Very nice shave Chris.
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cmh737 Straight Venture Journal Continued
- Thread starter cmh737
- Start date
2 pass BBS will always impress me - great shave, Chris!
SR Shave #591:
It was difficult to wind down last night, so I decided to hone a razor. My real motivation was to try out the new "black translucent" (from Natural Whetstone). So I did a full Arkansas progression with the F.W.E. Special. The bevel didn't need a complete re-set, so I went: soft ark, hard ark, black translucent, normal stropping.
This morning was the test. After two very comfortable passes, I'm happy to report a perfectly acceptable DFS(-). So I'll give this edge a grade of: B+
Could it be sharper? Sure. Can I get a sharper edge with my all synthetic set-up? Yepper, but I'm always curious as to what I can get out of a natural stone. Is it sharp enough? Yes. Is it smooth enough? Yes. The next time, I might give it some diamond paste stropping to see if it'll bring up the keeness a bit more. But I'm actually happy enough with this Ark edge, as is.
The rest of the set up was quite enjoyable. The Rudy Vey brush w/Manchurian 2-band whipped up a fantastic lather from the Declaration Grooming soap. I totally dig this brush and highly recommend it!
Finished up with some Alcolado Glacial (sample) aftershave, and later, will probably go with either Zoologist Panda, or Bleu de Chanel.
SR Shave #594:
This morning, I used the same razor and soap from yesterday: the Genco Easy Aces, and the Wholly Kaw Chypre Rose Concerto. Just two passes with the straight and got the same DFS(+) as I got yesterday....marvelous! But I'll be leaving for work soon, and will be working late, so opted to grab the DE for a third pass (as I didn't want to tempt you-know-who) and ended up with a stupendous BBS(+). I dare say, one of the greatest shave results I've ever had!
I changed up the brush today and went with one of my ShaverJoe customs w/Ubersoft synthetic. And changed frags from the Dunhill Icon to one of my all-time favorites: Aramis. What a great start to the day!
And since I am going to be working through the weekend, I decided to post my Memorial Day photo today. This is actually one I took two years ago, but thought it worthy of a repeat. I salute all who served!
And you were contemplating putting this razor in a she box, PIFing it or other such nonsense. Great honing adventures since I've been distracted Chris. Now the $64K question, how is the Dan Black compared to the Natural Whetstone Trans. Black at finishing?
Catching up Chris, all great!
Thanks. And yes, I suppose barber pole is what you'd call it. Pictures forthcoming.
Thanks; and I do like the Clean Vetiver.
Thanks, Josh.
Thanks, and the "glide" version is definitely worthy.
Thanks.
Thanks, Brad. Well, it was BBS(-).
It's what we do best!
I know, right?....I will have some comparison notes forthcoming.
Thanks, Dave.
Thanks, Doug. Me too.
Craig, the CRSW has a touch of smokiness that the Fine does not have. They're both excellent vetivers.
Okie Dokie, I can now offer my impressions of the Natural Whetstone "Black Translucent" vice the Dan's Whetstone "Black Ark". Both are size 6 x 2 x 1, and here's how I prepped both stones:
Natural Whetstone (NW): 50 grit SiC//220 SiC//400 SiC//600 SiC//2000 wet/dry sandpaper//dry honing
Dan's Whetstone (DW): 50 grit SiC//120 SiC//220 SiC//400 SiC//600 SiC//1200 Al Ox//2500 SiC sandpaper//4000 SiC sandpaper//dry honing
Appearance: The NW is a greyish stone and has almost a clear mirror surface image - not quite "in focus" on the reflection. The DW, however, is black, and has a completely clear and "in focus" reflection - astonishing, actually.
Just take a look at these two photos of the DW. The first was taken indoors by a window and the reflection is the outside tree. The second photo was taken outside and what you're seeing is the blue sky, white clouds, and tree branches.
Honing Feel: In terms of how the razor "feels" on the stones, I call it basically a tie. Both are smooth as ice. I might give a slight nod to the DW as maybe being a wee bit slicker, but then again, maybe not. Like I said, basically a tie. In all fairness, however, I used more abrasive grits on the DW, so there's that (all total, the DW took just a little over 3 hours from start to finish).
Initial Flatness out of the box: OK, here's really the only difference between the NW and the DW. The NW wasn't as flat as the DW. The NW took about a half hour to 45 minutes on the 50 grit to get flat. The DW, on the other hand, was flat in only 5 minutes with the 50 grit. The rest of the process was the same time for both.
Bottom Line: Both are excellent finishing stones. The price difference really is a function of initial "flatness", IMHO. If you don't mind the extra elbow grease on the initial lapping, then the NW is a worthy stone. I need to use both stones several more times to see if I can discern any appreciable difference in edge results, but so far, my initial impression of both is quite favorable.
And here are my "catch-up" photos from this past Sunday thru today (Wednesday):
Sunday AND Monday (Marvelous combo with the WWSC Private Reserve soap and the Bath House Spanish Fig & Nutmeg a/s and EdT!):
Tuesday (SR Shave #598):
I honed the T-I from bevel set on the Chosera 1K, then Naniwa 3K/5K/8K/12K/Dan's Black Ark. Resulting Grade: A+. Outstanding edge! And you can see the reflection from the a/s label on the surface of the black ark! BTW, the Mike's Orange, Cedar, Black Pepper was awesome - I totally dig that soap! And I also totally dig the Santa Paula a/s!
Wednesday (SR Shave #599):
I honed the Belbo from bevel set on the Chosera 1K, then NW soft ark, NW hard ark, NW trans ark, DW black ark. Resulting grade: D. I just couldn't get this edge sharp at all. Did one pass that was not very comfortable, then grabbed the DE for two more passes that ended up BBS.
Sunday AND Monday (Marvelous combo with the WWSC Private Reserve soap and the Bath House Spanish Fig & Nutmeg a/s and EdT!):
Tuesday (SR Shave #598):
I honed the T-I from bevel set on the Chosera 1K, then Naniwa 3K/5K/8K/12K/Dan's Black Ark. Resulting Grade: A+. Outstanding edge! And you can see the reflection from the a/s label on the surface of the black ark! BTW, the Mike's Orange, Cedar, Black Pepper was awesome - I totally dig that soap! And I also totally dig the Santa Paula a/s!
Wednesday (SR Shave #599):
I honed the Belbo from bevel set on the Chosera 1K, then NW soft ark, NW hard ark, NW trans ark, DW black ark. Resulting grade: D. I just couldn't get this edge sharp at all. Did one pass that was not very comfortable, then grabbed the DE for two more passes that ended up BBS.
Thanks for the excellent summary on the stones Chris. I wish I had some words of wisdom on the Belbo and the soft-hard Ark progression, but I'm not sure I have my setup completely figured out either. I can achieve success with a razor, followed by a dud razor.
Only thought I have is that the soft Ark is a much slower stone than the 1K Chosera. Perhaps in my dud attempts, there are some geometry issues preventing a completely keen bevel set, and the speed of the Chosera essentially eliminates this.
So now you have the 3x8 DW Black, the 2x6 DW Black and the NW 2x6 for finishers, all seemingly very good. Now how to we get a progression from bevel set to finish consistently?
Only thought I have is that the soft Ark is a much slower stone than the 1K Chosera. Perhaps in my dud attempts, there are some geometry issues preventing a completely keen bevel set, and the speed of the Chosera essentially eliminates this.
So now you have the 3x8 DW Black, the 2x6 DW Black and the NW 2x6 for finishers, all seemingly very good. Now how to we get a progression from bevel set to finish consistently?
Great points on your stones. They are a little out of my element right now, but I am learning nonetheless. I LOVE your pics! Very clean looking!