30/08/20
Curve Ball Sunday
Face wash with Whickams pre shave soap
Brush: Simpson Commodore X1 Best Badger
Soap: CR Salter Indian Sandalwood
Razor: "Le Conol" / IBC "Cerakote"
Blade: Kai Captain Pink (5)
Post shave: Cold water splash, TC's Bay Rum Splash #1
Balm: Barts Balm Cinnamon & Patchouli Balm & Lotion
Aftershave: CK Be
I spent a bit time yesterday trying to clean up a filthy Vintage Straight razor i bought to mess about with.
The picture does not do the filth justice
Using Toothpaste, soap and soft brush, the Dremel, Auto-sol and a few buffing pads i got rid of the heavy blackness. Its a start, it has cleaned up quite a bit.
This morning i pulled out a set of Honing stones i bought a while back, although i never used them, they are cheap and i decided to use these to try to get some technique going before i start on the Naniwa Super stones i have just purchased, i d rather damage the cheap stuff learning tech and rythm.
I set up the Lapping Glass and 400G Wet and Dry, spray bottle ready and stones soaked.
The 400/1000 stone lapped easily enough and i had them flat in a jiffy. I changed the sheet of W&D and after hatch marking i set about the 3000/8000 stone, These were a little more difficult to get flat, not so much the 3000 but the 8000 revealed it had a few mold indentation, not noticeable straight off, I used the Diamond 400g plate to take off the heavy, i changed the sheets another twice, eventually getting it flat. I then removed the edges on both stones to save any damage from poor technique.
A quick revisit to a couple of honing Vids and a few notes taken i set about trying to set a Bevel on this old but now shinier dog. After the initial check under the loupe the razor did not have any edge at all, it actually looked quite round. I completed a set of strokes and then laps for the bevel and checked the edge, it showed up many dings and a couple of quite deep chips, i went to the 400G side and took these out slowly, then back onto the 1000.
Anyway, i moved through the progression checking each time, It looked as though it had a pretty even / level edge and the razor had passed the HHT test and the edge had started to get a polish on it, 3000 then 8000 done and that's all i wanted to do on the stones.
I cleaned every thing up then re-pasted the Chro/Oxide paddle and completed about 25 laps on this, this put more of a polish to the edge, Canvas and then leather to finish. The razor was tree topping my arm hairs easily so I then thought "Why the hell not!"
Another easy lather and a nice consistency, i had the IBC on hand if things did not go too well, i started as normal and to my suprise the razor works, it also sings, yes its not the sharpest shave i have had and it is most definitely not the worst shave. The razor did seem to be tugging a little on my heavier stubble a bit like a blade going off but it was not uncomfortable, I also managed some ATG stokes under my chin.
2 passes gave me a SAS result, my skin felt OK and was pretty comfortable.
I used the IBC to complete an all ways buffing pass and ended up with a DFS finish, No indication from the splash.
I completed my Normal Post shave routine leaving me 1 very happy shaver.
Could i do better, Yes of course, however the feeling i got shaving with something i sort of honed is very satisfying.
A nice maintenance confidence booster today.
Stay Safe and enjoy your Day All.
