2 Stone Honing Method:

Since my last honing session didn't yield any results, I decided to do a 2 stone honing method which I got from a friend, Julian Muller. And it has yielded excellent results in the past. So lets get started:

First up I killed the edge on both razors and I started with my Professional 600 grit stone. I ended up doing 40/40, 20/20, 10/10, 5/5 seconds on each side and then I did 10 round trips on each razor. After that I went back and did 20/20, 10/10, 5/5 seconds and followed that up with 10 more round trips. Both razors dug into my thumbnail extremely well and almost wouldn't let go of it. After the thumbnail test, I went back and 10 more round trips to clean up both edges:

Up next I went straight to my Norton 8K stone and I did 100 seconds on each side while turning the stone around every 40 seconds and I also sprayed the stone down every 40 seconds when I turned the stone around. After that I did 10 round trips to clean up the edge on both razors:

Next up I shortened up my stropping routine by just doing 5 round trips on both the rough and smooth leather which produced a really nice looking edge under my loupe:

Having a full progression of stones is helpful and does make things easier, but it's really not necessary unless you want to go that route. I've gotten great results going from my bevel setting stone straight into a finishing stone and I'm not the only one either. Here lately my friend Craig Minor has gotten great results using just 2 stones. In fact he reminded me of this technique. Thanks Craig Minor for reminding me about this technique. I'll still be using the Anthony Esposito method but only with 2 stones which are my Naniwa Professional 600 grit and either my Shoubandini or for the time being, my Norton 8K stone. Thanks for reading my blog posts and Happy New Year ladies & gentlemen:

Reflection & The Jr. Torrey:

Today's shave ended up being great but didn't start off that way. More on that in a bit. Since this was the last shave of 2016, I went with Soap Commander and their "Reflection" scented soap which has an incredible Oakmoss & Amber scent to it. It pairs extremely well with Barbasol Brisk which is what I finished tonight's shave off with. I chose reflection because because I wanted to reflect on 2016 a little bit. It was year of the hardware in terms of shave gear and I ended up finishing off 25 shave soaps this year alone. I quit posting them after I finished off the 22nd one due to a troll causing me grief at that time. So I will be looking forward to see what 2017 brings:

The Jr. Torrey wasn't good at all. After attempting to make my first pass, I stopped in the middle of it and went with my Gillette Fusion Proshield chill. Squeaky clean after 2 passes. So here in a few minutes, I am going to re hone both razors on the Shoubandini. This time, there won't be any clean water which seems to make the edge go away. That was the only thing that I've not eliminated. So from now slurry only for my Jnat.

Honing Time!

One of the things that I love about the straight razor hobby is the fact that I can take ANY dull razor and take it all the way to shave ready. So if someone sells me a razor that isn't quite shave ready, I couldn't care less because I'm independent and don't have to rely on anyone else. I also went with my friend Anthony Esposito's method. It's fast and it works each and every time regardless of the razor or what shape its in period:

First I reset the bevel on the Naniwa Professional (new Chosera) 600 with 40/40, 20/20, 10/10, 5/5 seconds on each side using Japanese style honing (back and forth strokes/half circles) and then I followed that up with 10 round trips to clean up the edge a bit. Once I did my thumbnail test, I went back and did 10 more round trips before progressing onto my Suehiro 1/3K mighty mini combo stone which is one of the smoothest stones I've used to date:

Up next was the 1K side of the of my Suehiro but I had a little accident when I got towards the end of it with both razors. That's blood that you see on the stone:

Caught the edge of my middle finger just below the fingernail which bled quite a bit:

After I got done dealing with my cut, I went with my progression of Suehiro 1K/3K, Norton 8K, Shapton 12K. I took another friend's advice (Adventures in wet shaving, Eric Latta) and used a really light touch on the Shapton 12K which seemed to feel more like a synthetic stone instead of the Japanese natural stone feel I was getting. Speaking of Jnats, I finished on my Shoubandini. First I built a slurry and did 20/20, 10/10, 5/5 seconds on each side followed by 10 round trips to clean up the edge a bit. After that I repeated that sequence with clean water on both razors:

Next I did 10 round trips on the rough leather which cleaned the edge perfectly:

Then I did 20 round trips on the smooth leather to polish and smooth the edge a little further. The shave test will tell me what I need to do next:

Now to let my water stones air dry overnight :

The fabric of my strop was past being shot so I tossed it out. And considering that I can get a brand new strop for what it costs to replace the fabric, I've decided NOT to replace it. So I will be going on a little research binge to find out what strop I want to get. I want a good one that isn't too expensive and that will last. I'm also saying good bye to chromium oxide pastes. I've got stones here and I really don't need it in my opinion.

Vision & The Gem SE:

Today's shave was great. Today is also Darren Seibert's birthday so in his honor, I went with Soap Commander and our personal favorite, Vision which has an incredible scent of aqua, amber and mint. The soap doesn't have any menthol itself but the aftershave balm does which puts the post feel over the top. I usually pair these up with Aqua Velva but my skin is a little bit on the dry side. So I will be using aftershave balms for a while to keep my skin from completely drying out:

The Gem SE razor with the fresh coated stainless steel blade was awesome. Stropping it before the 1st use did help quite a bit. And 5 shaves is my limit on a blade which I really like. Normally I'm doing good to get 2 out both a DE blade and a Gem Blue Star blade.

Kilted Tiki & The Hawk:

Today's shave was great. After a nice relaxing hot shower, I went with Tiki Bar and their Kilted Tiki soap which has an incredible peat moss scent and was made with Scotch whiskey instead of lye water which is unique and very refreshing. To add a little more refreshment, I paired it with my usual "go to" aftershave splash which I need to stock up on:

The hawk did great and then some. I was squeaking after just my usual 2.5 passes. I'm not exactly sure how many shaves I've got on this blade but these Kai Captain Titan Pink milds seem to last a while. I think this was my 4th shave on this blade. I thought about trying the Feather blades again in the hawk only this time I will be stropping them before the 1st use just to see what happens.

Grape Soda & Steampunk Wedge:

Today's shave was pretty good. Catie's Bubbles performed flawlessly as usual and their "knee high to grape" is an intoxicating and a very delicious smelling grape soda scent. To top off this shave, I went with Aqua Velva classic ice blue aftershave splash:

The Steampunk wedge wasn't too good for some reason or another. I'll take a look at it later to see what is going with it. I may send it out to be re honed but I'm really not sure just yet. So after 2.5 passes and not seeing my beard disappear, I grabbed my Gillette Fusion travel razor and finished off my shave with 1 pass which got it close with zero razor burn.

Touch Up Time:

After today's shave, I decided to do a quick touch on both of my razors. First I started off with 20 "X" strokes and then I followed that up with 10 seconds worth of Japanese honing or half circles on each side Then I finished both razors off with 10 more "X" strokes to clean up the edge a bit:

After that I did 10 round trips on the smooth leather to give the edge that little extra polish. This should bump both of my straight razors up quite a bit until I can order those Suehiro water stone which will have to wait until January 6, 2017 when they open back up from the holidays. I'm extremely close to getting the edges that I want with the Shoubandini Type 100. So my next shave should be much better than it was today.

Armada & The Jr. Torrey:

Today's shave was good. It's also Tuesday which means that Through The Fire Fine Craft by Maria Arman was up in the rotation. I went with her Armada scented soap which has a Vintage Old Spice scent. I don't have the matching aftershave splash but I do have Soap Commander and their Endurance aftershave balm which is also a Vintage Old Spice scent:

The Jr. Torrey was okay but it needs to be re honed so I will be hitting the stones later on. I also decided to stick with the rough and smooth leather only on my strop. The nylon webbing took a crap on me and needs to be replaced and no more than I used it, I figured that the smooth and rough leather is really all that I need. I ended up doing a full 3 passes before getting a decent shave. So there might be a quick honing session later on.

C.O. Bigelow & The Gem SE:

Today's shave was pretty good but not the best. More that in a moment. Today I went with C.O. Bigelow and their Menthol & Eucalyptus (Proraso green) scented cream. And to finish off the shave, I went with Barbasol Brisk which adds an equal level of freshness:

The Ted Pella blade I had in there was shot so I put in another Gem Blue Star blade which I somewhat regret. I had more than a few weepers so I will going exclusively to the Ted Pella blades from this point on. So Gem Blue Star blades are out:

I ended up doing a 4 pass shave today because the blade was shot and wasn't cutting at all. That and I've been using the 3 in 1 oil to soak my blades in to keep them from rusting. Unfortunately the Gem Blue Star blades rust almost instantly. That and this specific blade was extremely uncomfortable to use which was not the case with the very first blade I tried. Marty Pape was correct about the Ted Pella stainless steel coated blades from Razor Blades & More. So I will be getting some more from those guys here pretty soon.

Resolution & The Gem SE:

First let me start by saying Merry Christmas to all of my friends, family and loyal readers. Today is Sunday and that means Soap Commander Sunday is in full effect. And since it's Christmas Day here in the U.S., I went with their Resolution scented soap which has a fresh picked mistletoe toe, Frasier fir tree with a little hint of cranberry to balance out the scent with a little sweetness. To finish off the shave, I went with their Integrity aftershave balm which is unscented :

The Gem SE was simply amazing. These Ted Pella blades get better with use and if you strop them, they last longer. I got a squeaky clean post shave feel in 2.5 passes and this was the 3rd shave on this blade. With that being said, Merry Christmas ladies and gentlemen.

Fougere' Santal & The Gem SE:

This Christmas Eve shave was amazing. Good old Reef Point Soaps performed exceptionally well tonight after a nice, hot and relaxing shower. I went with their Fougere' Santal which pairs extremely well with the classic Brut aftershave which is what I finished off tonight's shave with:

The Gem SE with a Ted Pella blade was also amazing. I got a 2.5 pass ice rink type of post shave feel. I also stropped these blades and at first, I thought I screwed up the blade but soon realized that I didn't put the blade in correctly. Once I made sure it was in the razor correctly, it shaved like a dream. I'm really loving my Vintage Gem razor.

Volcano & The Hawk:

Today's shave was great and quite possibly one of my best shaves with an SE type of razor to date. I was also craving Tiki Bar so I went with their Volcano scented croap. The scent is a semi sweet freshly sliced tropical fruit scent which is amazing. And finish off this shave, I went with their Walk the plank scented aftershave balm which has a tropical coconut, salt water and sweet rum scent to it which is also equally phenomenal:

As I mentioned earlier, this was one if not the best shave I've ever gotten out of my Hawk SE razor. I got a squeaky clean post shave feel that resembles an ice rink in just 2.5 passes. Stropping these specific blades has been an excellent decision. This was 3rd shave on this specific blade and there was not one hint of tugging or pulling. That's the advantage of owning a leather strop. It's also good for stropping other blades besides straight razors and this includes cartridges. So if you are wondering if you should get a leather strop or not, it's totally worth it especially if you are still using cartridges still because it can double or even triple the life of your blades.

Pipe Smoke & The Steampunk Wedge:

Today's shave was great and very satisfying. I was craving a pipe tobacco scent so I went with Uncle Jon's Soap and his pipe smoke scented soap which has an incredible cherry pipe tobacco, vanilla and spice scent to it. And I finished off this shave with Soap Commander's integrity aftershave balm which is unscented and doesn't clash with the soap's scent:

I was craving a straight razor shave so I broke out my Steampunk wedge which wasn't too keen so I did 40 round trips on the .5 pasted strop and 10 round trips on the smooth leather which was exactly what the razor needed. I've still got quite a ways to go before I get the Shoubandini dialed in to where I want it, but I'm getting close. I'll probably have it dialed in with a couple more honing sessions give or take a little. I also did a little math last night and it's going to cost me $70.50 U.S. dollars shipped for the 2 Suehiro stones that I want from Tools of Japan's website. In fact they're cheaper than Amazon is on water stones. Amazon wanted that for 1 of the stones I'm interetsed in.

Going With Suehiro Stones:

This decision has been in the works for years now. Between shaving off of a Suehiro 20K edge by Anthony Esposito along with using my mighty mini which is a Suehiro 1/3K combo stone, I have decided to go with Suehiro water stones for my progression. I will be finishing on either a Jnat or eventually a 20K stone when I can afford one:

Shapton stones are too expensive and in my opinion, they tend to be a bit harsh. My Shapton 12K proved that to me and I've heard others tell me that they prefer other stones over the Shapton stones. I was also told that the super stones would dish really bad and you have seen numerous times what is left of my Norton which is not good. So I am going on the prowl over at Amazon to see if I can find a couple of specific stones, a Suehiro Cerax 1K and Suehiro Rika 5K. My progression will be 600, 1K, 5K, Shoubandini type 100. If I get a razor that doesn't need a lot of work, I'll start at the 5K instead of the 600 grit. It will depend on the razor itself first.

Ted Pella Gem SE Blades:

Well this morning's shave proved that these blades are great. They're much sharper than the Blue Star blades are but not quite as comfortable as the Blue Star blades are on the 1st have for now at least. The next shave with this razor and blade will be interesting because the 2nd shave usually tells quite a bit about the blade itself along with whether or not it's going to last. And there might be a strong possibility that I may have gotten a bad Blue Star blade. It's either that or my beard is triple tough compared to everyone else:

And after talking with my friends Kon Soldatos and Mike Baker, I decided to use my 3 in One oil or this stuff right here to store the blades in: https://www.wd40company.com/files/images/3in1-p_871536928.gif . You can get it at Walmart in the tools section for about $3 to $6 U.S. dollars give or take a little:

Another plus about this specific oil is that it won't go rancid like some of the other oils can and often do. I have a Soft Arkansas oil stone here that's stored in a wooden case and it's soaked in this 3 in One oil and has been for several months now and I can't smell it. So if it was going to go rancid on me, it would have stunk up the entire house by now and it hasn't. So I'll be doing this with my Gem single edge blades only. These are the only ones that I have bought to rust on me even after towel drying them and they shouldn't rust at all after that.

Confidence & The Gem SE:

This morning's shave was great. I needed a Soap Commander fix this morning and since I was also craving something semi sweet, I went with their Confidence scented soap. The scent is unique which is sweet honey, white musk and patchouli which has a hint of sweetness but not overly sweet. The musk and patchouli really calm the the overly sweet honey scent down but still allows it to come through and really balance out the scent:

These Ted Pella blades are great. They're a touch sharper but not quite as comfortable as the Blue Star blades are which is exactly what my beard needs. So the next shave will be interesting. In terms of the post shave quality, I got an "ice rink" type of post shave in just 2 passes with no touch ups. So I should be good for a couple of days.

Gem Blue Star Blades:

It's official in terms of SE razors. I love the original Gem SE razors and these blades are good. The first shave was mind blowing. I got close as a Gillette Fusion but I had the audio feedback and comfort level of a straight razor. But that was with the 1st shave only. Today's shave wasn't even close to the first one. I ended up having to strop the blade before making my 2nd pass and I didn't get a close shave either. I needed a 3rd pass easy if not 4 passes total and that's too much for my sensitive skin. So 2 multi pass shaves is my limit which is just like the results I get with their DE blades. Personna makes these blades:

Here's another problem that I have with these blades. I towel dry ALL of my blades after each and every use including my straight razors and these are the only ones that rust:

^ Even my other carbon blades don't this after 2 shaves and towel drying. So it's looking like the Ted Pella stainless steel blades might have won over these Gem Blue Star blades in terms of aesthetics. How they shave will be determined tomorrow. If they're comfortable and last longer than 2 shaves, then I will be happy. But if they don't last that long and aren't comfortable, then I will stick with the Gem Blue Star blades and my Hawk SE will be getting more use.

Play it Again Sam & The Gem SE:

Today's shave was good. It's also Tuesday which means that Through The Fire Fine Craft by Maria Arman which I was also craving. This "Play it again Sam" scent is amazing. I get a ginger ale and club soda with fresh lime type of scent and to me, Clubman goes perfectly with it which is what I finished off today's shave with:

The Gem SE done good today but I can definitely say that 2 shaves is my limit with these Gem Blue Star blades. The first pass wasn't too bad at all but I did end up stropping the blade before my 2nd pass which helped some but not a lot. So tomorrow's shave will be with the Ted Pella stainless blades that I got from Razor Blades & More.

Mail Call:

Today's mail call is from Razor Blades & More and from what I was told, these blades work even better than the Blue Star blades. Marty Pape highly recommended these blades So I ordered 10 loose blades. Here's the label from the bulk pack which I had to go online and photograph:

And here's how they arrived. I only got 10 of them to try out to see which ones I like better and right now, that would be the Blue Star blades. I got so close yesterday that I didn't need to shave today and the shave was blissful so it will be a while before I get to try these out:

It came sealed for nuclear war. I like to have never gotten that envelope opened:

Other than the packaging these blades have no label on them, so I put a name label on them. That way you can tell which blades are which when I use them:

^ These blades that I ordered are often called the "Ted Pella blades" so I put that on the label. This label machine can be found at Walmart which costs between $20 and $30 dollars depending on which model and name labels you get.

Gem Blue Star Blades:

Even though I really enjoy shaving with my Hawk SE razor, it does pain me that everyone has focused on those style of blades and yet no one, has decided to do a modern version of the original SE razor, the Gem single edge razors. My first shave with this razor was nearly 3 years ago and it was awful. But I was also new at that time as well. My 2nd shave was even worse which was about a year later. But I found out that the super market version was made for box cutters and NOT a Gem SE razor. So fast forward until today when I decided to order both these and the Ted Pella Stainless Steel coated blades from Razor Blades & More. These were nothing short of phenomenal and really blew my mind in terms of not just comfort but they also had no trouble going through my barbed wire type of beard that grows like it's on steroids:

I was also impressed with the post shave feel after just 2.5 passes, there was nothing left and my aftershave didn't burn either which to me indicates a phenomenal and comfortable blade. During the first couple of shaves with the "box cutter" version, the blade wanted to dig in and grab my skin and the edge of the blade felt like it wasn't sharp enough and pulled the hair out. These Gem Blue Star blades was the exact opposite of what I tried before and then some. Now the ones I'm really interested in are the Ted Pella stainless steel version that I ordered from Razor Blades & More. I was told that those were the best and more comfortable than these were which has really peaked my interest because these were excellent.

C.O. Bigelow & Gem Micromatic Clog Proof:

Oh wow what a shave. A special thanks to both Marty Pape & Mike Baker for their knowledge and help in blade selection which was the only problem I was having with this incredible razor. Today I needed some sinus relief and I went with C.O. Bigelow and their Menthol & Eucalyptus (Proraso green) scent which was very refreshing. And to finish off this blissful shave, I paired it with Barbasol Brisk which is the icing on the cake in my opinion:

The Gem Micromatic Clog Proof razor with these Gem Blue Star single edge blades was beyond belief. I got an ice rink post shave feel in just 2.5 passes. Think of the close post shave that you get with a Gillette Fusion only with the comfort of a well honed straight razor. More on that in another blog post later on tonight. Wow what a shave. Now I know why people love these razors.

Mail Call:

That was fast. Today's mail call is from West Coast Shaving Supplies. After speaking to Marty Pape about SE blades specifically these along with a couple of others that I've ordered, I went ahead and placed and order for these Gem Blue Star single edge blades to go with my Clog Proof Micromatic SE razor that my grandmother gave me 2 years ago:

These guys are fast. This mail call wasn't scheduled to arrive until this coming Monday which is mind blowing. I love it when I get stuff early:

This will hopefully be better than those drug store monsters which tore me a new one:

So I'm very pleased with this mail call so far. I see people using these razors a lot and how they're enjoying the shaves with them and I didn't want to miss out. And they'll get a good test considering that I will have 2 days worth of beard growth which is quite a bit for me considering how fast my beard grows. Marty also recommended the Ted Pella stainless steel coated SE blades which I ordered from Razor Blades & More. They've not shipped just yet.

Strop These Blades:

That title says it all doesn't it? When I first shaved with these blades, it was better than the Feather Artist Club blades were but still was a tiny bit harsh in terms of the post shave and I still got some serious weepers but not as bad as I did with the Feather Artist Club blades. So I decided to try something out and it worked. So lets get started:

First I rubbed down the smooth leather on my strop until it was hot to the touch:

Then I push the razor away from me in the opposite direction of shaving for 10 half strokes and I also wiped off the blade after the fact with a microfiber cloth:

The result was that I almost couldn't feel the blade in terms of comfort. The slight tugging and pulling that I got from the 1st shave was gone and I was able to do 2.5 passes and get my infamous ice rink post shave feel. I also stretched the skin like I do when I used my straight razors which was also a huge help. Now I'm going look at various places and see what I can find in terms of strop parts and if I can, try to make a custom strop.

Le Petit Chypre & The Hawk:

Today's shave was perfect and nothing short of phenomenal. Good old Barrister & Mann has delivered yet another amazing performance and their Le Petit Chypre scent is simply amazing. The scent it Cypress wood & Oakmoss with a few earthy undertones. To finish off this epic shave, I paired it with the matching witch hazel based aftershave which is very soothing and also has a slight touch of menthol which makes it even more soothing and refreshing:

The hawk was amazing. I got an ice rink type of post shave feel in 2.5 passes which was super comfortable. I will be doing another blog post detailing what I did to get such a comfortable and close shave. Between that and stretching the skin like I do with my straight razor, my beard disappeared rather quickly and I almost couldn't feel the blade. Wow what a shave.

Kilted Tiki & The DE 89:

Today's shave was great and very satisfying. After a nice relaxing hot shower, I went with Tiki Bar and my personal favorite scent of theirs, the Kilted Tiki which has a smoked peat moss scent to it and to make things even more interesting, they use Scotch Whiskey instead of lye water to make this vegan soap. And to add a little more freshness to this shave, I finished it off with my usual go to aftershave splash which I need to stock up on here in a bit:

The DE 89 done great. I got a ultra fine shave in just 2 passes and both were with the grain. My shaves have gotten better since I've stopped going for ice rink type of shaves and started making less passes. My hawk razor will be a 1.5 pass or less shave. I also talked to Marty Pape about the GEM Micromatic SE razor and discovered why I didn't get an enjoyable shave with it. I used the drug store branded SE blades which are the worst you can use. That and I was new at the time and hadn't quite gotten my technique down which I think will be a different story now.

Armada & The J.R. Torrey:

Today's shave was great. It's also Maria Arman's Birthday today so I went with Through The Fire Fine Craft and her Armada scent which has an incredible Vintage Old Spice scent. And to finish off this shave I went with my 2003 Old Spice aftershave splash which I'm about out of and followed up with Soap Commander's Endurance aftershave balm which is also a Vintage Old Spice scent:

The J.R. Torrey did great. I managed to get a squeaky clean post shave feel today, but I could tell that it still wasn't where I would like it to be in terms of sharpness. So after I finished the 3 pass shave, I took both of my straight razors to the .5 pasted strop for 10 round trips. That should help it out a lot. Once I get my truck paid off, I'll probably go with either a full set of stones, or a custom razor. Right now I'm eye balling Suehiro water stones. The mighty mini that I have has influenced my stone choices. Suehiro makes a really good stone that provides a nice, smooth and keen edge.

Jnat Time:

I wasn't feeling too confident about the edges on these razors, so I decided to pull out my jnat (Japanese natural water stone) which is a Shoubandini Type 100 and do some honing. After applying 3 layers of electrical tape, I built a slurry and did 20 "X" strokes then I performed my usual routine of 20/20, 10/10, 5/5, followed by 10 round trips. I did this twice and diluted the slurry each time. Next I removed one layer of tape and went to clear water and did 20/20, 10/10, 5/5, followed by 10 round trips to finish off both razors:

Next I did 10 round trips on the pasted strop followed by 10 round trips on the clean fabric and then I did a quick rub down of the smooth leather until it got somewhat hot and did 10 round trips on the smooth leather with both razors. So now I'm confident that these razors are more than shave ready. Tomorrow's shave should be interesting.

Kai Captain Titan Milds :

Much better is all I can say about this combo. The only mistake I made today was that I made one too many passes. But this was much more enjoyable than the Feather Artist Club blades were. These blades wanted to glide across the skin while the Feather AC blades wanted to dig into your skin and in some cases, pull the hair out. Plus with the larger handle, this razor had no problem going through my beard at all. So the added weight was a huge help:

This specific combo will be a 1.5 pass type of shave which is what I've been trying to achieve as of late. Get a super close shave that's super comfortable and more than socially acceptable with less than 2 passes. That has been my goal for a while now. This razor and the Muhle R41 fall into the 1 pass shave category mainly because they're so efficient.

Grape Soda & The Hawk:

Today's shave was good. Catie's Bubbles was excellent today and their "knee high to a grape" scent is excellent. If you like the smell of grape soda you will love this scent. And to finish off this shave, I paired it with my usual splash:

The Hawk did great with the Kai blades but it still was a tiny bit rough but it was much more comfortable than the Feather blades were. I think I can get by with just 1.5 passes. Today I made 2.5 and that was one too many. The only blood was from where I mowed off a few bumps. So there won't be a shave tomorrow. Wow what a close shave.

Mail Call #2 of 2:

The 2nd mail call for the day is from West Coast Shaving Supplies. Even though I love my Hawk SE razor, I found that the light weight would be an issue especially with my beard. I need that extra weight to plow through my whiskers. So I ordered a new handle for my Black Hawk razor:

I got the monster 175B Midnight Series handle which weighs 7.5 ounces according to their website. So my hawk will now weigh half a pound or 8 ounces ladies and gentlemen:

I can include West Coast Shaving Supplies in the same speed category as both Maria Arman of Through The Fire Fine Craft soaps and Maggard Razors. I ordered both the blades and this handle on 12/9/16 and here I am 3 days later with products in hand:

Here's the new handle next to the original handle that came with the hawk:

I installed a new handle and it has a much more comfortable feel to it:

The shave will tell the story but I can tell that the added weight will make a huge difference. It's not too heavy like you would think and it's more comfortable as well. So the Hawk has been fattened up very nicely and the finish on this handle is perfect. It matches it perfectly. This handle cost me $18.95 shipped and I got free shipping that day with a code. So it's very reasonable.