Newbie with a few questions

[SharpClaw]

Hi

I have been wetshaving for close to 5 years , and i have owned straight razors for almost as long. I gave up on the straights but since Dec i have come back and i have gotten several new hones.

I am liking straight razors so much that i have sadly abandoned my de razors. now they sit collecting dust.

I have a few questions.

I have a Blue Wonder 132 with Sheffield steel that was hollow ground in Germany. I am not sure how to put it, i have other razors that shave i think are better shavers. I am not sure if its because this razor needs a different angle when i shave with it or because it is not sharp enough.

my progression is 1k/6k combination stone , Apart barber hone and a lapped spyderco uf, I have gotten good results when honing my other razors.

Should i drop back down to 6K and work my way back up, or put in more practice with this razor ?

The razor is also lighter and more hollow ground than my other razors.
Could it be that this difference in combination with my somewhat course beard be why i feel that it should be shaving better?

The last question what is this that i just won on the bay?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 500wt_1156 i suspect its a Thuringian but i am not sure.

Will I ever find true love?
Sorry wrong forum please point me to the fortune telling forum

[matt321]

Should i drop back down to 6K and work my way back up, or put in more practice with this razor ?

The razor is also lighter and more hollow ground than my other razors.
Could it be that this difference in combination with my somewhat course beard be why i feel that it should be shaving better?

Shaving is easier than honing. If isn't shaving as well as the others I would bet its not as sharp. Seems like when you get into this you end up shaving with the trouble makers more than the easy ones. Its the challenge.

The last question what is this that i just won on the bay?
i suspect its a Thuringian but i am not sure.

Good guess and worth $8 to find out.

Will I ever find true love?
Sorry wrong forum please point me to the fortune telling forum

Oh no. We are self proclaimed experts in this as well.
Be careful what you wish for. Only "true" love has the power to destroy you!

[SharpClaw]

Hi Mat

I ended up taking the blade back down to 6k and worked my way back up i did do an arm shave test and it seems to be a bit sharper. Then again the best way to test it is to shave, i will do so later this evening.

[SmallTank]

Sometimes..depending on the "honemsieter"..you can have 2 exact razors and 2 different edges..FYI

ST

[SharpClaw]

i shaved with the blue wonder and had a GD 100 as a back up to finish the shave if needed, I did a with the grain pass with the blue wonder and then an against pass. the shave was as close as the shaves i have gotten with my other razors i still didn't like the blue wonder and i think its the grind that i don't care for.

i must admit this shave might have been a little closer than the shaves i get with my other razors. lol i will try the blue wonder again and maybe my opinion of it will change

[brothers]

I've tried to focus my attention on the 1k stone, staying with that hone until the TNT reveals a good bite all along the edge, then I make sure that it will shave (pop) arm hair with no hesitation all down the edge. Only then do I hit the 4k and move on up.

[EL Alamein]

i shaved with the blue wonder and had a GD 100 as a back up to finish the shave if needed, I did a with the grain pass with the blue wonder and then an against pass. the shave was as close as the shaves i have gotten with my other razors i still didn't like the blue wonder and i think its the grind that i don't care for.

i must admit this shave might have been a little closer than the shaves i get with my other razors. lol i will try the blue wonder again and maybe my opinion of it will change

Sol, I can understand your experience with this blade. The thinner grinds I find perform smoother at a very steep angle otherwise they seem to flex too much if the beard is particularly coarse. I prefer stiffer blades myself but I do have a thinly ground blade that I like every now and then. It's a different shave but if I consciously keep that blade angle steeper than normal I like the shave very much.

Also, I highly recommend doing the thumb nail test while honing as it performs a good function of smoothing the edge. I usually do it two or three times during a single test and I'll saw the blade (run it both ways) on the nail to make sure I'm smoothing the edge both ways. Makes for a very smooth edge. Don't employ the test after stropping because you'll just dull the blade at that point.

Hope that helps.

Chris

[matt321]

Also, I highly recommend doing the thumb nail test while honing as it performs a good function of smoothing the edge. I usually do it two or three times during a single test and I'll saw the blade (run it both ways) on the nail to make sure I'm smoothing the edge both ways. Makes for a very smooth edge. Don't employ the test after stropping because you'll just dull the blade at that point.

Interesting concept. I have read that knife sharpeners will sometimes run the knife edge through soft wood to shear off burrs during the sharpening process. So your method makes sense for razor honing. I will start trying this.

[EL Alamein]

Also, I highly recommend doing the thumb nail test while honing as it performs a good function of smoothing the edge. I usually do it two or three times during a single test and I'll saw the blade (run it both ways) on the nail to make sure I'm smoothing the edge both ways. Makes for a very smooth edge. Don't employ the test after stropping because you'll just dull the blade at that point.

Interesting concept. I have read that knife sharpeners will sometimes run the knife edge through soft wood to shear off burrs during the sharpening process. So your method makes sense for razor honing. I will start trying this.

A match stick works too.