What a difference a day makes!

The first time I used my TI 6/8 it was not shave ready. I only managed to shave my cheeks and got one hell of a razor burn.

If I had listened to good advice I would have had my razor professionally honed, but then what would be the fun in that?

related posts:
New TI 6/8, Not shave ready and uneven bevel, is this normal?
Newbie with a new TI 6/8, After First str8 Shave (pics of edge)

Today I was determined to get the razor sharp or bust. I smoked a nice cigar (Romeo & Juliet, Limited Edition 2005) to mellow me out, then sat down to hone the razor. It took 3 hours but I got the blade to pop a hair from toe to heel.

Here was the drill for the shave:

Showered with anticipation.
Massage in Feather Pre-shave lotion
Hot Towels 1 min.
Lather (Taylor of Old Bond Street, Sandalwood soap) & Feather Pre-shave
Hot Towels 1 min.
Lather
Shave 1st pass
Lather
Hot Towels 1 min.
Lather
Shave 2nd pass
Feather shaving gel (Sample size from classicshaving.com)
Shave 3rd touch up pass
Feather after shave lotion.

No cuts or nicks. Less irritation than with a DE and mostly a much closer shave. I am ammazed at the control & feedback I get with the str8 blade. Considering this was the first full shave it was much easier than I feared.

I have a tough beard but now my face is baby smooth my wife loves the results. Can't wait for tommorow's shave.

I am now motivated to hone the razor to an even sharper edge.

Cool, congrats! I'd be motivated to keep shaving with it. Sounds as if it is performing very well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vladsch

I am now motivated to hone the razor to an even sharper edge.

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LMAO - You'll fit in just fine around here.

Seriously, you might consider soome pasted strops or balsa hones to supplement your stone. They are really a pleasure if you are into superhoning. Also, if you are going to be restoring difficult blades, a 1k or 2k stone is a lot quicker than the 4k side, albeit a little more risky.

You must have an awesome feeling of accomplishment after that first shave.

Be careful about going back to the hone. I've actually brought my edges DOWN a peg as often as up. Try to be even more careful and gentle on the next run and do a smaller pyramid too. A few 1/3 passes is a nice conservative step. Rome wasn't built in a day. Do you have some other blades to practice honing on? Would be a good idea.

A 0.5 micron paste after the Norton 4k/8k helps improve my edges. I'm going to try adding a 12k stone and finish with the 0.25 micron paste soon to see if I can get the edge even sharper. :cool:

X

I was beaming with success after the shave. Never thought it would be that good, that soon. I had visions of blood, sweat and fears. Expected a good shave to take months. Instead, my second shave is light-years ahead of an M3 and closer than a DE without the nicks.

I have lots of razors to practice on. I have picked up a few (dozen) on e-bay, I am sure I overpaid for a couple of them, but not too much. Unfortunately they are all in transit.

The problem with me is when I want something, I want it yesterday. I was not planning on doing honing practice on my new TI but I had nothing else, the TI was not shave ready and I wanted a str8 shave. So, I told myself I will get it shave ready or I will hone it to a stump. Lucky for me, I got it shave ready first.

I feel that my success should be shared with the members of these forums. You guys are a treasure of information and support.

Well done!:)