Beard twanging and straight razor sharpness.

Occam · Post by **Occam** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:32 pm

Hi gents,

I recount to you a story that commenced a few weeks ago when I ordered a TI Super Gnome 5/8; a half hollow carbon steel razor. I ordered the $20 razor honing service with it...

I received it yesterday and decided that this morning would be my first shave with it. TI's photocopy of a photocopy style leaflet had some nice tips and suggested that the first stropping should be after about 5 shaves. Who am I to argue?

Moreover I wanted to experience what a Lynn Abrams off the hone razor was like. Consider that I am very experienced at shaving my neck and face with a straight but not so great around my mouth and chin.

I started by trying the HHT on the Abrams sharpened razor. Failed in all parts of the blade... but this is a half hollow and harder to sharpen to a fine edge... nevermind... the shave will be the real test anyway.

Anyhow I started the shave believing I had some sort of super sword razor that would cut into skin at the first touch. I started lightly on a light growth of stubble and got the worst pulling...

Well my first impressions were blown... I persevered and after a while I realised I wasn't cutting beard so much as twanging it like a ukelele string. Twang twang twang... pull pull pull...

Confused as to why this was so horrible... compared to my own honed Bartmann I was truly amazed. I thought... maybe this straight razor thing is all just some elaborate conspiracy or joke... haha... now I get it..... I'd read C. Moss' lines last night about how 19th century straight shaves were a pretty shabby affair and more surprisingly that he would use his TI Gnome to celebrate the discovery of Jupiter's moons alluding to the fact that the sort of shave he expected (compared to the Feather AC I believe he was using then) would be primitive.... well maybe I was spoiled by DE and expecting too much... lower my standards a bit maybe...

I had wanted to keep this 'benchmark' razor off the strop to really get an idea of its abilities but I was by this stage completely underwhelmed. I said to myself that I couldn't possibly make it any worse by doing anything to it... so off to the strop it went for 50 strokes...

Back to the shave and yes it was a bit smoother but still not as good as I would expect.... At this stage I decided that if this thing was a butter knife then I'd use it like one... I put a bit more pressure on... and the twanging stopped and cutting started. It wasn't like I was not using any but now I was seriously risking razor burn but at least I was shaving and not twanging...

By the time I tried some moustache strokes I had had enough. I got out my Bartmann and lathered up... no surprises... this was off the Spyderco hone and I hadn't stropped it at all... and it just glided beautifully through... better than I remembered it from last week and a mile better than the TI.

At least the TI had done one thing... it showed me that my honing was perfectly adequate and that I was capable of getting a shave ready razor. It also unwittingly did something else... it gave me the confidence to use pressure... when I translated the technique to the Bartmann I got the best shave from a straight on my cheeks ever... it was truly a revelation.

So indirectly the $20 I spent on the sharpening did help me learn and realise things so it wasn't a complete waste. To the people who are good with their hands and pick up skills quickly though I would have to say that the $20 is better put towards starting off your own honing equipment buys. It's not terribly hard if you read Dr Moss' guide, watch the youtube videos and have at least some basic understanding of sharpening (I have sharpened knives for years). You also have to have patience with this and realise it may be weeks and months before you get there.

For the complete beginner with no experience it is still probably the only way short of having someone on the forums help you out in getting a razor to shaving sharpness.

Th challenge for me will be when I have to eventually hone the TI... will I be able to improve the edge to the standard I have my Bartmann at the moment. Like I say, the Lynn Abrams sharpening has at least confirmed for me that I have achieved a better edge on a full hollow blade. Whether I can achieve this with the half hollow TI will be an interesting challenge for me.

sebell · Post by **sebell** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:23 pm

All of the razors that I have received from Lynn have been
absolutely shave-ready sharp. I wonder if perhaps yours
had lost it's edge somehow? (He does shave-test each razor
unless specifically requested not to)

Although straight razor shaving is all about your own exp-
eriences, I'll say that I have almost never gotten a good
shave without my usual stropping. It makes a huge diff-
erence to me, whether straight off the hone or months later.

Anyways -- it sounds like you're well on your way with the
straight!

- Scott

dada · Post by **dada** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:18 pm

THis no stropping thing is total BULL, imo!

Having cleared this one, on to the technique: for wedges you may need to adjust the angle to say 40-45, and some people seem to use even more.

Did you PM Lynn about it? I am sure he would offer to check it out for you. Do you have extra coarse beard? It may be that Lynn's beard is not as tough and the razor shaved him perfectly, but the edge may simply be inadequate for your wire

Further - I am seriously worried the pressure thing is going to play you a dirty trick some time - watch out!

Cheers
Ivo

Occam · Post by **Occam** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:00 am

dada wrote:THis no stropping thing is total BULL, imo!

Having cleared this one, on to the technique: for wedges you may need to adjust the angle to say 40-45, and some people seem to use even more.

Did you PM Lynn about it? I am sure he would offer to check it out for you. Do you have extra coarse beard? It may be that Lynn's beard is not as tough and the razor shaved him perfectly, but the edge may simply be inadequate for your wire

Further - I am seriously worried the pressure thing is going to play you a dirty trick some time - watch out!

Cheers
Ivo

Hi Ivo,

Yeah the pressure thing seemed fine. It wasn't heavy by any means, just enough to keep the blade gliding on skin and not floating.

With the stropping I have finally figured this Illinois 827 out I think. I was using way too much pressure. It has a knap to it and encourages one to use more pressure with the draw of the blade.

I took the Bartmann which I knew was passing the HHT before the shave. After the shave only certain parts were passing. I stropped it with very light pressure using almost just the weight of the razor and not being drawn into more pressure by the feel of the strop - on a smooth strop one naturally glides the blade I must say - the 827 is a bit different.

But after 50 light strokes the HHT was passed easily on the Bartmann. I could tell the edge was better. First time that has been the case so I am really happy about that.

The TI still doesn't pass the HHT even after the same style and amount of stropping.

My beard is tough, but shipping back and forth to Lynn would be a real pain from here. I think I'll just persevere with the Bartmann for the time being knowing there's nothing wrong with my honing... and when the time comes I'll try touching up the TI myself and see what I can manage - it is supposed to be a tough razor to hone.

I must admit some disappointment, expecting a light saber like revelatory sharpness but at least I have established that I have a shave worthy blade in the Bartmann, so it was worth it for that even.

dada · Post by **dada** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 11:41 am

Hey Ben,

I hear you - nobody likes to ship stuff around, wait, etc. of course

One thing that people find helps them with wedges is a pasted hanger - do you have an extra hanging strop? I'd recommend this for the TI

(hint - it doesn't have to be a new strop, even a cheap beat up ebay special will do fine, but you may have to give some TLC first; actually, if you can find a strip of leather - belt, some shop scraps, etc. - you can get away with this too; heck, if I didn't have anything I might have tried even paste on a strip of denim)

Cheers
Ivo

Occam · Post by **Occam** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 4:58 pm

Well I decided that it being Sunday and having some time... the only time to practice I'd try the TI again.

I'd stropped last night so I gave it another 25 strokes on the 827.

Shave... no good... it's choking on light stubble.

Another 25 strokes on the strop... same.

Did the first pass anyway with much pulling. Couldn't do any of my moustache and chin... way too much choking.

I decided that there was no time like the present. Out with the Spyderco UF.

20 strokes on the unlapped side. I noticed that there was a very slight need to imperceptibly rock the blade to get the whole edge.

Then I went over to the lapped side of the Spyderco which is much smoother. 50 strokes... HHT on one side of the blade passed! We're getting somewhere.

Then 50 strokes on the strop... then second pass attempt....

WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!

The TI did the cheeks like a champ leaving a visible near BBS effect. Smoother and almost as smooth as the Bartmann. I could bear to do the moustache and chin...

Back to the hone.. lapped side again for another 25-30 passes... edge looking like a mirror... another 38 strokes on the strop... HHT passed twice! And the blade is catchy on the hair at other places!

3rd pass... very nice though there's less stubble now so it's not a direct comparison but the shave was very nice by now.

I did 3 WTG passes in all... no touch up with the DE at all today and I have a visibly passable shave though I know I'll have a 12'o'clock shadow.

Nevertheless it's the best all straight razor shave I've ever had. My chin is the worst bit. It looks like I've had a one pass shave of a mediocre DE.

I think I can safely conclude then that this razor was not shave worthy for my beard on arrival. I have an exceptionally thick beard. The problem I had with the Crown and Sword that I am selling for example is that it takes on a ferocious edge that glides through beard like no tommorow including mine but it needs a touch up for the next shave. I presume that was due to sloppy stropping and I'd probably have it even better now but that is a singing razor - an extra full hollow and I think that it's not really enough for my beard and that is sad as it takes on an incredible edge very very easily. It has a very true edge.

This TI has proven easier to hone that what I thought, though I'm sure it was due to the fact I was working on a good foundation laid by Lynn Abrams on this edge. I honestly thought it would be harder to get to this level but I think the carbon steel helps a lot.

It probably needs a little more on the Spyderco lapped side but I'll test it for the next shave with more stubble and then go from there.

Iacchus · Post by **Iacchus** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:36 pm

While I have shaved with a Lynn honed razor that was truly the sharpest thing I have ever encountered, I have also had a razor honed by a pro (not Lynn) and it returned to me not completely ready. This was sorted and returned and all was made good, but it happens.
Lynn is human, and it is possible that the razor you had honed didn't quite meet usual performance from him. I'm sure, if you wanted, he would fix you right up, but as you said, it seems everything came out alright anyway.

Congrats on the TI, and may your shaves continue to be enjoyable.

Post by **drmoss_ca** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:10 am

Lynn hones a large number of razors, and can't possibly give the final attention to each that a proud owner will lavish on his new razor. I have found the Gnomes benefit from further honing, until they can approach very closely the sharpness of a full hollow, yet be less likely to cause any skin irritation. This is at the trade-off of a less comfortable process during the shave. Essentially, thick stiff blades shave less comfortably, cause less irritation, and perversely, give long lasting shaves in terms of time-to-stubble. The last might be partly due to Christian's 'M Factor'.

Chris

EverSharp · Post by **EverSharp** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:13 pm

Finding the "right" edge is part of the pleasure of straight shaving. A novice needs to have a honemeister get a razor started. However, after basic shaving skills are acquired, there is nothing better than tweaking your own edge.

My full hollow TI's came up very quickly on my spyderco uf out of the box.

drumana · Post by **drumana** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 5:40 am

Interesting thread here. . . my big 3-0 is coming up and my girlfriend is going in with some friends to get me a straight razor set up. I gave her a choice between 3 TI 5/8 razors that I fancied, from classicshaving.com and expressed the importance of getting it sharpened. This will be my very first experience with a straight, so I hope Lynn does me good and gives me a nice sharp blade. . .

Quick question: What does 'HHT' stand for?

Churchill · Post by **Churchill** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 9:05 am

Hanging Hair Test.I can never get it to work for me.Must be my hair,I just draw the razor through the standing hairs on my forearm.If the razor pops the hair off I strop and shave.Of course sometimes I have to adjust from there and hit the pasted strop some more.

EverSharp · Post by **EverSharp** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:28 pm

I find the HHT works best when passing the hair close to the edge to avoid deflection. However, it is really a minimum standards test. A blade may slice the hair but not give a satisfying shave. Thus shaving is the best test.