Closed Pass Around: Hone Type 15 - Completed
- Thread starter riverrun
- Start Date
-
- Tags
- hone pass around
- Messages
- 136
Thanks @Bechet. The '%' question is a bit woolly I know, but the gut reaction can be surprisingly close. Part of this is getting a feel for where the next razor should be in relation to the Type 15.
- Messages
- 388
Andrew thank you for your reply. My percentages might be out but that's for you to sort out lol. For me and I can only speak for me, I want my cake and eat it with cream on top.
If I want to change my shave acording to time of day, the mood I'm in or where I'm going I can do all that with soap, cream, aftershave, balm and somtimes blade. My razor is somthing I don't like to change if it works and is perfect why change it?
I've had a Kai Captain, Mongoose and most of the ATT range amongst others and your first razor has beaten all of them for that perfect razor. I look forward to the Hone 16, please keep up the good work because it is good work!
Regards William.
If I want to change my shave acording to time of day, the mood I'm in or where I'm going I can do all that with soap, cream, aftershave, balm and somtimes blade. My razor is somthing I don't like to change if it works and is perfect why change it?
I've had a Kai Captain, Mongoose and most of the ATT range amongst others and your first razor has beaten all of them for that perfect razor. I look forward to the Hone 16, please keep up the good work because it is good work!
Regards William.
Gentlemen, the Type 15 has arrived safely at chez Nico.
Thanks to William @george for passing on and ultimately to Andreas @riverrun and Andrew @Hone for the chance to give the Hone a go.
First impressions
Boy, is it heavy!
It has a minimalist look which is strangely appealing, however, I've not yet bought into the concept of it 'developing a patina' as it were. If I didn't know this was a new razor, I'd say - judging by the way it is wearing - that it was 100 years old. For an OCD-type who likes to keep his razors (and other things for that matter) in pristine condition, this is slightly unsettling but, hey ho, rules is rules as they say so no polishing etc. although it will be interesting to see what, if anything, Andrew @Hone suggests to enable one to keep the razor in 'as bought' condition.
Edges are nicely rounded off / bevelled, although, there is a slight imperfection NE of the 'E' in HONE on the top plate - difficult to say whether this is OEM or a war wound...
And, for good order, here's a comparative shot with my current raisors du jour...
I'm really looking forward to trying the Hone Type 15 - shave plus report to follow in due course...
Thanks to William @george for passing on and ultimately to Andreas @riverrun and Andrew @Hone for the chance to give the Hone a go.
First impressions
Boy, is it heavy!
It has a minimalist look which is strangely appealing, however, I've not yet bought into the concept of it 'developing a patina' as it were. If I didn't know this was a new razor, I'd say - judging by the way it is wearing - that it was 100 years old. For an OCD-type who likes to keep his razors (and other things for that matter) in pristine condition, this is slightly unsettling but, hey ho, rules is rules as they say so no polishing etc. although it will be interesting to see what, if anything, Andrew @Hone suggests to enable one to keep the razor in 'as bought' condition.
Edges are nicely rounded off / bevelled, although, there is a slight imperfection NE of the 'E' in HONE on the top plate - difficult to say whether this is OEM or a war wound...
And, for good order, here's a comparative shot with my current raisors du jour...
I'm really looking forward to trying the Hone Type 15 - shave plus report to follow in due course...
Last edited:
@mchaseman Glad your Hone arrived promptly, and that your enjoying it. I would love to hear how you are getting on now after a few shaves?
I also have an owners survey here www.hone-shaving.com/survey if you want. (Its very quick!)
I will surely complete it today. I am on my 4th shave and had great results with a Gillette Rubie with each shave getting a bit better. Definitely a 3 passer. It is very mild and my face has been very thankful. I woke up today and decided to try a feather blade as this has been my go to blade with my Merkur Futur and EJ. Both razors have left a very close shave but with definitely irritation. I used my same prep process with the only change being the feather blade. I must say that the HONE handled it beautifully but I must say that I expected a closer shave right out of the gate. There was no irritation after 3 passes and good tactile and auditory feedback. Unfortunately I expected a closer shave and thought that adding a more aggressive blade to a mild razor would result in the best shave possible. I shaved 7 hours ago and it feels that it isn't as close as I would have hoped. Perhaps it is that I need to adjust to the weight and angle. I will definitely give it another go tomorrow. Either way I will take a more comfortable shave over a extremely close shave personally.
- Messages
- 868
- Location
- Rainham, Kent
Happy to say my golden Hone arrived today, ordered at the weekend so super fast turnaround, I'm a happy little bunny, need to decide on Polish or Patina, Hmmmm decisions decisions.
Cheers Andrew/Andreas
Cheers Andrew/Andreas
Inaugural Shave With The Hone Type 15
I started off with my normal prep of Dr Squatch Pine Tar exfoliating soap plus a good massage of warm water into the beard. Rinse off, pat dry and then work on lathering the OSP Neroli Scented Shaving Soap. With the face lathered with the (excellent, I should add) OSP soap, I loaded the Type 15 with a Voskhod Teflon Coated razor blade - an easy operation, of course, given the substantial locating pins built into the top plate which hold the blade absolutely and satisfyingly parallel to the safety bar and top plate edge.
The thermal properties of brass are such that the material heats up very quickly and also readily retains heat, and consequently the razor provides a lovely warm feeling throughout the shave. Contrary to what you might initially think, given the lack of knurling etc. on the handle, it is actually quite grippy - at no stage did it ever feel like the weight of the razor would cause it to slip out of my hand. Which is a good job, as it really could do some serious damage if dropped...
On to the shave proper then. Within the first stroke or two it is immediately apparent that this is an ultra-mild razor - way more so than that great bastion of mildness - the Feather AS-D2. Furthermore, it is not an efficient razor (in the true meaning of the word shave fans) i.e. it requires a greater number of passes over the same area to achieve true smoothness. This is especially true when using a thick yoghurty soap such as OSP. The upshot of that, however, is that, notwithstanding the propensity for an increased number of passes, it is in actuality incredibly smooth and leaves no irritation whatsoever.
The Type 15 can also - similar to the AS-D2 - take a fair bit of pressure. Now, this is sacrilege to some, but with practice the amount of pressure that you can apply to some razors can be controlled to give a closer (read more efficient) shave. I naturally found myself applying more pressure to the Type 15 than 'normal' - thankfully, there was no downside as the blade exposure is minimal - in fact, I also think if a line was drawn between the safety bar and the leading edge of the top cap, the leading edge of the razor blade itself may stop somewhat (hundredths of a mm?) short of said line.
In summary therefore, on this first outing, I'm impressed by the heft and quality of the Hone Type 15 and I got a DFS. I'd like to see more aggression - perhaps trim the safety bar a bit - and, appearance notwithstanding, I really like brass as a material. I didn't feel that the handle was overly short as some folk have already commented on.
My main area of concern, however, is in the developing patina - as I said, and given the price level, I'm not deliriously happy that it doesn't retain its 'as bought' condition but I'll see how things go anyway. If it was mine, Andreas @riverrun - I would indeed have the Brasso and steel wool out...
Anyway, many thanks again Andreas and Andrew @Hone for the chance to be part of this exciting pass around. More shaves and reports to follow...
I started off with my normal prep of Dr Squatch Pine Tar exfoliating soap plus a good massage of warm water into the beard. Rinse off, pat dry and then work on lathering the OSP Neroli Scented Shaving Soap. With the face lathered with the (excellent, I should add) OSP soap, I loaded the Type 15 with a Voskhod Teflon Coated razor blade - an easy operation, of course, given the substantial locating pins built into the top plate which hold the blade absolutely and satisfyingly parallel to the safety bar and top plate edge.
The thermal properties of brass are such that the material heats up very quickly and also readily retains heat, and consequently the razor provides a lovely warm feeling throughout the shave. Contrary to what you might initially think, given the lack of knurling etc. on the handle, it is actually quite grippy - at no stage did it ever feel like the weight of the razor would cause it to slip out of my hand. Which is a good job, as it really could do some serious damage if dropped...
On to the shave proper then. Within the first stroke or two it is immediately apparent that this is an ultra-mild razor - way more so than that great bastion of mildness - the Feather AS-D2. Furthermore, it is not an efficient razor (in the true meaning of the word shave fans) i.e. it requires a greater number of passes over the same area to achieve true smoothness. This is especially true when using a thick yoghurty soap such as OSP. The upshot of that, however, is that, notwithstanding the propensity for an increased number of passes, it is in actuality incredibly smooth and leaves no irritation whatsoever.
The Type 15 can also - similar to the AS-D2 - take a fair bit of pressure. Now, this is sacrilege to some, but with practice the amount of pressure that you can apply to some razors can be controlled to give a closer (read more efficient) shave. I naturally found myself applying more pressure to the Type 15 than 'normal' - thankfully, there was no downside as the blade exposure is minimal - in fact, I also think if a line was drawn between the safety bar and the leading edge of the top cap, the leading edge of the razor blade itself may stop somewhat (hundredths of a mm?) short of said line.
In summary therefore, on this first outing, I'm impressed by the heft and quality of the Hone Type 15 and I got a DFS. I'd like to see more aggression - perhaps trim the safety bar a bit - and, appearance notwithstanding, I really like brass as a material. I didn't feel that the handle was overly short as some folk have already commented on.
My main area of concern, however, is in the developing patina - as I said, and given the price level, I'm not deliriously happy that it doesn't retain its 'as bought' condition but I'll see how things go anyway. If it was mine, Andreas @riverrun - I would indeed have the Brasso and steel wool out...
Anyway, many thanks again Andreas and Andrew @Hone for the chance to be part of this exciting pass around. More shaves and reports to follow...
- Messages
- 846
- Location
- London
This is a great read. I'm particularly interested in the patina aspect - I'm in two minds. I like the idea of it aging over time (please keep photographing throughout the pass around ) but since my first razor - EJ89 - I have conditioned myself to clean and polish ...
Chris.
) but since my first razor - EJ89 - I have conditioned myself to clean and polish ... Chris.
Post Inaugural Shave With The Hone Type 15 Note
After shaving around 9pm last night, and upon rising at 6am this morning, I could feel a lot of beard growth on the face - much more so than with any other razor I've used. By 10am, I had a '5 O'Clock Shadow'. Lesson for today therefore - unless you go for ultra multiple pass shave AND can get BBS, then the Type 15 is probably best employed in the morning...
Second Shave With The Hone Type 15
... but I am not a morning shaver as I like to take my time and enjoy my evening shave. So 10pm and I'll stick with the usual Dr Squatch prep to start off. Tonight, however, I've elected to go with a non-artisan soap - Proraso Green - which, while still utterly excellent - does not provide the cushion density of the really good artisanal soaps.
Blade choice this time is a Personna Super (AKA Lab Blue) - a really top flight blade. After lathering the face, I commenced the shave and, almost immediately, I sensed this was going to be slightly closer than last night. The combination of Proraso Green and Lab Blue suiting the Type 15 much better than the OSP Neroli Scented soap / Voskhod blade. I still had to use a lot more pressure than 'normal' - certainly with any other DE I have - but at no stage did I feel any discomfort, drag or irritation. That said, there was excellent aural feedback albeit the Type 15 doesn't remove as much beard in any given stroke as I (personally) would like - it sounds like it is, but in actuality it isn't.
I did a 2 pass shave and easily achieved DFS+. To get any closer, I would have had to up the pass count and use more pressure - which I didn't want to do as the Lab Blues can bite if you get too complacent.
The Type 15 is fairly foolproof to use - it is an excellent beginner DE and would also suit those with sensitive skin and / or who like really mild razors.
Post Second Shave Thought
Has anyone tried the Type 15 with just shave oil and no soap whatsoever? I might give that a go tomorrow or Saturday...
After shaving around 9pm last night, and upon rising at 6am this morning, I could feel a lot of beard growth on the face - much more so than with any other razor I've used. By 10am, I had a '5 O'Clock Shadow'. Lesson for today therefore - unless you go for ultra multiple pass shave AND can get BBS, then the Type 15 is probably best employed in the morning...
Second Shave With The Hone Type 15
... but I am not a morning shaver as I like to take my time and enjoy my evening shave. So 10pm and I'll stick with the usual Dr Squatch prep to start off. Tonight, however, I've elected to go with a non-artisan soap - Proraso Green - which, while still utterly excellent - does not provide the cushion density of the really good artisanal soaps.
Blade choice this time is a Personna Super (AKA Lab Blue) - a really top flight blade. After lathering the face, I commenced the shave and, almost immediately, I sensed this was going to be slightly closer than last night. The combination of Proraso Green and Lab Blue suiting the Type 15 much better than the OSP Neroli Scented soap / Voskhod blade. I still had to use a lot more pressure than 'normal' - certainly with any other DE I have - but at no stage did I feel any discomfort, drag or irritation. That said, there was excellent aural feedback albeit the Type 15 doesn't remove as much beard in any given stroke as I (personally) would like - it sounds like it is, but in actuality it isn't.
I did a 2 pass shave and easily achieved DFS+. To get any closer, I would have had to up the pass count and use more pressure - which I didn't want to do as the Lab Blues can bite if you get too complacent.
The Type 15 is fairly foolproof to use - it is an excellent beginner DE and would also suit those with sensitive skin and / or who like really mild razors.
Post Second Shave Thought
Has anyone tried the Type 15 with just shave oil and no soap whatsoever? I might give that a go tomorrow or Saturday...
- Messages
- 136
@PLANofMAN That's not a bad option to look into
It will be interesting to cost it out against a full handle, the material cost sometimes is only a fraction of the machine and finishing time
- Messages
- 136
@george wow, thank you, high praise. I know the word perfect means something different to everyone, and I'm really glad the Type 15 is able to compete for that slot with you. Hearing that is the encouragement to keep going full throttle on this.
- Messages
- 136
@Nico1970 thanks for the pictures and great detailed write up, really enjoyed reading that. Sounds like you would like a touch more blade feel than the Type 15, but I'm glad you still got some good shaves and sounds like you enjoyed the experience, thank you for taking the time to share
On the patina - I consider something like the pass around pretty much a worst case scenario, exposure to multiple water types, soaps and cleaners in succession with packing/transport etc. From what I have seen a single owner should create less variance on the finish, and they will be able to trace the 'origin' of the finish as it were. The initial change is the most dramatic also it takes a while to settle. In my testing I had some razors turn very deep brown with some soaps (I left them to soak for extended periods, days, in some cases) then almost return to bright gold with the next soap or cleaner. This is partly why I am still contemplating how best to express this; My personal razor is now almost 2 years old (still using one of the prototypes) and this variance in finish has gone through peaks and troughs, but now I can't stop using it because I have put my mark on it (even though my early protos were rather unrefined), the finish has also settled down to 'my normal' as it were. I know this is all highly subjective.
I tried protecting a razor with a very light bees wax from new, which dulled the bright gold to just under bright but it has pretty much remained that way since with a bit of care - no water marks even, occasionally I have polished with a bit more wax just to keep the layer. I also tried a ultra thin coat of lacquer, which did not work particularly well as there weren't the tolerances in the parts for it.
On the patina - I consider something like the pass around pretty much a worst case scenario, exposure to multiple water types, soaps and cleaners in succession with packing/transport etc. From what I have seen a single owner should create less variance on the finish, and they will be able to trace the 'origin' of the finish as it were. The initial change is the most dramatic also it takes a while to settle. In my testing I had some razors turn very deep brown with some soaps (I left them to soak for extended periods, days, in some cases) then almost return to bright gold with the next soap or cleaner. This is partly why I am still contemplating how best to express this; My personal razor is now almost 2 years old (still using one of the prototypes) and this variance in finish has gone through peaks and troughs, but now I can't stop using it because I have put my mark on it (even though my early protos were rather unrefined), the finish has also settled down to 'my normal' as it were. I know this is all highly subjective.
I tried protecting a razor with a very light bees wax from new, which dulled the bright gold to just under bright but it has pretty much remained that way since with a bit of care - no water marks even, occasionally I have polished with a bit more wax just to keep the layer. I also tried a ultra thin coat of lacquer, which did not work particularly well as there weren't the tolerances in the parts for it.