Shaving With a 1912 The Traditional Way

[Lord Fatboy]

Did your loom strop have Chrome or Ferric Oxide on it?

Calani Tulach Ard shaving soap
Omega Hi-brush
Ever-Ready 1912 British Made
Ever-Ready Corrux blade (1)
Cella Eau de Lavande after shave

I have now finished my first shave with one of my newly acquired Ever-Ready Corrux blades. I can't believe the condition they are in:

Yesterday I put some electrical tape on the spine of one of the blades, a bit wider than the blade itself, so can I use the tape to hold the blade. I then gave the blade a good stropping on an old loom strop I own for AD related reasons. I did about 150 laps on the strop and declared the blade shave ready. This stropping by hand is awkward and I can't wait to get the automatic stropper Paul will lend me.
Lately I've been using a big stainless steel handle on my 1912 and I like that combination a lot, but for today's shave I put the original chain link handle on, just to feel a bit more retro. Halfway through the shave I switched back to the stainless handle. I just prefer it at the moment.
As I usually shim my GEM blades the shave with the stropping blade was not dissimilar in shaving angle. With the stroppig blade in, the 1912 cuts hair even with the head completely flat on your face. The blade is very smooth. No tugging whatsoever. It felt so smooth I thought it would be almost impossible to cut myself - and I didn't. Not a weeper in sight after four passes WTG/XTG/XTG/ATG. Alum block and after shave had no complaints whatsoever. Maybe I have been spoiled by the results the Bunny V3 gives, but the result was disappointingly mostly BBS with a few areas only qualifying as DFS. Maybe a question of angle, maybe the blade needs more stropping. For now I'm impressed with a blade that is about 80 years old. I have some Dovo red and black strop pastes (again for AD related reasons) and will make my self two more strops with those pastes. I'm quite confident that I'll have a lot of fun with those blades.

 

[Fergiebilly]

The Hollow Ground Blades I Hone Flat the same as an SR..Forget those for a Moment..The Stropping Blades Need a Stropping Handle as I have Clearly Shown or an Auto Stropper..That's it..No Confusion..You Cant Sharpen the Stropping Blades Flat..The Bevel is Set to Suit these Handles..

Those Blades You have Need to Tree Top Hair like an SR..They Might get away with Stropping..Unlikely though because through a Micro Lens the Edge will be Damaged due to Age..The Edge Tip Needs Polished to a Mirror Finish like this One Above I have Sharpened..

The Edge should have Uniform Man Made Lines caused By Sharpening...That Shiny Bit You See at the Left Side of the Edge is the Bevel & if You Look Close it Runs all Along this Blade..The Bevel on these Blades is Tiny & Delicate..That should be Seen by the Naked Eye & Should Shine Like a Mirror..

I Use 0.5 Lapping Film to Polish them or 0.5 Chromium Oxide before going on to Leather..10 Sets at a Time on the C/O & Repeat as Required..Over Do it & You will Continuously Destroy the Bevel..Its a Delicate Learning Curve..NO PRESSURE..A LIGHT TOUCH..Its Not Hard but it Demands Sensitivity & Most Men are as Sensitive as a Hammer..

The Learning is in the Practice..

Billy

 

[Lord Fatboy]

Brilliant, thankyou. I was up at half-4 this morning and I've done a bit of reading on the subject now, but, as you say, no substitute for experience (and actually being able to shave with 'em). Now that I look at the older "Star" blades, even they still have a defined bevel. When I get back from Norway I'll have a proper look at both sets and see if they can be salvaged.

The Hollow Ground Blades I Hone Flat the same as an SR..Forget those for a Moment..The Stropping Blades Need a Stropping Handle as I have Clearly Shown or an Auto Stropper..That's it..No Confusion..You Cant Sharpen the Stropping Blades Flat..The Bevel is Set to Suit these Handles..

Those Blades You have Need to Tree Top Hair like an SR..They Might get away with Stropping..Unlikely though because through a Micro Lens the Edge will be Damaged due to Age..The Edge Tip Needs Polished to a Mirror Finish like this One Above I have Sharpened..

The Edge should have Uniform Man Made Lines caused By Sharpening...That Shiny Bit You See at the Left Side of the Edge is the Bevel & if You Look Close it Runs all Along this Blade..The Bevel on these Blades is Tiny & Delicate..That should be Seen by the Naked Eye & Should Shine Like a Mirror..

I Use 0.5 Lapping Film to Polish them or 0.5 Chromium Oxide before going on to Leather..10 Sets at a Time on the C/O & Repeat as Required..Over Do it & You will Continuously Destroy the Bevel..Its a Delicate Learning Curve..NO PRESSURE..A LIGHT TOUCH..Its Not Hard but it Demands Sensitivity & Most Men are as Sensitive as a Hammer..

The Learning is in the Practice..

Billy

 

[Fergiebilly]

Brilliant, thankyou. I was up at half-4 this morning and I've done a bit of reading on the subject now, but, as you say, no substitute for experience (and actually being able to shave with 'em). Now that I look at the older "Star" blades, even they still have a defined bevel. When I get back from Norway I'll have a proper look at both sets and see if they can be salvaged.

Yeah..That's it..The Learning is in the Practice..All the Intel You Actually Need is in that Post Right there..That's all You Need to Know..Getting into Stropping Blades & Hollow Ground Blade SEs is Not a Short Term Fix..The same as SRs..Most Folks these Days want Instant Gratification & Rewards..

That Rules out About 99 % of the Population..

Billy

 

[Lord Fatboy]

Yeah..That's it..The Learning is in the Practice..All the Intel You Actually Need is in that Post Right there..That's all You Need to Know..Getting into Stropping Blades & Hollow Ground Blade SEs is Not a Short Term Fix..The same as SRs..Most Folks these Days want Instant Gratification & Rewards..

That Rules out About 99 % of the Population..

Billy

That's why I got tired of Badger & Blade. Too many folk spreading too much info. You'd ask
"I'd really like to buy a good DE razor for less than 20 quid" and the first comment would be...
"Why not try straights? They're cheaper in the long run...". then...
"Why not spend a little more and get a blah? It's only 20 dollars more and it'll..."

I agree. I think that's probably the best reward of wet shaving, not gratification (tho' it's nice to get a decent shave), but concentration. Everything slows down.