@gcgallant
@sub.wetshaving.socialI’m surprised too. Stresses at the apex are highest when the apex is at its keenest. My expectation was to see early wear (effectively widening the apex), and see the wear rate falling off asymptotically. Perhaps all we’re seeing is the edge retention of stainless and it’s just too early to get excited. @djundjila’s opinion would be interesting on this.
August 7, 2024
Brush: Zenith r/Wetshaving 31mm x 57mm Moar Boar
Razor: J.A. Henckels Friodur 14 Full Hollow Square Point
Lather: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Soap
Toner: Thayers - Lavender - Toner
Aftershave: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Aftershave
Fragrance: Guerlain - Jicky - Eau de Toilette
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave. $headless $FriodomRiders #NoStrop
Another great shave and today's microscope image shows why (see album). If you compare today's image with the one originally taken, there is essentially no difference. The entire edge looks this way as well. If anything, I'd say that the overall form of the edge is a little smoother. This is not what I expected at this point. I'm sure that the apex has become more rounded since Aug 1. You can't see this in the microscope but the apex change is so small, it's just not noticable to me in the shave. The edge smoothness shows why my shaves have been so comfortable.
I see that u/Str8_Razor is also foregoing the strop with a Frio 14. Cheers Sir!
August 6, 2024
Brush: Zenith r/Wetshaving 31mm x 57mm Moar Boar
Razor: J.A. Henckels Friodur 14 Full Hollow Square Point
Lather: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Soap
Toner: Thayers - Lavender - Toner
Aftershave: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Aftershave
Fragrance: Guerlain - Jicky - Eau de Toilette
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave. $headless $FriodomRiders
Another enjoyable shave. If behavior from this edge follows my pattern with DE blades, I would expect my shaves to begin being slightly less close around one week (tomorrow). I'll take a microscope photo then to see how the edge is doing. Otherwise, going stropless has had no downside so far. All's well at the moment.
Ahh. Thank you. I assume that's a fairly new bot. I expect I will see a lot of it from now on. Seems like a great time saver.
August 5, 2024
Brush: Zenith r/Wetshaving 31mm x 57mm Moar Boar
Razor: J.A. Henckels Friodur 14 Full Hollow Square Point
Lather: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Soap
Toner: Thayers - Lavender - Toner
Aftershave: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Aftershave
Fragrance: Guerlain - Jicky - Eau de Toilette
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave. $headless $FriodomRiders
Another shave that was as close as one with a stropped razor. I'll be doing a microscope image of the edge on the 7th or 8th. I'm interested to see what the edge looks like. It feels exceptionally comfortable while shaving.
Yeah, Shire was close to the top of my list for AA also. Had I not been able to find Guerlain Jicky EdT, it was between Shire and Opuntia (Opuntia followed by Aventus fits well for mid-Atlantic US in August).
You can't go wrong with Stirling. To me, it's just like what buying Craftsman tools at Sears was like back in the day.
What's behind the $Discord tag?
I obviously don’t know, but from videos I’ve seen of making DE blades, the tradeoff between cost and precision favors cost. My assumption on the sputtering is that it normalizes the edge and that the coating reduces harshness when the blade is at its sharpest.
My scope is calibrated so the 50 micron scale at the bottom left is reasonably accurate. It’s amazing how much better the resolving power of a SEM is at similar magnification.
After AA I’ll do a sequence with a DE blade. I’ve only done a GEM and Kismet so far.
August 4, 2024
Brush: Zenith r/Wetshaving 31mm x 57mm Moar Boar
Razor: J.A. Henckels Friodur 14 Full Hollow Square Point
Lather: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Soap
Toner: Thayers - Lavender - Toner
Aftershave: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Aftershave
Fragrance: Guerlain - Jicky - Eau de Toilette
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave. $headless $FriodomRiders
Another terrific shave. This setup is really being good to me right now. I'd say that this shave was closer than my typical BBS shave. My typical shave is not on a new edge, and I am adapting to the edge I put on this razor.
Even though I'm not stropping, I do not notice any lack of comfort or sharpness ... yet. I will say that even when I do strop, I start wanting that "new edge" feel around 10 shaves on a straight. Wouldn't it be interesting if I find that the stropping I've been doing is actually detrimental to edge duration? OK, in some nerd universe, yes, interesting, but to a normal person, probably not.
Yes. It’s generally gone within the first few days. I think, now, that the added comfort of the sputtered material comes from reducing the harshness of a freshly machined edge.