No gentlemen, this is not a post that should be moved to the Clown House or Speakeasy. The proceeding pic is of a delicious pour of Woodford Reserve over a Whiskey Ball. This picture has,meaning, gents.
I've been a student of the craft of honing for a while(a few months- a small timeline compared to those that have spent years dedicated to this craft) and reading, watching, asking questions, etc in an attempt to learn a bit about this craft. I've tried this once before and went down in a bloodbath of flames. As I've stated before, I think I likely didn't have enough shaves(DE or straights) under my belt to really understand what a good shave was and also what my face should feel like. Fast-forward a year after the first straight debacle, and things are really going splendidly.
I've had great success with shaving with straights this time around and quite enjoying myself. I do know a bit of what I like at this point. Part of the learning curve of shaving with straights is knowing what you don't like and also knowingnwhat works. Knowing your face, beard map, and especially trouble spots is a huge advantage in progressing with straights.
Now all of this is fine and dandy, but as I've discussed with several members, I have a hard time accepting the fact that I can't really maintain my arsenal of straights additionally, I have recently added a couple of higher-end straights that I don't want to have to ship out to maintain the edges. Firstly, because of the fear of being lost in the mail. Also, there's just a large amount of satisfaction in having the ability to maintain an edge on our weapon of choice.
This leads me to the point of this post and the two pictures.
I have a F.W.E. Straight I had snagged off the 'bay some time ago. I really like the razor and the looks of it. It just needed to be honed. It had a decent edge on it and would mow down arm hair, but it needed some serious touching up. I purchased two coticules from a BST listing recently with the thought that if things don't work out, it would be an easy resell. I did exchange a few PM's with the previous owner and got some great tips in using these stones.
So, I decided to do exactly as a very active member of the honing community says to do. Wet the stones down and just hone. Then hone some more. Continue honing, then hone a duck. Now, I did not hone a duck, but I did "Just Hone".
Today I started with a heavy slurry on the coticule and used circles and half strokes, ending each progression by diluting the slurry until I ended up with clear water. I did all of this without stopping to look at each stage under a microscope. I "Just Honed" then after, I stropped the razor and took a pass or two on my cheek and sideburn areas. Shaving results- for me- are the main determining factor. This razor shaved, but was very rough and rugged. Definitely not the results I was looking for, but certainly showed a glimmer of promise.
So back to the coticule. I took a look under the microscope and could see scratches that showed my progress in certain areas of the blade, but moreover, showed the inconsistencies in the honing progression. (Sorry-no pics, I have a true microscope, not a USB microscope). So I essentially started over(BTW- Had determined via TNT and microscope there was a defined bevel across the entire blade). So I started with a heavy slurry( somewhere around Mejiro in the Nagura Progression, but having never used Nagura, this is a slightly educated guess). While honing on the heavy slurry, I slowly diluted it as I moved along, and checked with microscope periodically. It seemed to be going in right direction. So again, after this, I stropped and took a few more passes over my face. Results were better, but not exactly what I'd call great. Again the razor shaved, but it wasn 't near as smooth as it needs to be.
So, back to the coticule- This time I started again with heavy slurry and then started looking at blade very frequently and watching the scratch patterns and ensuring each slurry progression was being covered by the ensuing slurry. Making sure that each level of slurry was in fact, doing as it expected(in my mind at least) I watched attentively through the microscope, but really paying attention to how the blade feels as it glides across the coticule. During this session, I really felt as if I was paying better attention to the look, feel, and sounds of honing the razor. Afterwards, I stropped the razor(which did feel different as I stropped-felt and sounded different/better) and then it happened:
SUCCESS!!!!!
I really kind of had a feeling this was better, but no idea if this was truly a success. It had gotten late, so this was it for today anyhow. I had prepared one of my regular straights as backup, but gentlemen, this would not be necessary.
I lathered up my face and started WTG as usual. Sideburns and cheeks were already pretty well shaved due to earlier attempts. I noticed a definitive difference immediately. I didn't want to get too carried away at first-let's see how it goes. Then continuing around my face WTG as my usual 1st pass. OK- let's lather it up again for my usual XTG/ATG pass. This pass also felt great and the razor was singing as is typical of F.W.E. Razors. I followed this up with my typical few stroke clean up on my neck and mustache area and called this a very successful shave.
And for me- results are what matters most at this juncture. There may be a time where other factors matter, but for now, this is how I gauge success. So for me, this honing session, long it may have been- was a success. The shave resulted in zero nicks, slight razor burn, and a truly DFS. The fact that I was able to work through the issues and have a positive result is just awesome.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but as most of you have already experienced, this was the first of many A-ha moments for me in the straight razor journey. Thanks for reading, educating me and others, and thanks for your patience for us newbies to this outstanding hobby/obsession. Which leads me to the whisky(which is empty now :a26: ) which was a celebratory drink to commemorate a great honing session, which was educational, and ended with a DFS.
Thanks to the members of B&B. Thanks for all you do to pass along your knowledge, wisdom, and most importantly thanks for sharing your mistakes and successes. These shared experiences facilitate learning for the rest of us.
Cheers!!
Dan
**Gents, please feel free to comment, offer suggestions, or even share your own success/a-ha moments when it comes to honing straights. We are all here to learn from each other. I welcome all forms of comments. Thanks!!
I've been a student of the craft of honing for a while(a few months- a small timeline compared to those that have spent years dedicated to this craft) and reading, watching, asking questions, etc in an attempt to learn a bit about this craft. I've tried this once before and went down in a bloodbath of flames. As I've stated before, I think I likely didn't have enough shaves(DE or straights) under my belt to really understand what a good shave was and also what my face should feel like. Fast-forward a year after the first straight debacle, and things are really going splendidly.
I've had great success with shaving with straights this time around and quite enjoying myself. I do know a bit of what I like at this point. Part of the learning curve of shaving with straights is knowing what you don't like and also knowingnwhat works. Knowing your face, beard map, and especially trouble spots is a huge advantage in progressing with straights.
Now all of this is fine and dandy, but as I've discussed with several members, I have a hard time accepting the fact that I can't really maintain my arsenal of straights additionally, I have recently added a couple of higher-end straights that I don't want to have to ship out to maintain the edges. Firstly, because of the fear of being lost in the mail. Also, there's just a large amount of satisfaction in having the ability to maintain an edge on our weapon of choice.
This leads me to the point of this post and the two pictures.
I have a F.W.E. Straight I had snagged off the 'bay some time ago. I really like the razor and the looks of it. It just needed to be honed. It had a decent edge on it and would mow down arm hair, but it needed some serious touching up. I purchased two coticules from a BST listing recently with the thought that if things don't work out, it would be an easy resell. I did exchange a few PM's with the previous owner and got some great tips in using these stones.
So, I decided to do exactly as a very active member of the honing community says to do. Wet the stones down and just hone. Then hone some more. Continue honing, then hone a duck. Now, I did not hone a duck, but I did "Just Hone".
Today I started with a heavy slurry on the coticule and used circles and half strokes, ending each progression by diluting the slurry until I ended up with clear water. I did all of this without stopping to look at each stage under a microscope. I "Just Honed" then after, I stropped the razor and took a pass or two on my cheek and sideburn areas. Shaving results- for me- are the main determining factor. This razor shaved, but was very rough and rugged. Definitely not the results I was looking for, but certainly showed a glimmer of promise.
So back to the coticule. I took a look under the microscope and could see scratches that showed my progress in certain areas of the blade, but moreover, showed the inconsistencies in the honing progression. (Sorry-no pics, I have a true microscope, not a USB microscope). So I essentially started over(BTW- Had determined via TNT and microscope there was a defined bevel across the entire blade). So I started with a heavy slurry( somewhere around Mejiro in the Nagura Progression, but having never used Nagura, this is a slightly educated guess). While honing on the heavy slurry, I slowly diluted it as I moved along, and checked with microscope periodically. It seemed to be going in right direction. So again, after this, I stropped and took a few more passes over my face. Results were better, but not exactly what I'd call great. Again the razor shaved, but it wasn 't near as smooth as it needs to be.
So, back to the coticule- This time I started again with heavy slurry and then started looking at blade very frequently and watching the scratch patterns and ensuring each slurry progression was being covered by the ensuing slurry. Making sure that each level of slurry was in fact, doing as it expected(in my mind at least) I watched attentively through the microscope, but really paying attention to how the blade feels as it glides across the coticule. During this session, I really felt as if I was paying better attention to the look, feel, and sounds of honing the razor. Afterwards, I stropped the razor(which did feel different as I stropped-felt and sounded different/better) and then it happened:
SUCCESS!!!!!
I really kind of had a feeling this was better, but no idea if this was truly a success. It had gotten late, so this was it for today anyhow. I had prepared one of my regular straights as backup, but gentlemen, this would not be necessary.
I lathered up my face and started WTG as usual. Sideburns and cheeks were already pretty well shaved due to earlier attempts. I noticed a definitive difference immediately. I didn't want to get too carried away at first-let's see how it goes. Then continuing around my face WTG as my usual 1st pass. OK- let's lather it up again for my usual XTG/ATG pass. This pass also felt great and the razor was singing as is typical of F.W.E. Razors. I followed this up with my typical few stroke clean up on my neck and mustache area and called this a very successful shave.
And for me- results are what matters most at this juncture. There may be a time where other factors matter, but for now, this is how I gauge success. So for me, this honing session, long it may have been- was a success. The shave resulted in zero nicks, slight razor burn, and a truly DFS. The fact that I was able to work through the issues and have a positive result is just awesome.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but as most of you have already experienced, this was the first of many A-ha moments for me in the straight razor journey. Thanks for reading, educating me and others, and thanks for your patience for us newbies to this outstanding hobby/obsession. Which leads me to the whisky(which is empty now :a26: ) which was a celebratory drink to commemorate a great honing session, which was educational, and ended with a DFS.
Thanks to the members of B&B. Thanks for all you do to pass along your knowledge, wisdom, and most importantly thanks for sharing your mistakes and successes. These shared experiences facilitate learning for the rest of us.
Cheers!!
Dan
**Gents, please feel free to comment, offer suggestions, or even share your own success/a-ha moments when it comes to honing straights. We are all here to learn from each other. I welcome all forms of comments. Thanks!!
Gentlemen, Inside this thread lies SUCCESS!
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