I initially thought I'd add this post to my "First Attempt" post but this is really not part of that thread, so here's an account of my second attempt.
I want to thank you guys for your help and encouragement. This morning I made my second attempt on a different razor, a Genco Henry's XXX which I picked up off of the "Bay" for a song (less than $25US). In my limited experiences with different brands of razors, it seems to me that I have had the best luck with Geneva Cutlery or Genco blades, and this one was in pretty nice shape. :thumbup: I took my time with the Unicot method (having again watched Bart's video and with the printed instructions sitting on the table for easy reference.
I really took my time developing the slurry this time and I think I did a better job of it than I did the last time. It took me a number of tries at getting this razor to shave arm hair but I knew that I didn't have to worry about "over-honing" and that it would soon reach that level of sharpness. Soon I was doing my X-strokes and then moved on the the tape. I finished with the 50 strokes with water only and finished up with 20 laps on my Hess Hair Milk Lab canvas strop and 60 laps on the Tony Miller Horsehide strop.
Showered and prepped and used Prairie Creations Old Spice Type soap with a new Forest 2211 brush and gave myself one of the best straight shaves I have managed over the past two years. The blade felt very comfortable as I did two passes (WTG and XTG) and a couple of touch up passes XTG on my neck and jawline. I had a two day growth (which for me is not very heavy, but is noticeable) and while I can't quite call the results a BBS shave, it feels very, very smooth. This experience is what I was looking for, that is, to take a razor from the ground up, so to speak, to be in shave ready condition to give me a good shave. :w00t:
Thanks again fellas. BTW, I may not contribute to the conversations, but I am always reading. Thanks for the forum.
Nathan
I want to thank you guys for your help and encouragement. This morning I made my second attempt on a different razor, a Genco Henry's XXX which I picked up off of the "Bay" for a song (less than $25US). In my limited experiences with different brands of razors, it seems to me that I have had the best luck with Geneva Cutlery or Genco blades, and this one was in pretty nice shape. :thumbup: I took my time with the Unicot method (having again watched Bart's video and with the printed instructions sitting on the table for easy reference.
I really took my time developing the slurry this time and I think I did a better job of it than I did the last time. It took me a number of tries at getting this razor to shave arm hair but I knew that I didn't have to worry about "over-honing" and that it would soon reach that level of sharpness. Soon I was doing my X-strokes and then moved on the the tape. I finished with the 50 strokes with water only and finished up with 20 laps on my Hess Hair Milk Lab canvas strop and 60 laps on the Tony Miller Horsehide strop.
Showered and prepped and used Prairie Creations Old Spice Type soap with a new Forest 2211 brush and gave myself one of the best straight shaves I have managed over the past two years. The blade felt very comfortable as I did two passes (WTG and XTG) and a couple of touch up passes XTG on my neck and jawline. I had a two day growth (which for me is not very heavy, but is noticeable) and while I can't quite call the results a BBS shave, it feels very, very smooth. This experience is what I was looking for, that is, to take a razor from the ground up, so to speak, to be in shave ready condition to give me a good shave. :w00t:
Thanks again fellas. BTW, I may not contribute to the conversations, but I am always reading. Thanks for the forum.
Nathan
