Serious about a good work horse straight razor

G

greater

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1,778
05/01/2016

This Thread Title No Longer Represents My Current State And A More Appropriate Title Would Be Something Along The Lines Of
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My Incessant Obsession With Various Straight Razors
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Hello I am back after somewhat of a hiatus. Creative (fabricated at whim) knife law interpretations in NYC has put a halt on most plans I had for lockback or even unique looking knife purchases.

Fortunately I can still shave in NYC with my tool of choice which these days happens to be a straight razor. I brought a Dovo Best 6/8 half hollow straight which shaved all right from the factory but eventually got unusable. I sent it out to the perfect edge and they honed good, not noiseless laser like cutting of gristle like hair but to their credit it works good.

While waiting for Perfect Edge to send me back my Dovo I purchased four (my mistake 5 additional) additional vintage razors on ebay. My experience on ebay is hit and miss. Two razors described as shave ready (Gustav Knecht Diamond Zenith Straight Razor with a Sheffield blade) it had new ebony scales ($32.50 a great buy) and an almost new FRIEDR. SCHLEMPER /SOLINGEN MERSCHEID "FOCUS" STRAIGHT RAZOR ($56.00 and worth it.) were as advertized and great buys as far as I am concerned both from different buyers and shaved good.

The other two so (Now It's Down To One Bad Razor The Swedish One Is Good After ALL) called "shave ready" ebay finds were made by more recognized makers and turn out to be total garbage a 5/8 Straight Razor Twin Works Barber's Use "Shave Ready" ($50.00) with really worn out uneven honing wear that actually got more dull when you went over 4000 grit and would chip during honing. The guy that sold this as shave ready goes as far as claiming it has "the best temper he ever worked with." Maybe it did before he burned it out with his grinder or maybe he is just delusional.

The other was a Erik Anton Berg Eskilstuna vintage straight razor, Sweden 1215052 ($34.00) that felt really good and sharp would actually shave a bit of hair after stropping before going worthlessly dull (for shaving anyway) despite it still feeling sharp to touch. Honing did not help solve the problem. Too bad I kind of liked it. Is it possible this is a victim of grinder burn too ??? it did look shiney. (Udate This Problem Has Been Solved With an Edge Trashing Followed By a Rebevel and Rehone From Scratch. It Is a Very Good Shaver:) )

The last one a $10.00 Wester Bros, Damascus, Straight Razor, Anchor/Star/Arrow with cheap black plastic replacement scales (I think) with thick patina and some rust in various places that turned out to be quite a decent shaver after sanding and rehoning on 250, 1000, 4000, 8000, and 12000 grit waterstones followed by a strop.

Well I did get my Dovo back eventually and for the best shave it tied with the Shlemper. I am not sure which is better.

My dilema is despite having decent shaving abilities I still have not experienced that shave where my facial hairs just effortlessly fall away with each pass of the razor. Should I move to a razor like a Jerry Stark or Micheal Martinez for that experience ?

Another gripe is I don't like those cheap acrylic/cellulite scales that I read are prone to breaking that two of my best shavers have. Even the the cheapest made in China folders use materials like G10.

Ok they just don't why doesn't anyone sell micarta, carbon fiber, or g10 straight razor scales or easy kits. If they do I can't find any for a reasonble price, in fact I have not found any at all yet. All I can find are natural materials which look nice and those cheap prone to break plastic acrylic/cellulite or what ever scales with pins that need to be peened.


I don't like peened pins. I think it's outdated when adjustable tension screw in pins for folding knives are pleantiful. I think they would be very useful in straight razors which may loosen with time and use. There is something called blue locktite for those who claim they come loose. They would also be great in the event you need to take it apart to clean out any bad substances that may accidently wind up in the pivot area.

I would be content at the time being just rescaling my Dovo best if it can take just as good an edge as any of the better straight razors like the Jerry Starks. I know it won't hold an edge as long but that does not worry me as much as not being able to get what would be considered a quality edge. My shaves are not effortlessly smooth on all parts of my face or when going against the grain. I do have more difficulty with thicker gristle.

A straight razor edge that will effortly glide through all of the above mentioned is what I would consider a quality edge. Is this an over expectation, are my tools in need of the attention of a better honemeister, or do I just need to stop rolling the dice and buck up for one of the better hand made straights mentioned above.

Am I depriving myself of a much better shaving experience by not doing so or am I just splitting hairs. I am new to this.


I am really eyeballing those Jerry Starks please some tell me if I am being too impulsive. Is it best I work the three straights I already have ?
 
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Now's the time to start focusing on your prep. from the sounds of it, your blades are sharp, and if they are, then another blade won't make a difference.

As far as scales go, razor scales are not a precision engineered system. The holes are usually cross drilled to allow the razor to build a bit of tension to while in the 3/4 open position. the scale materials that have survived are ones with a little flex to them. There are plenty of broken razors from the old days that show that these things were not as thought about as we might assume. Also G10 is heavy, so it kills the balance for a lot of razors. Many many guys micro-fasten their razors after restoration, but its not everyone's cup of tea. If you want a straight with those handles, it can be done, but the nature of the materials doesn't lend itself to kits. If I have the tools to form micarta, I don't need a kit to start from, I can start from a sheet.

At the end of the day, you can do whatever you like, that's the joy of it. If the rest of the world won't make it easy, well then just DIY. As for Ebay razors, nothing changes, you pay your money, and you roll your dice. If you want a pretty looking semi-custom, then by all means, get one. There is no logic to straight razor shaving, you do it because you enjoy it. Might as well have tools you enjoy. If it was purely utility, then you'd be on a different track.
 
Who could cut 1/8 inch thick neon/green g10 scales out of a sheet for me at a reasonable price. I am not a fan of the plain black acrylic on my Dovo and although some of the classic scales out there look nice I find dazzling and super strong is more to write home about.

I would try my best to supply all the materials since they don't cost much to begin with but I am not willing to deal with cutting and sanding g10 dust all over my little apartment bedroom. I suppose I could sand in a bucket of water but cutting the stuff is probably not fun with hand tools and even less so without a vise or some sort of clamping system to hold small pieces still while cutting.


02/16/2016

You are right about the prep. I took your advice and the results were much better. I bit the bullet and brought some pre-shave oil, shaving cream for my badger brush, and after shave all unscented from a high end shave shop (Art of Shaving) and the ease of shaving along with the results were much better after using the three products.

I have yet to try a shave cream and after shave (macca root shave cream and after shave relief) I brought from The Body Shop. I let you know if it is as good.

Now for those scales. Although I like traditional looks with nice wood, bone, horn etc.... nothing beats the fiberglass resins like G10 for worry free durability, resistance to break down, and longevity. I also happen to like the modern looks of some these composits as much as I like the classic high end looks. I put a work wanted but I don't think anyone wants to tackle the job.
 
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A few hours later a few light red spots appeared that went away after a few hours. I am not sure if it's due to the really close shave or the products used. I am leaning toward skin irritation because the shave was really close baby smooth on most of my face.


A couple of days later I used Art of shaving pre shave oil with Body Shop maca root shave cream and after shave relief. I felt the Art of shaving shave cream was better but this may be because I was not as slow and methodical as I was when using the Art of Shaving products 2 days earlier. Shave not as close but that is because I did not shave against the grain that day and not nearly as obsessive of every stray hair so that is to be expected. I used the same Dovo 6/8 semi hollow shaver with swedish steel.

By the way the white stropping compond made by Thiers-Issard seemed to have made a world of difference in the effectiveness of stropping on the white cloth side of my little Illinoise hanging strop after I loaded it with the stuff. I think I better be careful and slow when stropping across the white side now. I don't want to take too much steel off during each stropping session.

Two days later 02/21/16 I used Art of Shaving pre shave oil and shave cream with my $12.00 ebay Anchor former ebay rust and tarnish special that I refurbished. Wow prep is everything I just confirmed that not every straight razor is a get what you pay for proposition unless of course you consider about 5 hours of work put in restoring it over 2 days. Great shave I also took my time and did a full 3 pass with the grain, sideways, and against. I am begining to suspect some these vintage department store bargain 1920s straight razors may actually have blades made of the some Soligen steel used in the more expensive straight razors minus the fancy scales and markings.

I finished it off with Body Shop maca after shave relief. I don't know why they call it after shave relief since it had a slight but bearable burn to it however it soon passed and I have not noticed any irritation today.

Another thing to consider is my bathroom mirrors at work have harsh bright flourescent lights that will exagerate any skin imperfection and I found it hard to notice any irritation that I mentioned when at home using regular lighting.

I am not sure if the Art of Shaving after shave balm causes irritation on me or not, I will need some more trials to narrow things down.
 
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You are mostly correct, back then there were fewer steels to use, so even lower end razors would have been tempered and hardened nearly the same as the good ones. fit, finish, scale, and other factors went into price, but for the most part steel was likely the least important factor.

The greater risk with over-stropping on compound is that you can pull a bit of a wire edge on some steels, depending on, so its best to only use it when needed. Although this, like everything else is debated.

as far as scales, I wanted to do the same a long time ago, but its a time vs value for whoever does it. Its not easy to do, and setting up the spacer is fiddly work. Straights were designed to be sloppy, and the flex in the scales helps that. g10, not so bendy as much. CF would work......
 
I think alot of the "price point" in older razors was in the handle material and any gold plating on the blade.
I semi collect "working man's " razors and all have shaved well after a littlle (some more than others) TLC.
Prep is a really big part of a good straight razor shave

My 2 cents
 
I did neglect to mention that my Dovo 6/8 did get a bent over wire edge on a portion near the heel that I noticed (with my finger nail) after using it to shave. The funny thing was when I stropped on the white it would go away but when I used the leather side no matter how gentle I was it came right back. I did tap the metal water spout of my sink accidently with the blade but I don't think it hit the edge although I can't be sure. The shave was still good and I did not notice until after I finished shaving.

To my relief after letting the blade rest a couple of days, I heard for some reason straights need some time without use for the edge to come back to life (don't ask me why,) and a couple of restropings the folding edge has not appeared. I will take it easy with the stropping compound loaded white side since this never occurred before I loaded the strop with stropping compound. I think my illinois strop did come preloaded on the white side from the factory but I have used it for years on knives and only recently for straight razors. Any compound that may have been in it at the time when purchased is probably long gone by now, but it is reloaded now:).
 
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I feel like resting a razor has more to do with the user than the razor, but it does seem to work sometimes, so whatever the reason, as long as it works.
 
Is there a difference when shaving with wedge like grinds and generally thicker such an "Amercan grind" vs thinner hollow grinds of eroupean design.

It's a rueterical question yes but I don't know the details such as the optimal angles and the exact nature of the differences to be expected.
 
The weight of thicker blades seems to allow for more momentum, but thats just how it feels to me. Some guys feel like really thin blades vibrate and flex too much, where as others prefer it to a wedge that just plows where it wants to go. Its a personal preference as to which you like, but blade weight does change how a blade feels on the face.
 
For me, wedges do seem to glide a little nicer WTG if they're held at just the right angle. I think your expectation of whisper silent whisker slicing is probably a bit unrealistic if you have a thick facial hair. The guys with thinner facial hair (mostly blondes and some gingers) can get that, but if you have anything like me, it will never happen. I get great shaves from my razors, but they are never silent, even with a wedge. My facial hair is almost 3x as thick as hair from my head. (Yes, I admit, I measured it!) You can also get very nice scales from wood if you use a CA (super glue) finish - this completely waterproofs them and seals them in a layer of plastic. Another good material is paper micarta.
 
I have been holding off on this for about a week. I brought a Jerry Stark D2 straight Razor (#120 ) Red Black micarta scales, 7/8 with a little bit hollow grind. First impressions out of the box with a quick alcohol wipedown. Multiple passes did get the job done but my face was irritated. The next day with only 10 passes on both sides of strop results were pretty much the same.

I really wanted to keep this blade. It looked and felt good, but should be able to shave better. I have come to accept the fact that a lot of straight razors brought brand new often need to be honed, and shave ready may mean different things to different people. I called The Superior Shave and asked if Jerrys Razors typically needed honing he told me Jerry does really good grinds and I should call him about it since I did not purchase it from them but straight from Mr Stark although they would hone it for me anyway if I followed the website instructions.

Something didn't seem right. Maybe I was wrong about needing to have this blade honed. D2 is some hard stuff and I had some reservations but it seems Jerry Stark has his D2 heat treat down packed. During the rough shaves I noticed edge retention did not degrade. With my other razors edge retention always decreased during the shaves but not to the point where they were unusable before I finished and the next stropping would bring them back.

Maybe this one needed a more than a mere 10 pass stropping to keen up the edge before use. Yesterday I stropped it about 40 times on each side of the stop, the white compound loaded side and the leather. I did not shave with it. Early today I gave it 10 strops on just the leather for kicks. I tried it on my tiny light arm hairs, they effortlessly popped up in the air, that is not the hallmark of a bad edge, the stropping must have done something.

Later in the evening and 10 more passes on the leather right before I shaved BINGO! I am going to keep this beautiful Amercan hand made straight razor after all. I got a very good shave with fewer passes, mostly with the grain, with very gentle pressure. I had the same zero edge degredation during my shave (D2 steel holds it well) but it was a keen shave ready edge.

I am tempted to purchase another in 52100 but this one is most likely all I need. Time will tell.

The shaving cream used today was art of shaving with art of shaving pre shave oil. I find them better than body shop shave cream (I am a body shop fan) but it's still early. I gave the art of shaving after shave balm another run and like before my face started getting red again. I washed what I could off quickly. I like the art of shaving cream and preshave but that face balm does not get along with me.

I did not use the balm on my previous 2 shaves with the razor.

I am a happer camper so far.
 
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Today 03/09/16 I used the Stark straight razor with Dr. Harris & Co. Arlington shave soap only no pre shave oil. I have to say I just may like useing this shave soap alone as opposed to the other shave creams and products from the superior shave and body shop. I also get to control how thick or wet the lather is when lathering up a solid shave soap in a bowl.

Lathering up only the portion I was going to immediately shave in my case three passes on my left cheek, with the grain, sideways, and finally against the grain. The right cheek same.

My cheeks shaved pretty much straight forward ad problem free. My neck hairs are not that thick but they are brittle not peach fuzz. The skin on my neck is not very firm and more prone to being lifted with the hairs when going against the grain. With the grain there is not much lifting because it's easy for me to pull my skin tight when needed from above, however pulling my skin tight from below when shaving upwards on my neck against the grain when it really needs to be pulled tight is awkward.

I found that when I did pull it tight I was able to get a good shave. This required multiple passes and will probably improve with practice as I get comfortable with the different ways of pulling my skin tight from different angles as needed.

My mustache was the same story a small area to work with and when pulling my skin tight around it the shave against the grain was good. but again I need to get used to pulling the skin on the small areas above my upper tight from different angles with just a finger while shaving the hairs in very close proximity. With all the wet soap it's a challenge and I have to clear a tiny non slip area for my finger to grab.

The thick gristly hairs of my curvey chin which the skin is tight in some areas and loose in just about all the hard to reach dips has always been a problem regardless of the razor I use. Going against the grain in this area is almost always guaranteed to lift my skin along with the gristle but I managed to get a smooth decent shave going very slowly, being gentle and careful.

All in all my cheeks came out smooth, my neck second place almost as good but it did require more passes with very slow, gentle, and careful shaving, mustache was about the same as my neck in smoothness again slow, gentle, with multiple passes due to those weird angles with limited areas to grip. My chin about the same but with some of the tip feeling a little stubble due to missed passes.

I find it hard to hold a consistant angle while moving around the curve of the tip of my chin. I also prefere lathering up only the portion I am going to immediately shave because often the lather dries up by the time I get to the other portions of my face after finishing up one portion.

Total time about 45 minutes to an hour. I am still a beginer after all.

I find when I go with the grain only I can still get a decent looking shave but not as smooth to the feel as with an all angle shave.


I have to say this razor will do it's part as long as I do mine.
 
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Thats a pretty normal start. A few things to keep in mind though:
1. Against the grain on your upper lip is often referred to as the fool's pass, as any slip will do serious damage to your nose, so most guys don't do it. only with, and across.

2. ATG on the neck is also challenging because the hairs are also at a more extreme exit angle, so in essence they are "thicker"

3. Straight shaving is less hair elimination, but rather hair reduction, everyone finds a combo of WTG, XTG and ATG passes for each section that get them a good shave. I rarely do any ATG as my skin does not like it, and I can get nearly as good with just XTG passes.

4. Prep is king. use more soap. If the soap dries in the mean time, that's fine, but you will not be getting the full benefit of the soap if you are just lathering on and then shaving, the soap needs to sit on there for a while. Keep lathering as you notice parts getting dry, nothing wrong with lathering over what you've already shaved, you'll still know where you need to go next.

5. If you don't have an alum block, get one. They are pretty much the most important thing never mentioned. While shaving, rub your wet fingers on it to give them more grip against your skin (its a lather killer, so be careful, but it helps so much) after you shave, and have cleaned up, wet the block with cold water and give your face a gentle pass with the block, it will help close the weepers. give that a half minute or so, then another cold water pass, and then your aftershave. Be sure to rinse well, because some aftershaves and balms react and get gummy with it, not fun.

6. BBS (Baby's butt smooth) is a bit of a snipe hunt. Don't worry about it, aim for a comfy shave. Since your face skin is getting all loosened up with heat and moisture, the hairs stand proud of the skin. a cold water pass will tighten things down and will reduce the feeling of those few bits of stubble. You will eventually get to a point where your shaves are very smooth, but if that's all you focus on, your face will end up a burned bleeding mess from too many passes. Know when to stop.
 
3/17/16 again stark razor with Dr. Harris & Co. Arlington shave soap only after comming out of the shower. I used a with the grain shave going down my face using about 3 to 5 gentle sweeps down per inch working slowly down from top to bottom, which finished faster overall than when using long sweeps and later searching for missed spots.

I did one half of my face first compared it to the other stubble ridden side and was reassured that this shaver does indeed do it's job. The hair growth was 2 days worth. It looked like a black shadow with noticable black hairs hanging out. The second half the same, I went with the grain for everything including, neck, chin, and mustache and the difference was good.

I do not use shaving cream and soap in the recommended way, that is lathering up the whole face and letting the shave soap soak in to condition the hairs and go deeper into the pores. I have done it that way multiple times and it just does not work out for me. My skin has limits as to how much exposure to soap or any emulsifier, like shave cream, it will tolerate before getting irritated whether shaving or not.

I rarely use any soap at all when I shower and using shaving cream every 2 to 3 days is actually pushing my limits to how much soap (or shave cream) I will tolerate. I have in the past tried some pretty pricey shave cream "for sensitive skin" and that did not work well enough.

I find quickly lathering one portion of my face right before shaving and after getting out a good shower where my skin is thoroughly soaked with hot water works best for me and actually provides better results.
 
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Thanks for the explanation of your method, and reasons. It makes sense if your skin is that intolerant of the soap.

If soap is not to your liking, you might look at shave oils, they are messier, but might help with that sensitivity problem. The main thing the soap is doing is holding that water on as long as possible. It is possible to wet shave with water only, but most find that some lubrication on the skin is very helpful. But the main thing is that initial water and heat. A hot towel soak will work as well, although a shower is as effective and not much of a time difference.

Another option would be looking into making your own glycerin based shave soap, so all it has in it is just the soap and bentonite clay for slickness, "sensitive skin" soaps are a bit of a running scam, since its just a different batch of chemicals which may or may not react to your skin.
 
03/18/16 Today I soaped up both sides (although I won't do it too often) with the intention of speeding up the shave a little but definately without rushing. Today I used the FRIEDR. SCHLEMPER /SOLINGEN MERSCHEID "FOCUS" STRAIGHT RAZOR I got off ebay shave ready and almost new for $56.00. I used the Dr. Harris & Co. Arlington shave soap again and again right after comming out of the shower.

There are a couple of things that I noted when using this straight razor after a few weeks of using the D2 stark. These old 1920s German Soligen made straight razors, correct me if I am wrong but they were forged back then I belive, are a force to be reconed with in the straight razor world. When is comes to blades, these Germans did/do???? not play games.

I have read so much stuff about how forged steel blades are no better than modern steel blades made by stock removal but my experiences shaving have me thinking regardless of what is said and what looks good on paper that there may be something to be said about forged blades.

My shaving experience was smooth so smooth I just did a one pass shave with the grain everywhere with one more pass along the side of my jaw lines. The difference was noteble, probably better than the Dovo though it's still early. Was there a little degradation of edge keeness during the shave, a little but not much, I would be hard pressed to notice any significant difference, I would be hard pressed to notice. I did very lightly strop it on the white side of my strop ten times followed by 20 light strops on the leather side before use.

Maybe the fact that the white side of the strop has been reloaded after years had somthing to do with it, the fact that the blade is 5/8 with a very full hollow grind may make for a more face contour comforming close shave than other less hollow or wedge like grinds due to more steel flex with a thinner grind profile, nevertheless this razor despite having thin black plastic scales (original too) has it all where it counts, that is the blade.

It's amazing how a straight razor made so long ago can still stand up against some of the best 80 to 90 years later.

I think more straight razor makers should salvage old straight razors by regrinding, polishing, and rescaling them when needed. Why not the steel is superb just remake them into a new straight razor. I for one don't really care about patina or old markings being left intact.

If the steel is great quality then in the name of evironmental protection and prevention of needless waste of good materials and conservation of existing resources, unless the markings make it worth a whole lot of money just polish it all out, make a brand new one and test it for sharpness.

I think restoration is nice but my main goal is to have a good shaver and I don't care if all the patina and markings are wiped away to make a decent to great looking straight razor with a blade that performs almost as good, as good, or even better than the best.

I think we can all agree on one thing, in the era when straight razor shaving was either the only or primary way of shaving, they knew how to make them good.
 
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3/20/16

Shaving with the Sheffield

Gustav Knecht Diamond Zenith Straight Razor with a Sheffield blade. Another early 1900s era straight razor this one using a Sheffeild steel blade. It has a thin 9/16 blade (a little over 1/2 inch) with a slight smiley edge and a bit of hone wear on both the top and edge, but it still shaves great. The thinner blade made shaving mustache stubble a bit easier with less of an angle.

Overall a decent shaver no complaints 10 strops on the white compound loaded side and 10 on the leather got me through the shave. This one definately had more noise and push to the shave compared to the 5/8 full hollow FRIEDR. SCHLEMPER /SOLINGEN MERSCHEID "FOCUS" STRAIGHT RAZOR (yes I cut and paste for convenience:) ) The Gustav seems to be a full hollow as well but I think the thinner profile from spine to cutting edge (9/16) makes for a stiffer blade overall and did not give as much of a face hugging smooth shave as the Friedr. Schlemper although I did not measure, thickness at the spine of both the Gustav and Friedr. appear to be the same.

Using my usual routine of routine, I applied my Dr. Harris Arlington shave soap right after getting out of the shower. I then did a mostly one pass shave with the grain. The feeling was a little rougher but the shave was almost, almost as good as the Friedr. My impression is the English knew how to make good steel. Overall I was quite satisfied. I can't help feeling that whoever made this blade had quality in mind. Remember these were made in a day and age when straight razor shaving was standard and consumer expectations as well as the number of competitors high.

From my perspective the English steel Gustav had a more stiff hardened tempered sharp feel to it and the Soligen German steel Friedr. had a more soft yet super sharp feel to it. I don't know if that makes much sense but it's the best way I can describe it.
 
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03/23/2016

It's old school swedish steel day !!!!!!

Erik Anton Berg Eskilstuna vintage straight razor:):):):):):):):)

Why am I so happy today. It is because I have found out my swedish straight razor that I brought off ebay for $34.00 and desperately wanted to love but couldn't get to shave was not a lost cause. It is now shave ready and tested by me.

I woke up this morning on my day off and was just nagged by fact that this straight razor has all the features of a top quality steel. The edge felt extremely sharp, the metal pinged a little when tapped just right, it had a good amount of springy flex, The steel in this brand is known to be good.

Why was it that every time I shaved with it I would get only a couple of swipes before it would not cut any hair at all?

I have to admit I may never find out the answer to that question. I rehoned it a couple of times with no success. I have not tried a loupe but I did use a magnifying glass, my finger nail, shaving arm and leg hairs, all of which did not provide me with any meaningful insight as to finding and solving the problem.

I am guessing it probably had a stubburn wire edge that would keep folding over during use every time it was made straight by honing or stropping.

With this thought in mind I decided to do a total edge trashing and rebevel honing. I swiped 90 deg on the DMT 220 coarse grit diamond stone about 5 or 6 times until I got a good blunt non cutting edge then proceeded to rebevel on my Razor Edge fine grit knife sharpening stone until sharp.

It was a little discouraging because although it felt razor sharp I could not get it to shave leg hair using this stone so I got it as sharp as I could and moved to the Norton water stones starting at 1000 grit it had more bite when felt by my finger but no dice, going with lighter pressure on the 4000 grit I tested it again it shaved my leg hairs on some portions of the blade roughly and very inconsistant despite feeling biting sharp it was not there yet, I was thinking what is wrong with me I have seen youtube videos of people who get shaving sharpness on knives with 220 grit, after using very light pressure on the 8000 grit it consistantly shaved my leg hairs but roughly, I was feeling discouraged but nethertheless there was progress the blade was getting sharper so there was hope yet.

I lightly finished it off on the Naniwa 12000 grit and I did not do any testing for fear of damaging my edge. I decided after using the 12000 grit I would strop the blade and test it shaving where the results mean the most. I gave it 10 strops on the white compound loaded side and 10 on the leather. It was approaching time to move my car (alternate side parking) so I had to do a quick test. I wet my face up with warm water from the sink and used some gilette shave gel, it was all I had on hand for a quicky at the moment. Lathered one half of my cheek first and started shaving with the grain :):) hairs were being cut smoothly as I got to the rough gristly hairs near the chin there was a fair amount of noise but the hairs were being shaved fine, this was the moment of truth will these rough hairs bend my edge, no it didn't:):):):) I lathered up the other cheek flipped the blade over and did the same 2 days of growth for the most part gone on both sides of my cheeks. After running out and parking the car I came back and finished off my chin, upper lip, neck, and jaw line again without restropping.

I have to say I am pleased I got a great shave going with the grain very gently using a minimum of passes. This is another narrow razor like the gustav but not as stiff with a full thin hollow. It did sing quite a bit with the rough hairs and had noticable tactile feedback.
 
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a factor might have been edge corrosion. Its not super common, but its what some honemeisters refer to as a crumbly edge. its microscopic corrosion deep in the metal, once you get back to good stuff, it goes away.

Just a question, why go to paste after the 12k? what are your shaves like off the 12k by itself?
 
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