Thread: time to hone?

evening is the best time for me

Be Patient with the Chinese 12k, no two are alike, and they can take some time to lapp.

I have to say, that even if I've not gotten that far yet... this has been a very illuminating thread.

I'll have to revisit this one when I bet to that point, and that that time will come... sooner or later.

just an update, I got up at a stupid hour this morning, and after coffee and breakfast, took the time to do 10 on the CrO as slow and deliberately as possible. I slowed my stroke down so I could pay careful attention to angle, pressure, the sound and feel. made sure to do it to the best of my ability. flipped the strop around, and did 50 on the normal side. looks like a much happier edge, will shave with it tonight. will deal with lapping the stone and trying my hand at that if it doesn't work

I just want to say, don't be discouraged if your careful stropping didn't do the trick. Stropping with pastes will keep an edge shaving for quite some time, but at some point you need to go back to the hone, regardless of your stropping technique. Here's to good end results either way.

as a continuing service to myself and the other newbies in the group, an update.

Today I finally got around to REALLY going at it. I had time for a full routine, and a good long slow time on the strop.

Having used the CrO side last time, I just went with a good slow 50 on the soft side of the strop.

Long hot shower, facial scrub, conditioned hair and face, got a good, thick, wet, lather going.

As a sidenote, I love the C&E stuff. Its a good soap, smells nice, and I can build a thick and wet lather, or a thick and creamy lather, with equivalent effort. The best way I can describe the difference:

Thick + Wet: Is a lather with a soft and fluffy foam, composed of moderate bubbles. more like the foam on a Cappuccino than like whipped cream. feels like it "floats" the razor. Collapses quickly, so I have to do one side of the face, rinse and re-wet skin, do other side. Repeat for ATG. Makes for a much longer shave, but results in less angry skin.

Thick + Creamy: The lather is soft and firm. Foam is composed of tiny bubbles packed in tight. More like the lather produced by commercial shaving creams/gels. Builds up on the razor faster, and doesn't float the razor, so much as it greases the skin. Has a very long lasting stability. I can do the entire face in a single run, then re-wet and re-apply for ATG. Much faster, cleaner shave (gets a closer cut), but at the trade off of needing a day off between shaves, or skin gets ****y.

Since it had been a hellish school week / work week combo for me, the I have gotten well passed the "scruffy" phase and slowly creaping into the "Grunge" phase, So I went for the long and luxurious, wet, style.

TLDR Here's the update:

The CrO had a definate effect. shaving with the grain, it is slicing through the hair again. A smooth, easy draw across the skin, with no hesitation in the face of my blade destroying hair. It even trimmed up some split ends I had by accident. Who needs the hanging hair test when the toe gives you an accidental harcuit? I made it a point to test all the sections of the blade for any differences, and I think I am actually wearing a bit heavier on the toe than the heel, since the toe has a smoother draw than the heel, with the midblade having no decernable difference from the toe, until about 3/4 to the heel. I will have to adjust my stropping a bit.

Against the grain, was better, but still had that distinct "catch and pop" feel. Where I could tell that the blade was meeting the hair, drawing into it, and then ripping it in half, rather than truly slicing it. There was a lot more slice, and much less rip, than there was the last time. The same keenness difference was noted from toe to heel, but even on the toe, I could feel and hear a sound I could best describe like this: The "static" sound of a radio breaking up.

In neither direction was the blade trying to hop off the skin, nor was it failing to draw when told. Even ATG the blade would slide smoothly until it met a patch of unruley hairs. It did require some convincing when doing short strokes like around my scars and the cleft of the chin, but no blood resulted from it. So I call it a victory.

SUPER TLDR Overall: The CrO was a good improvement. It cleaned up the edge a little, and gave me another day or three of comfortable shaving. I need to touch up my stopping technique a little, and take a little pressure off the toe. I could prolly continue to CrO strop it occationally for another month or so before it would get really uncomfortable. what the edge really needs, IMO, is some time on a pollishing stone.


I lapped my CWS 12k today and will spend some time on it. Will give an update of my first honing experience and the new shave tomorrow.

Its time for a barbers hone!