August 25, 2022
- Brush: Zenith B15 (506 U/L) 27.5mm Boar
- Razor: GEM MMOC Gold Gen2
- Blade: Personna Gem PTFE (25)
- Lather: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - Soap
- Post Shave: Thayers - Lemon - Toner
- Post Shave: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - Aftershave
- Fragrance: Chiseled Face - Midnight Stag - Eau de Parfum
2 passes. Face lather. Good shave.
Another "good" shave. I hope I get 6 more.
The new microscope arrived late yesterday, and I did not have a chance to set it up and get used to it. I'll do that today.
So, today's edge photo is from the microscope I've been using all month. Again, not a lot of difference. Degradation is very slow and I fully expect diminishing returns at this point. My regime for handling the blade continues to be very gentle. I have not stropped it, and I'm very careful installing it in, and removing it from, the razor. Even so, if you watched yesterday's blockbuster video (thank you u/Environmental-Gap380), you saw what the razor's stops do to the edge after 24 uses.
So, you're probably not wondering, "Why did this guy buy a new microscope?", but you might definitely be thinking, "How many days can this guy talk about GEM razor edges?". The answer, to the second question (I hope) is 31.
As to the first question. During this fall I intend to use the new, higher quality, scope to help me "go deep" into straight razor honing. Over the last 15 years, I gained my 10,000 hours experience in knife and tool sharpening. I can tailor an edge to pass all of the "hair" tests (tree-top, hanging hair test, shaving arm hair). But straight razor people want a comfortable edge, and each person's idea of sharpness and comfort is a little different. So, I'm going down this path with coticules, Arkansas stones, Thuringians, Jnats (mine are for knives so I need to buy a new stone and nagura set). The new scope will help with all this. If you're interested, and I'm not sure why you would be, I'd be happy to post progress here.
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