On Deck This Week

Use a straight. You know it makes sense.
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matt321
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On Deck This Week

Post by matt321 »

On deck this week. I'm using both to try and benchmark one against the other. The vintage one is from an antique shop and has been a fav of mine for some time. (I re-scaled it with Dovo ebony scales a few years ago.)

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matt321
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Post by matt321 »

As of today each razor has two shaves for the week. I made sure they were both freshly sharpened to full potential at the start. The vintage one (Marke Solingen) has a very small bevel angle of less than 14 degrees with very tiny bevels. Also, I think the steel is softer than the Thiers C135. So, the question in my mind is will the Marke Solingen lose its edge faster. It should since it's softer and has a narrower bevel angle.
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matt321
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Post by matt321 »

The C135 TI was very fine this morning with nice glide, no pulling, and a close shave.

At the start of the week I touched up both razors to optimum. First I honed them on a Naniwa 10K and followed with CrO on a webbed belt. Both blades popped hair when tested with the HHT. I wasn't satisfied with the test shaves, so I honed them again using a Spyderco UF with 0.5 micron diamond spray. That worked wonders and after CrO they were "felling" hair on the HHT rather than popping hair.

I hone the TI with one layer of tape and the Marke Solingen with no tape. That is just based on past experience with both blades. I used to think I would never get the TI to shave well, but after I started using tape it seemed to come into its own. I really like it now, and I'm hoping this paired match testing will show it holds an edge well.

Tomorrow the Marke Solingen takes its turn.
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matt321
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Post by matt321 »

Both razors have a few shaves tallied. I checked both with the HHT and they still pass easily all along the blade, but are reverting to a pop rather than a silent felling.

I noticed wetshavingworld is shutting down, so I'm pasting the Robert Williams thread on the Spyderco UF here. I copied it from the cached page which is all that is available now. (I know Chris doesn't use his this way, but I've had some luck with it. This is the method I used on the two razors I'm describing in my thread)

An inexpensive "superhone"
I've got a bunch of hones. I've been crazy about keen edged steel since I was about 10 years old. So I've tried and own just about every style of hone you can imagine; some of them costing some pretty big bucks. A mental inventory includes coticules, Chinese 12K, Norton water stones, Translucent and black Arkansas stones, Japanese natural stones, barber hones of all shapes and sizes, diamond hones and ceramic hones (namely the Spyderco lineup).

So which, if any is a superhone? They're all quite good, but a superhone would have to be super-fast cutting and super-consistent and capable of delivering a very finely finished edge and none of the above, by themselves do all that great in all categories.

However.... The Spyderco UF hone can serve you very well if you think outside the box a little bit. The Spyderco comes quite flat - maybe not perfect within .001 precision but it's advertised as flat and, as advertised, it is. I feel that the Spyderco needs a bit of breaking before it really hits it's stride as a finishing hone. Here's the good part. The hone is very, very hard. It's harder than anything I know other than maybe diamonds. You can sharpen carbide on this hone, it's so hard. It will cut just about anything but diamonds. And that's the key right there.

The Spyderco UF with an assortment of diamond sprays will make the hone virtually any grit you want. If you want really, REALLY fast cutting, hit it with some 1500 grit diamond spray and watch the steel just melt away while you're honing. Clean it off (diamonds don't embed into this super hard surface) and hit it with a spray of 50,000 grit and it's still cutting like crazy, but cutting a very, very fine scratch pattern and did I say fast? Faster than you can possibly imagine anything with that small a grit would cut.

And all the while, you're breaking in the stone and removing any aberrations on the surface left as artifacts from manufacturing.

Somehow, this stone got graded at 2000 grit, but it's much finer than a 2000 stone. Cleaned again and used dry and it will bring out a hell of a polish on an edge. Oh... and this is a generous sized stone, too! 8" x 2" Price? It can be had delivered to your door for around $65.00 Here's one supplier.

I'd hate to be forced to only ever have one hone. I love all mine and they all get use. But if I was forced to choose one hone and one hone only, it would be the Spyderco UF because with an assortment of diamond sprays, you can use this hone for everything from bevel setting to fine finishing and with no maintenance and flattening, it will outlast everything else.

If you don't have one of these hones and a few different grits of diamond spray in your honing arsenal you're missing out on a real workhorse of a hone that can tackle about anything you throw at it.

Now a bit about honing with diamond spray. You don't need much to charge the hone. Just a spritz or two. Keep the hone moist. I use a little hand pump spray bottle filled with water for this. It's the easiest way to keep your wetsones wet, in my opinion. You might have a hard time keeping up with the synthetic hones that suck up water like a sponge, but for everything else, it's perfect. Diamonds love water when cutting. I recommend always using water when using diamond grit, whether it's a diamond hone or a substrate with diamond spray or paste. With the metal diamond hones like DMT stones, just be sure to dry them when you're through
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Post by brothers »

Thanks Matt.
Gary

SOTD 99%: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, soaps & creams, synthetic / badger brushes, Colonial General razor, Kai & Schick blades, straight razors any time, Superior 70 aftershave splash + menthol + 444
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matt321
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Post by matt321 »

The Marke Solingen shaved well this morning. Extremely smooth. Maybe it is the way I strop, but my razors seem to get very smooth these days as they dull with use.

You can see in the photo that the Marke has a threaded fastener at the pivot. I used that method when I re-scaled it. Since then I have pinned it twice with peened brass rods the conventional way. It came out nice both times except I could not make it center when closed. I finally gave up and went back to the threaded fastener. It centers just fine that way.

I will keep using these two razors until I get bored or until I can tell a difference in how they are holding an edge.
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Post by Sando »

Interesting experiment, Matt. I considered the super hone method but decided to get a coticule instead.

About the Marke: I wonder if maybe a washer (or two?) on one side inside the scales would have corrected the off centered-ness?

...Ray
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matt321
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Post by matt321 »

Sando wrote:Interesting experiment, Matt. I considered the super hone method but decided to get a coticule instead.

About the Marke: I wonder if maybe a washer (or two?) on one side inside the scales would have corrected the off centered-ness?

...Ray
I tried a washer on one side. It might have worked eventually, but it would have taken a few more tries to get it right what with my punky mechanical ability!

How has the Coti worked out? I have one waiting in the drawer for when I decide to learn to use it.

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Post by Sando »

I know they can be tricky but my coticule experience has been good. I use a Duo Sharp 600/1200 for the bevels first and then go to the rock with circles, half strokes and finish with laps. The HHT completely escapes me. I cannot get a hair to slice for some reason. But the shaves have been exceedingly good, so I just don't do it. I'm trying to keep it simple and it's working.

Your coticule is a beaut!

...Ray
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Post by Sando »

So how goes the rotation, Matt? Any revelations?

...Ray
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matt321
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Post by matt321 »

I started touchup honing both razors today, so the initial comparison test is over. They were still shaving adequately, but I missed the total smooth feel they started with.

I took note of the shaving characteristics of both razors and the HHT ability through the comparison test period. I could tell they were not as sharp after three weeks of use. However, I wasn't able to tell much difference between the two. This was a surprise. Maybe I'm not sophisticated enough to discern the difference. I may try again in a second round after the touchup honing.
Sando
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Post by Sando »

Do you have an opinion on the difference between German steel and French steel? Some claim a different feel on the face but I can't comment in detail other than I think that my Sheffield razors just seem 'soft and smooth'. Easy to hone and smooth results.

...Ray
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Post by drmoss_ca »

Old Sheffield steel was softer and easier to hone than the lead-hardened Sheffield used by TI. I've not done ant Rockwell testing but I'd guess the average Solingen razor is between those two.

Chris
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
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