Bart
Well-Known Member
JimR recently started a thread about a more traditional use for sharpening razors on Japanese natural hones. For me personally, this was a much welcomed initiative. Early 2008, I was not entirely pleased with my honing. People were talking about "wiping whiskers of their face", shaving with a "velvet squeegee", and other superlatives. At that time, I got irritation-free, close shaves off my Coticule. But I wasn't wiping whiskers of my face with a velvet squeegee. And I had these spots on the hollow parts of my neck that refused to become as utterly smooth as the rest of my freshly shaved face. I attributed that to razor sharpness. I convinced myself that I needed a "keener" hone for that. I doubted between a Shapton 16K, a Chosera 10K or a Nakayama. After some counseling with guys that had been longer around that I, I decided to opt for the Nakayama. It became an expensive disappointment. No matter what I tried, the edges were of about the same keenness than what I already managed to get off a Coticule, and they were definitely a tad less smooth and no so skin-friendly. The patches on my neck remained. Three months later I swallowed my pride and bought a Chosera 10K. Finally I managed to get keener edges, something I later learned to get from a Coticule without including the Chosera. Somewhere along the lines, I also learned that shaving those stubborn spots on the neck had nothing to do with blade keenness, but everything with shaving technique.
The Chosera still sees good use, because it offers an excellent and known platform as a starting point for sharpening experiments and hone tests. And it's an ace for handplane blades.
But the Nakayama was quietly gathering dust in the drawer of my desk. A sad fate.
Till Jim arrived at the scene with a number of suggestions that made sense to me. I've been fumbling with these methods on and off for a few weeks now, and I can testify that the edges I now get off the Nakayama are definitely on a better level. One where they don't bleach when compared to a good Coticule edge.
After about a dozen test shaves with 8 different edges honed according to the principles presented in Jim's thread, I felt like sharing some impressions. I mostly shaved one facial half with a Coticule edge and the other with a Nakayama edge.
A first notion is, that on Double Arrows it makes not a shed of difference. I think I can hone these to the limits of what their steel will take, for the type of completely serration-less edges left by both Coticules and Nakayamas.
A second notion - I find it very weird but have experienced this in most cases - is that I can discern differences between both edges almost exclusively during the WTG pass. This is completely new for me, as I've always found that edges really reveal themselves ATG. Yet I can't blindly separate a Coticule edge from a Nakayama edge by judging how they feel when shaving ATG. WTG, however, some of the Nakayama edges appeared to cut with slightly less effort. It's not so much an observation than it is an impression, but one I've had on 5 or 6 of the 8 razors I honed with the Nakayama. I tried to use matched razors as much as possible.
The Nakayama is also a bit less weeper-proof than the Coticule, but with some adjustments in the shaving technique that can be mostly avoided. The feel on the skin is otherwise smooth and resembles the crispier Coticule edge, that leave a pleasant post-shave skin rejuvenation.
Best regards,
Bart.
The Chosera still sees good use, because it offers an excellent and known platform as a starting point for sharpening experiments and hone tests. And it's an ace for handplane blades.
But the Nakayama was quietly gathering dust in the drawer of my desk. A sad fate.
Till Jim arrived at the scene with a number of suggestions that made sense to me. I've been fumbling with these methods on and off for a few weeks now, and I can testify that the edges I now get off the Nakayama are definitely on a better level. One where they don't bleach when compared to a good Coticule edge.
After about a dozen test shaves with 8 different edges honed according to the principles presented in Jim's thread, I felt like sharing some impressions. I mostly shaved one facial half with a Coticule edge and the other with a Nakayama edge.
A first notion is, that on Double Arrows it makes not a shed of difference. I think I can hone these to the limits of what their steel will take, for the type of completely serration-less edges left by both Coticules and Nakayamas.
A second notion - I find it very weird but have experienced this in most cases - is that I can discern differences between both edges almost exclusively during the WTG pass. This is completely new for me, as I've always found that edges really reveal themselves ATG. Yet I can't blindly separate a Coticule edge from a Nakayama edge by judging how they feel when shaving ATG. WTG, however, some of the Nakayama edges appeared to cut with slightly less effort. It's not so much an observation than it is an impression, but one I've had on 5 or 6 of the 8 razors I honed with the Nakayama. I tried to use matched razors as much as possible.
The Nakayama is also a bit less weeper-proof than the Coticule, but with some adjustments in the shaving technique that can be mostly avoided. The feel on the skin is otherwise smooth and resembles the crispier Coticule edge, that leave a pleasant post-shave skin rejuvenation.
Best regards,
Bart.