WetShaving
This is a community of enthusiasts, hobbyists and artisans who enjoy a traditional wet shave: brush, soap, and safety or straight razor. We are a part of the WetShaving community found on Reddit, Discord, and IRC.
New subscribers welcome!
Please visit our wiki, which is always and forever a work in progress.
While this server is funded by personal contributions, we'd like to thank Zulip for giving us a Community subscription to their chat software (available at https://chat.wetshav.ing/).
๐ช Check out these alternative front-ends for this server:
https://gem.wetshaving.social/ - a nice modern interface
Our sister Mastodon instance is https://wetshaving.social/.
๐ช Track the uptime of our various services here:
https://uptime.selfhost.ing/status/wetshaving
๐ช Community Rules
Rule 1 - Behaviour and Etiquette
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Be Respectful. Do not bully, flame, or harass others.
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Malicious comments are not allowed but heated discussion and salty banter is okay.
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Low effort replies and complaints about content will be removed.
Rule 2 - Content Guidelines
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Mail Calls, Simple Questions, and SOTD posts belong in the recurring weekly threads.
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Posts must have sufficient content to generate a meaningful discussion.
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Images, links, or videos must include additional text that summarizes the topic.
Rule 3 - Reviews and Disclosure
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Use [First Impressions] in the title if your experience with the product is limited.
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Use the [Review] in the title if you can provide comprehensive details with enough familiarity to answer follow-up questions.
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Disclose how the product being reviewed was acquired (e.g., PIF, loan, or purchase). If the product was provided to you directly by the maker or vendor free of charge or at a discount, you must disclose this fact even if the item will later be returned to the maker or vendor.
Rule 4 - Advertising
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Vendors are to keep marketing within the biweekly Deals/New Products threads.
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Non-vendors may post topics about products if it will foster a compelling discussion.
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Do not solicit donations or share fundraisers without mod approval.
Rule 5 - Inappropriate Content
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All NSFW/L content must request mod approval and be flaired appropriately.
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Non-shaving related NSFW/L content is not allowed.
Rule 10 - Moderator Discretion
- The rules may not apply perfectly to every situation. The mods have final discretion.
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If you're looking for support from the gods, you might want to try Sicilian Etna stones, where the relevant god, Hephaestus, was exiled to and where he did all his metal work๐
Well, that took me down a short rabbit hole. My first branch was on Hephaestus and the second one was on the mining done on Mount Etna. Though I'm certain there are veins of rock there with appropriate make up for sharpening, nobody seems to be pursuing this burgeoning market ๐
Wrt rabbit holes ... As you may know, I've been testing edges with different types of stones for a little while now. With 14s, where overall geometry is consistent, my conclusions support my hypothesis. Given good shaving technique, and given a smooth, uniform, edge outline, shave quality is more about the razor's bevel geometry than anything else. If an abrasive stone can refine an apex to the point it passes my sharpening test, the razor will shave well it its inherent geometry is good. It doesn't really matter what stone you use. A thinner bevel volume cuts better than a thicker one - pretty much a truism. And, when you lock down bevel geometry, differences in edge feel from different stones are noticeable but subtle. The challenge with natural stones is in determining how to use them to meet edge-shaping standards.
That's what I assumed until I got Pudding's synth and jnat edges on otherwise identical razors, and the difference is bigger than I would have expected.
I don't understand it, so my planned next step is to use the third identical razor I have and try to push my honing technique and try to get my synth edges close to the better one of Pudding's. I've been procrastinating on the project though๐
Of the two edges that Pudding sent you, the synthetic edge should have a bright mirror polish whereas the Jnat edge should be hazy. That hazy finish is a result of different particle abrasive sizes and the manner in which the binder carries those abrasives in suspension. Internet wisdom to the contrary, man-made controlled abrasives allow apex refinement beyond what natural stones can do. You donโt see modern optical systems polished with Jnats. If the synthetic edge he sent was duller than his Jnat edge, he could have refined it more. If it was harsher feeling, then it may have been refined too far (a mistake I often make).