a philosophy I think. I used to do it, then forgot to do it once and didn't notice it. As an alternative you can draw the blade flatly between your fingers.

As far as cutting yourself is concerned, as you describe, I would believe it has more to do with suddenly using a different tool without the right touch with it. To figure that out it would probably be best to shave a blade away, then change and see if the next shave with the fresh blade cuts you again or if you got the touch right in the meantime.

Best wishes,
OldSalt

Personnas ripped me up, very grabby. The most comfortable shave I got with DE was from Feathers. I'd get 4-5 shaves out of each blade, and the last was as comfortable as the first; I couldn't tell the difference. That said, I was unwilling to see how long I could use a blade before it gave out, so maybe I could have gotten more. I never corked and had no problems. I'd guess technique and angle is more the culprit than the blade.

4 more days and this will be the first thread on SRP to stay on topic for 3 whole months!

I really have no idea if any of my brothers know how to ski.

I'm told you have to cork the skis first.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I really have no idea if any of my brothers know how to ski.

My brother in law just went skiing

I used to cross country ski

Which country?