07-09-2019, 02:17 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-09-2019, 02:32 PM by Mark Reich.)
That is really a cool razor, Mr. Jan! It will be very interesting to learn how you'll hone it. If I understand, it has an edge bevel of 10°/side? 20° inclusive seems like the obtuse limit for razors. Straight razors can be quite a bit skinnier, but I think that's consistent with factory razor blades.
I've been super busy lately, but last week I did find an older stainless steel Double Duck Goldedge. They're made in Solingen Germany, and it is in really nice shape. I'd say it's a 5/8, 1/1 hollow (Thanks for the diagram Mr. Jan!). It sure honed up nice and quickly, and I'm very happy with it.
I also broke down and watched a bunch of Youtube videos to make sure I was in the ballpark with my bevel setting, honing and maintenance. After watching a couple dozen of the best videos I could find, I was satisfied that I've been playing by the rules, and this really isn't any big deal.
I did learn some good things that I wasn't sure about, but for the most part it's actually simpler than I thought. For one thing, maintaining a straight razor goes pretty much exactly like I described. It simply stays about the same sharpness, but for much longer than I thought. I said I take mine to the stones a couple times/year, and it seems like that is probably enough for guys who shave every day. I probably heard the "couple times/year" suggestion, and went with that.
Another thing that I confirmed is that your face will surely tell you how well you're maintaining your razor. In fact, the Double Duck got sharper than I'm used to, and I took off a little too much skin on one pass. Not a big deal. Kinda looked like I got a big rug burn (in an odd place), bad enough to cause epidermal leakage, but it stopped leaking and went away quickly.
The problem I'm finding is that the media is clearly too tough for the straight razors I have. The new DD didn't stand a chance. I didn't get a single measurement out of it.
From now on I will mark the blade and try to get a measurement. If it looks like it's going to be >75 BESS, I'll examine that spot for edge failure. I'm pretty sure any decent job of honing should yield BESS 50 if it doesn't distort the edge. The (more or less) tried and true hanging hair tests may be more appropriate IMHO.
I've been super busy lately, but last week I did find an older stainless steel Double Duck Goldedge. They're made in Solingen Germany, and it is in really nice shape. I'd say it's a 5/8, 1/1 hollow (Thanks for the diagram Mr. Jan!). It sure honed up nice and quickly, and I'm very happy with it.
I also broke down and watched a bunch of Youtube videos to make sure I was in the ballpark with my bevel setting, honing and maintenance. After watching a couple dozen of the best videos I could find, I was satisfied that I've been playing by the rules, and this really isn't any big deal.
I did learn some good things that I wasn't sure about, but for the most part it's actually simpler than I thought. For one thing, maintaining a straight razor goes pretty much exactly like I described. It simply stays about the same sharpness, but for much longer than I thought. I said I take mine to the stones a couple times/year, and it seems like that is probably enough for guys who shave every day. I probably heard the "couple times/year" suggestion, and went with that.
Another thing that I confirmed is that your face will surely tell you how well you're maintaining your razor. In fact, the Double Duck got sharper than I'm used to, and I took off a little too much skin on one pass. Not a big deal. Kinda looked like I got a big rug burn (in an odd place), bad enough to cause epidermal leakage, but it stopped leaking and went away quickly.
The problem I'm finding is that the media is clearly too tough for the straight razors I have. The new DD didn't stand a chance. I didn't get a single measurement out of it.
From now on I will mark the blade and try to get a measurement. If it looks like it's going to be >75 BESS, I'll examine that spot for edge failure. I'm pretty sure any decent job of honing should yield BESS 50 if it doesn't distort the edge. The (more or less) tried and true hanging hair tests may be more appropriate IMHO.