Thread: A love hate relationship with a french point

I have recenty acquired a J.A. Henckells french point. I've shaved with her three times now and she is giving my best shaver a pretty close run for it's money. It's the same length as my Harrison but I realized that I've up till now been paying attention to were the tip of the spine is at as opposed to the point.

this is might problematic when your point extends a quarter inch past your spine. on the second shave I got both my ears matching nicks.however It's the best thing my neck has ever seen and I can get smooth easier in a lot of places with it than i can a square point. So at the moment this razor and I seem to have the relationship of the two leads in an 80's buddy cop movie, but i think it's going to grow on me the more I shave with it.

If it shaves that well for you in the long run, then those hard lessons in respect will be well worth it!

My own personal best shaver is a Wheatley Brothers. It's a very wedge-y old Sheffield blade with a French/Irish point and it took serious chunks of face off on a couple of occasions. But between figuring out how it liked to be honed and most importantly how it liked to be handled, I have come to be on very, very good terms with it. And I wouldn't trade it for any other razor.

Shoulder less French/Irish and Spanish points, I have an affinity for them.
They have proved to feel the best in my hands and on my face.
Coincidence? Maybe but it is my current love affair.

You got it figured out, knowing where the tip is important
but don't lose site of the spine it can find obstructions as well and earn you a love bite.

after a few shaves, you'll be so used to it. you'll wonder how you ever shaved without a french point.

an update:

I did some digging and it's a Henckels 56 with bolsters and a barbers notch (so it's technically not a french point but the notch on it was kind of subtle I thought so I wasn't sure if it was technically a notch or not.)

She's a little rusty but she's a beauty

It's a near wedge which is grand in the respect that it mows better than a John Deere but Im kind of worried about honing it since the thickest thing I've honed was quarter wedge. does it make a huge difference on a barber's hone?

As long as you are getting the entire edge no,
If more of the spine and a wide bevel are in play it may take a bit more work but the principles are the same.

Mark the edge with magic marker, do a couple of laps on your barber hone, and look at the edge under magnification. If *the edge* (i.e. the sharp bit where the bevels actually meet - don't worry about the shoulders of the bevels) is still black from the marker then it is not making contact with the barber's hone. Add a layer of electrical tape and repeat the test. Heavier grind blades are frequently honed with one or more layers of tape. That increases the angle slightly and reduces the width of the bevel which in turn means you have to remove less metal to get to sharp.

All of this of course assumes that you're just touching up or maintaining an already good edge. Anything beyond that would take a looooooong time to accomplish on a barber's hone!

To be honest you'll probably notice a difference from your quarter-hollow, but maybe not a huge difference.

G&B, you'll get there. Having had a dozen Case Imps or Temperites (same blade), I had one that seemed out for flesh. 'Just threw me sideways. How come I've done fine w/ them and now I suddenly forgot? If you have to - do a soft mute on the point. 'Nothing that changes the profile. You'll resolve whatever is leading to the carnage and you'll be loving that Henckels.

By your join date - you don't appear brand new to the art. But the conditioning to pay attention to the tool in the hand is strong. The feel of the point on the face is what's needing development. 'Awkward transition, I know. Either way, you'll whup it.

If ya need a hand w/ touch-up, PM me. 'Just (actual) shipping.

If your just doing a touchup on a barber hone it may take a couple extra laps but nothing serious. Try your regular routine first (what you would do with full/half/quarter hollow) and test with the TPT or the shave test. If it needs a little more do a few more laps until it's up to snuff.

And if it was honed with tape (likely with a wedge) remember to tape the spine before the touchup.

ok so having no idea which way it was honed would it be safer to just go ahead and tape it?