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Ramblings of a MilkCrate

Ok, got the PermaEdge done as well with the same progression. I struggled with them going from edge correction to bevel set. The correction process I used was quick to remove the chips and frown. But left a micro-bevel that took some work to remove. Removing the micro-bevel was the frustrating part. But they are done, so we’ll see what we’ve got.
 
9D0C493B-16C9-4F22-9E3D-3C2FCF09EAB9.jpeg

Shave Count (DE: 303 SR: 266)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
W & B SR
Vulfix badger
Stirling Glastonbury soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Stirling Glastonbury AS

The Process-
Early morning shave today and I kept the same soap/AS but mixed up the rest of the kit. I found the Patch yesterday. It was late in the day and I really wasn't thinking about it. From out of nowhere I caught a whiff of something. Hey ... that ... smells great! Wait a minute ... that's Patchouli. Anyway, the Patch does linger after the green scent has faded away ... nice. On to today. I changed out the brush and went with a 20 second load time. I am finding that with each use, the "green" scent is becoming a bit more subdued. It was really strong when the puck was new, but I like it better now that it's mellowing out some. Built a good lather, but the brush decided to be prickly again today. I think this is a "pure" badger, which I now know translates into bottom of the barrel. Oh well, it is what it is, still had a great lather. I guess I will lean more on the DSC, which has a great knot, just big. The Vulfix is a bit smaller so I had originally planned to use it more. Moving on.

50 laps on leather and it was go time. Went with my normal shave of WTG, XTG and ATG and have no drama to report. This edge is crisp ... yup that's the word I was looking for. Crisp. Not a bad shave, just not buttery smooth. Today I walked away with a DFS and I'm good. Not sure if it was my angles or what that kept me from a BBS. I'll give it another go tomorrow and see if the leather smooths it out some. I may also consider going back to the 12k with lather or maybe ramp it up on the balsa strops. We'll see. All in all, a good shave. Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather and rinse. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Nice shave ... I'll take it. Now let's see what the day holds.

Home front-
Nothing new to report today. Other than reading @cmh737 shave journal and he is killing me with that 20k SUEHIRO GOKUMYO edge. Not really .... well maybe :) Now I am going to have to revisit my new edge. I think I may try the lather on stone first. I know I can get the edge sharper with the balsa, but I am really more interested it smoothing it out just a touch. This is the one that had the frown and I got into the spine more than I wanted to when pulling that out. But, it shaves and that's what I was after. So we'll see how things go ... always the adventure. Life is good!
 
Great read, Tim. So the edge is sharp enough now, but needs some smoothing out, eh. Lots of options for that.....the SG 20K for example, as is a black or translucent arkansas, or a coticule, etc. Maybe go with an extra 100 laps on the leather strop - that might help in the interim. Also, it is not uncommon for some edges to take 2 or 3 shaves to "settle in". Maybe give it another shave and see how it does.

BTW, that Glastonbury is awesome! If you get bored one day, and find some extra cash just wanting to be spent, and want a fragrance to finish everything off after the Glastonbury, then find a vintage bottle of Givenchy Gentleman - the one with the silvery metallic label. Oh yeah!!! But it's not a summertime fragrance - wait till it cools off.
 
Thanks Chris! I’ll try more laps on leather and shaves and see where I land. I was also checking out the Black Arks on Natural Whetstones.

I’ll have to check out that Givenchy also.
 
MilkCrate said:
View attachment 7719

Shave Count (DE: 303 SR: 266)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
W & B SR
Vulfix badger
Stirling Glastonbury soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Stirling Glastonbury AS

The Process-
Early morning shave today and I kept the same soap/AS but mixed up the rest of the kit. I found the Patch yesterday. It was late in the day and I really wasn't thinking about it. From out of nowhere I caught a whiff of something. Hey ... that ... smells great! Wait a minute ... that's Patchouli. Anyway, the Patch does linger after the green scent has faded away ... nice. On to today. I changed out the brush and went with a 20 second load time. I am finding that with each use, the "green" scent is becoming a bit more subdued. It was really strong when the puck was new, but I like it better now that it's mellowing out some. Built a good lather, but the brush decided to be prickly again today. I think this is a "pure" badger, which I now know translates into bottom of the barrel. Oh well, it is what it is, still had a great lather. I guess I will lean more on the DSC, which has a great knot, just big. The Vulfix is a bit smaller so I had originally planned to use it more. Moving on.

50 laps on leather and it was go time. Went with my normal shave of WTG, XTG and ATG and have no drama to report. This edge is crisp ... yup that's the word I was looking for. Crisp. Not a bad shave, just not buttery smooth. Today I walked away with a DFS and I'm good. Not sure if it was my angles or what that kept me from a BBS. I'll give it another go tomorrow and see if the leather smooths it out some. I may also consider going back to the 12k with lather or maybe ramp it up on the balsa strops. We'll see. All in all, a good shave. Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather and rinse. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Nice shave ... I'll take it. Now let's see what the day holds.

Home front-
Nothing new to report today. Other than reading @cmh737 shave journal and he is killing me with that 20k SUEHIRO GOKUMYO edge. Not really .... well maybe :) Now I am going to have to revisit my new edge. I think I may try the lather on stone first. I know I can get the edge sharper with the balsa, but I am really more interested it smoothing it out just a touch. This is the one that had the frown and I got into the spine more than I wanted to when pulling that out. But, it shaves and that's what I was after. So we'll see how things go ... always the adventure. Life is good!
Click to expand...
Hope you’re feeling better today!
 
Shave Count (DE: 303 SR: 267)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
W & B SR
Semogue boar
Stirling Glastonbury soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Stirling Glastonbury AS

The Process-
Early morning shave today. This morning I ditched the badger and went back to the Semogue boar. The brush is breaking in nicely. It is soft and yet has plenty of backbone. Not as soft as the Zenith yet, but I suspect it will get there. Hit the soap for a 30 second load time and whipped up a really nice lather that smelled great. Yup, the scent has mellowed just a bit and I am digging it. Had just enough lather for a 3 pass shave and a post shave lather.

Following Chris' advice, last night I did 50 laps on the leather, just because. Went with 60 laps on leather this morning, just to add a few more also. Then went with my normal shave of WTG, XTG and ATG and have no drama to report. The edge is still crisp, but a tad smoother today. The shave and extra laps did seem to help some. Today I also walked away with a DFS, but it was a better shave than yesterdays. The only areas lacking this morning were the typical trouble spots. So ...

Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather and rinse. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Yup ... digging it. A nice shave really sets the mood for the day. At least until someone comes along and screws it up. Anyway, after thinking about the last two shaves, the edge was crisp, but ... well just ... it's kinda lacking. If I remember correctly from my initial readings, I think the 12k JIS edge is comparable to the 1um lapping film. Sharp, but not really smooth. I'm sure it could be smoothed out. I think when you moved to the balsa with Chromium Oxide (Green) @ .25um and Iron Oxide (Red) @ roughly .1u, it was significantly sharper and smoother. Smoother ... or sharper and smoother ... hm. I may try lapping on balsa tonight, just to see how that changes the edge. Or I may not. We'll see what mood strikes me later. But ... but ... Chris really has me thinking about that Black Ark. Arg! .... cursed rabbit hole.

Home front-
Not much to report yet. During the week, things are kinda ... same same. The black Doxie Sissy, with a little assistance, has been able to locate her relocated bed. She is 16, so we cut her some slack. So things are improving on that front. Our furry family members are well taken care of and they eat well. But I did feel bad about her getting lost and treated her to "extra" pulled pork. I think I was quickly forgiven. That's all I have for today. Life is good.
 
Nice that the blade is getting better for you. And that the pooch is no longer wandering aimlessly ;)
 
Shave Count (DE: 303 SR: 268)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
W & B SR
Semogue boar
Stirling Glastonbury soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Stirling Glastonbury AS

The Process-
Happy Thursday everyone! Early morning shave today. Hard to believe, but I was pressed for time today ... IKR? But I had to give the straight another go. So ... kept the same gear and went with a standard 30 second load time. I cranked out another really nice lather that smelled great. You know that Stirling doesn't disappoint.

So last night I hit this razor on leather for 60 laps, since I had a little free time. Today I hit it again with 40 laps on leather. Went with my normal shave of WTG, XTG and ATG and have no drama to report. I had a much better shave today. The edge feels crisp, but not as harsh. And I am BBS for the win! I'll take that. I am still deciding which way I want to go with this razor, I may just continue to run this one as is. Anyway, that was a nice shave and I'm glad the edge settled down some. Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather and rinse. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Yeah, I think this soap has found a place in the rotation. I am still digging it. That's about it, a quick(ish) update today.

Home front-
So the W&B is coming along. On the PermaEdge razor, I may hit that one on the balsa strops and go from there. Decisions ... decisions. At some point I am going to have to check out a Black Ark, but for now I will work with what I have. My previous honings had been on lapping film, so this was my first go on any stone. Not too bad, but there is room for refinement. Life is good.
 
MilkCrate said:
Shave Count (DE: 303 SR: 268)

Pre Shave-
Splash and go

Shave-
W & B SR
Semogue boar
Stirling Glastonbury soap

Post Shave-
Post shave lather
Stirling Glastonbury AS

The Process-
Happy Thursday everyone! Early morning shave today. Hard to believe, but I was pressed for time today ... IKR? But I had to give the straight another go. So ... kept the same gear and went with aN38 standard 30 second load time. I cranked out another really nice lather that smelled great. You know that Stirling doesn't disappoint.

So last night I hit this razor on leather for 60 laps, since I had a little free time. Today I hit it again with 40 laps on leather. Went with my normal shave of WTG, XTG and ATG and have no drama to report. I had a much better shave today. The edge feels crisp, but not as harsh. And I am BBS for the win! I'll take that. I am still deciding which way I want to go with this razor, I may just continue to run this one as is. Anyway, that was a nice shave and I'm glad the edge settled down some. Wrapped everything up with a post shave lather and rinse. A splash of the AS and everything was right as rain! Yeah, I think this soap has found a place in the rotation. I am still digging it. That's about it, a quick(ish) update today.

Home front-
So the W&B is coming along. On the PermaEdge razor, I may hit that one on the balsa strops and go from there. Decisions ... decisions. At some point I am going to have to check out a Black Ark, but for now I will work with what I have. My previous honings had been on lapping film, so this was my first go on any stone. Not too bad, but there is room for refinement. Life is good.
Click to expand...
Nicely done Tim! Any time one doesn’t notch up the edge is a good one!
 
I’d recommend giving that blade one more shave before a final evaluation. I once had a razor that was honed by Alfredo that was wicked sharp, but “brisk”. It took exactly 3 shaves to “settle in”, then it was perfect.
 
cmh737 said:
I’d recommend giving that blade one more shave before a final evaluation. I once had a razor that was honed by Alfredo that was wicked sharp, but “brisk”. It took exactly 3 shaves to “settle in”, then it was perfect.
Click to expand...

“Brisk” I like that. Sound advice on the razor, I’ll give it a go. Thanks Chris!
 
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