Jem
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Posts: 3,390 
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Post by Jem on Mar 19, 2017 20:10:17 GMT
I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but I had a passion for shaving with either a double edged razor or a straight edged razor (cut throat) a few years back. I absolutely loved mastering the art of it and loved the result of a straight edged shave. It's not quite as hard as you imagine if the blade is 100% sharp. Anyway, times moved on and I have had something I loosly call a beard for a few years now. In the last fews years I shaved my eldest son on his wedding day ; primarily because he gets shaving rash and he wanted to be clean shaven but without a red neck, and then my youngest son just for the fun of it. Last summer I shaved an old friend of mine because he was keen to know what it was like. Today I have been out and shaved another friend because he was about to shave his beard off, and we'd discussed it in the pub a few weeks back and he was going to go to a Turkish barbers in town for a shave. I explained to him that they don't use a cut throat but a version of a straight edge that you put disposable razors in and then discard. Not a great shave in my opinion. And quite costly too. Anyway, my blade was starting to drag last time i used it and I couldn't get a decent edge back on it just using my strop. This time I honed my blade on 1 micron lapping film , which I believe is what opticians use to polish lens. It is so gentle that it feels like a film of plastic. I read about it on a shaving forum. It is amazing! You lay it on a sheet of hard glass and wet it. And then on the second pass place a piece of damp printer paper underneath it. It is the most simple way to put an edge back on a blade that I have ever done! For me using a stone is kind of hard work and can end in tears as the stone may not be level and then the honing stone itself needs honing with another stone.... Here it is below- It's a Dovo blade made of steel from Solingen Germany. Anyone fancy a shave at DFR5?!  IMG_3324 by Sooper 8, on Flickr |
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Post by cusqueno on Mar 20, 2017 14:21:26 GMT
I had a couple of Solingen blades I acquired from somewhere, but not as fine as this as I recall. Sold them on eBay. Have you used a Rolls razor? These have a short hollow ground blade that screws into a handle so that it looks a bit like a single-sided safety razor. The clever bit is that it all comes in a metal box that encloses a stone and a mechanism to run the blade against the stone at the correct angle. Looks neat but probably a bit chunky for what it does. Here is the 'Viscount' model (I kid you not). |
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on Mar 20, 2017 17:11:20 GMT
Rolls razor - I have seen them. I know one of them is called a Viscount because I sometimes get it pop up when searching for bikes. They always remind me of a partially opened sardine can, and looks wise never appealed to me. Never used one though. I guess it was designed in response to the issues with honing for the average person. Although in the cut throat's heyday, I am guessing that people were more proficient with blade sharpening.
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Post by whippet on Apr 4, 2017 21:21:56 GMT
Interesting Jem. I switched to badger bristle brush and shaving soap a few years back. A great move as the soap lasts many months ( probably getting on for a year) and is far less wasteful than cans of shaving gel. I am still using disposable razer heads which are expensive and don't last long. I'm tempted to change to something more sustainable but worry about chopping my head off.
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on Apr 5, 2017 20:34:55 GMT
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Post by whippet on Apr 6, 2017 6:02:13 GMT
Thanks Jem, £6.99 for 50 is much more like it!
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Post by whippet on Apr 7, 2017 17:51:56 GMT
Is there an English made razor of comparable quality Jem?
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on Apr 8, 2017 18:43:36 GMT
Do you mean razors like above (disposable) or the straight edged (cut throat)?
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Post by whippet on Apr 9, 2017 7:26:06 GMT
Disposable.
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Post by whippet on May 6, 2017 21:12:51 GMT
Thanks for the advice Jem, bought a Merkur 34 while in London today. Can't wait to try it out after my birthday in mud June.
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Post by whippet on May 6, 2017 21:13:36 GMT
PS how do you dispose of the old razors?
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Jem
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Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on May 7, 2017 20:11:09 GMT
I bought a few blades from this guy and he gives out a free disposal tin (mine is steel), this one looks kinds fancy and made of plastic - but I'd say steel is better. www.leesrazors.com/feather-used-blade-disposal-bank/The tin is like a money box - you can put the blades in but they can't come out. Then when full, which might be years, you can recycle them. At a push (and without the recycle tin), just re-wrap in the wrapper it came in and save them, and then put back in the slide container it came in for later recycle. |
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on May 7, 2017 20:15:23 GMT
You'd have liked this shop I went in a couple of weeks back...just shaving gear! If you can find one, then badger hair brush is the best. And various grades of badger hair are available. I can't recall the order they go in - but can you see that one for 127 Euros? That must be something else!?  IMG_3725 by Sooper 8, on Flickr  IMG_3726 by Sooper 8, on Flickr  IMG_3727 by Sooper 8, on Flickr |
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Post by whippet on May 8, 2017 6:19:54 GMT
I'm using a badger hair brush already, a Murdoch one. Bought my new razor from a similar hop in London.
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on May 8, 2017 15:59:54 GMT
I had to Google the Merkur 34 as I have been out of touch with shaving gear for a year or two.
That is a very nice little razor. I am amazed at how the balance on those razors is so well designed that it needs almost weight needs to be applied when shaving. The razor does all the work.
And that gnarled grip really helps when it's wet. That is a razor for life and the disposable blades make it pay for itself in a few months compared to the new 3 or 4 blade shavers.
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Post by whippet on May 8, 2017 16:56:01 GMT
Can't wait to start using it after my birthday. Good feeling to not be ripped off by Wilkinson Sword.
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Post by rotors on May 9, 2017 19:29:02 GMT
I had a couple of Solingen blades I acquired from somewhere, but not as fine as this as I recall. Sold them on eBay. Have you used a Rolls razor? These have a short hollow ground blade that screws into a handle so that it looks a bit like a single-sided safety razor. The clever bit is that it all comes in a metal box that encloses a stone and a mechanism to run the blade against the stone at the correct angle. Looks neat but probably a bit chunky for what it does. Here is the 'Viscount' model (I kid you not). I've got two of these still in their boxes with the blades too !! I believe they were my Dad's many years ago  In the last fews years I shaved my eldest son on his wedding day ; primarily because he gets shaving rash and he wanted to be clean shaven but without a red neck, and then my youngest son just for the fun of it. Last summer I shaved an old friend of mine because he was keen to know what it was like..... ......My God you must be very good at it and extremely confident !!! I got married on April fools day this year and shaved with a well trusted orange single bladed Bic, the night before too. I have visions of your son unable to stretch his neck out for the marriage kiss lest he open a gaping throat wound makes me shudder ha ha. |
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on May 9, 2017 20:15:12 GMT
I had a couple of Solingen blades I acquired from somewhere, but not as fine as this as I recall. Sold them on eBay. Have you used a Rolls razor? These have a short hollow ground blade that screws into a handle so that it looks a bit like a single-sided safety razor. The clever bit is that it all comes in a metal box that encloses a stone and a mechanism to run the blade against the stone at the correct angle. Looks neat but probably a bit chunky for what it does. Here is the 'Viscount' model (I kid you not). I've got two of these still in their boxes with the blades too !! I believe they were my Dad's many years ago In the last fews years I shaved my eldest son on his wedding day ; primarily because he gets shaving rash and he wanted to be clean shaven but without a red neck, and then my youngest son just for the fun of it. Last summer I shaved an old friend of mine because he was keen to know what it was like..... ......My God you must be very good at it and extremely confident !!! I got married on April fools day this year and shaved with a well trusted orange single bladed Bic, the night before too. I have visions of your son unable to stretch his neck out for the marriage kiss lest he open a gaping throat wound makes me shudder ha ha. Haha -I don't know if I was totally confident but I did a good impression. The one good thing about a cut from a cut throat is that it heals within a day generally as it is so sharp and clean. You'd have to be pretty reckless to get a deep cut that wouldn't stop bleeding. The closest I got to a mishap was a clumsy flick near my ear by accident and it bleed for quite a while. Unlike any other kind of cut from a blade. |
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