Thread: comparison

I just finished my first shave with the blade that I dulled on a glass bottle last week and then practiced honing on. I reset the bevel on 1K and then put it through a pyramid of 4K and 8K. I am looking into higher grit hones, but that is as far as I go for now. When I compare the shave to a blade that JimR honed, I have to say that my edge was not quite as good as his. His shaved easier and did not leave as much irritation. The irritation, I am sure is a testament to my technique and not a testament of his superior honing ability. However, while it did take me longer and more effort, I was able to get a comparable shave smoothness wise, I just need to figure out how to stop cutting myself and how to stop causing irritation. I hope that my new SRD strop will help as it will be replacing the cheapest stop on amazon.com. Now I can not wait for my new Dovo to get in from SRD. I am very interested in comparing a blade honed by the folks there.
On an off topic note, why did they have to make Styptic burn so much?

**PS thank you for all of you that gave me advise on getting the toe of my razor to sharpen. I used the " rest the finger on the end" to keep the toe down.

Would a finishing stone or a pasted strop help this out a bit? I am wondering if some of it is just that I stopped at an 8K stone.

I would imagine you are using too much pressure when shaving if you are having issues with cutting yourself.

If the cutting issue is just with this blade, it is probably not quite there yet and it is taking a bit more pressure/angle to shave.

Thank you, this was my first stab attempt at honing since I gathered information on here and gave it a good try with the stones I bought specifically for razor honing. Unfortunately, I accidentally tapped the razor that was honed by JimR on the sink and slightly chipped the blade. Nothing that can't be honed out, but now I don't have anything to compare to until my Dovo gets here from SRD.

The styptic stick is Alum, same stuff used in pickles to firm them up, Potssium aluminum sulfate, it is a blood coagulant. (stops bleedgin). It is slightly acid and that is one of the reason it stings when applied to a cut.

So can a guy rub a pickle on his neck to stop bleeding? Get a nice cheap pickle aftershave too I bet!

Originally Posted by BigJim

So can a guy rub a pickle on his neck to stop bleeding? Get a nice cheap pickle aftershave too I bet!

Make it a sweet pickle, because I don't think dill pickles have the alum. Soldering iron works well too.

Meh, I don't like sweet pickles, but I have some REALLY crunchy dills that I love to have with sandwiches/lunches etc. I don't think my wife would care for the pickle aftershave though.

I want to see pics of you using a soldering iron instead of alum!

Originally Posted by straightshot

Would a finishing stone or a pasted strop help this out a bit? I am wondering if some of it is just that I stopped at an 8K stone.

A pasted strop will help just about any edge finished up to 8k..if it is done properly..... but you are in the right spot and the big learning curve is going to be learning with the stones you have right now.