Honing experiment!

[jgreenepa]

Slash McCoy does a marvelous job popularizing the “Method”, an algorithmic(based on a specific sequence of rules and steps from bevel set to finish) honing method on lapping films that if followed faithfully always works! I’m a fan of Dr. Matt and GSSIXGUN YT videos. So I bought a $5 Gold Dollar razor and used a set of Pride synthetic stones 220, 1000, 6000, 10,000. I set the bevel on the 1000 and worked my way through the 10,000 then finished on a ILR under running water then went to a jasper stone under running water and from there to four pasted strops (chromeox, o.5 Diamond, 0.25 diamond, o.1 diamond) and finished on a leather paddle strop. Yeah, I know I went a bit overboard, but hey I’m retired and have nothing but time.
Here are the two Gold Dollar razors. The blue lettering on the blade is Slash’s and the black is mine.


After honing my Gold Dollar I examined Slash’s edge and my edge. Slash being in business doesn’t have an hour and a half to hone each of the Gold Dollars he sells. Nevertheless, his edge is sharp and serviceable. Here is a picture of his edge under 200x magnification.
Now here is a picture of my edge on the same razor model at 200x magnification. In both cases the edgeswere consistent along the blade. Pictures were takenfrom the center of each blade. Here’s mine
I’ll be shaving with both over the weekend and would be very interested in getting the thoughts of the very experienced honers on this page. My goal was the “velveteen “ edge!

 

[BarberDave]

Good Luck the edges look good, I use specific Dilucot and Diluark on all my razors now on Coticules and Arkansas stones exclusively now for my razors and customer ones, so I dont use progressive stones anymore, although I have a bunch, Look forward to hearing your results

 

[global_dev]

Diluark on all my razors now on ... and Arkansas stones exclusively now

What is diluark?

 

[MilkCrate]

@jgreenepa I’ll be interested to see your results.

 

[BarberDave]

Diluark: Using Smiths honing solution on a Black or Trans Arkansas Stone and adding drops of water until down to water only and the blade sticks. the Ark stone is the second phase to what I start on the Coticule with the Dilucot from heavy slurry to water only and Blade stick, the 100 on linen Strop followed by 100 on leather

 

[GearNoir]

Nice job on the edge Jeff! Hope it works for ya!

 

[jgreenepa]

Nice job on the edge Jeff! Hope it works for ya!

Thanks, Chris! I‘m caught up in a shaving focus with my DX over at TSD for the next two days. But I am committed to shaving with both razors Probably on Saturday. I’ll do one side of my mug with mine and the other with Slash’s, but first I‘m dying to shave with my new Riga Razor 7/8 On Friday!

 

[jgreenepa]

Diluark: Using Smiths honing solution on a Black or Trans Arkansas Stone and adding drops of water until down to water only and the blade sticks. the Ark stone is the second phase to what I start on the Coticule with the Dilucot from heavy slurry to water only and Blade stick, the 100 on linen Strop followed by 100 on leather

Dave, are you using a paste on your Linen strop? Just curious? My son, Ben, has me using three pasted strops after finishing on the stones (0.5, 0.25, 0.1). I'm curious about other approaches.

 

[BarberDave]

Dave, are you using a paste on your Linen strop? Just curious? My son, Ben, has me using three pasted strops after finishing on the stones (0.5, 0.25, 0.1). I'm curious about other approaches.

no I tried the pastes on balsa, and strops, find it really did not make any difference for me just the Coticule to the Ark to the strop

 

[jgreenepa]

Time for the comparison shave between my Gold Dollar (Black) and the Crescent City (Blue) Gold Monkey. Slash McCoy (@Slash McCoy), honemeister and practitioner of the “Method” - a lapping films honing approach he references on his Crescent City Razors site - purchases Gold Dollar razors in bulk and hones them for resale so they are truly ‘shave ready‘. Slash has a great reputation for the stellar shaves his rehoned razors deliver. I purchased a $5 Gold Dollar razor on Alibaba and reset the bevel on a Shapton 1k and then finished the edge on my jasper stone and a pasted strop followed by a leather strop. Being retired, I spent a fair amount of time going back and forth between the jasper finishing stone and my USB microscope to ensure I arrived at the smoothest edge I could.

I then decided to shave each side of my face with a different razor. The result was a simply splendid shave. I was unable to determine which razor was preferred. They did shave differently. I was able to determine that Slash’s reputation is well earned. His razor shaved cleanly on my favored dominant (left) side. I will say that on the sharp continuum his razor was a harder sharp than mine, but I’m sure he didn’t spend anywhere near the amount of time I did going back and forth between the USB microscope and the jasper stone until my edge was gleaming. The shave on the right (non-dominant) side of my mug felt just a tad smoother, but that may also reflect wish fulfillment on my part. In any case, I have no problem wholeheartedly endorsing Crescent City razors! They’re well worth the price and a great starter razor for the new straight razor shaver looking for a cost-effective dependable starter/learning straight razor.

 

[MilkCrate]

I completely agree. Slash did a pass-around of two modded 66’s one time. Great edges!