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Post by mjclark on Sept 13, 2015 9:49:22 GMT -6
Can we please see some more photos of your Sun Ray 1912 Paul! It is one of the few razors that makes me gasp with delight.
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Post by PJGH on Sept 13, 2015 10:57:16 GMT -6
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Post by mjclark on Sept 13, 2015 12:50:13 GMT -6
Thanks Paul! I gasped again... and I WILL have one of those That Sun Ray razor with that Damaskeene blade must represent the very pinnacle of vintage shaving.
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Post by Petrvs on Sept 13, 2015 12:59:07 GMT -6
That Sun Ray razor with that Damaskeene blade must represent the very pinnacle of vintage shaving. I agree Marcus, it's absolutely stunning. I like the 1912 design and I love the Art Nouveau style, especially the work of Alphonse Mucha....and well, this Sun Ray 1912 looks like it could have been decorated by Mucha himself!
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Post by PJGH on Sept 13, 2015 15:04:40 GMT -6
I have to divulge, yes, it was very nice indeed.
Two things: first, I think my stubble regrowth was different from the first shave with the blade. Second, I also think there is something just a little different about the blade hooks and the comb on this Sun Ray. I have a Star which has a peculiar guard, peculiar in how it flows, and it gives a very different shave.
I am so enjoying these shaves.
I've come to the conclusion that I'm an old-fashioned sort of shaver. I suppose I should just go straight and have done with it, but something sets my heart racing with these lovely flip top razors. I'm an old-fashioned shaver, in that I am not after baby smooth but do want a good shave that will make me clean and presentable, largely for work. I am honing to get to the point that I can be a single pass shaver, daily. Presently, it's a two pass and every other day. I am so close to getting there.
Aftershaves, I love the classics. Soaps, I love the old-fashioned style. Razors, I just love these flip tops and it's the 1912 which really is my absolute favourite - I do say the 1914 is, but she's a different kind of shave; the 1912 really is my true love, and it's the post-1919 straight cap that does everything right for me.
Using the original blade with these razors is such an eye opener. I think I will probably half shim modern GEMs when I use them now as that slight angle change with the thicker spine really does something different. Modern blades are also thinner and I don't quite know what I'm going to do about that - this little fling with a vintage blade really is going to leave me wanting.
In other news, I scored a vintage Pinaud Lilac Vegetal gift pack with vintage veg' aftershave, talc and soap. I'm going to reserve that kit for fencing competitions.
Cult of the past.
But yes, I really am an old-fashioned kind of shaver.
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spidey9
Lather Catcher
All SE all the time!
Posts: 641
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Post by spidey9 on Sept 13, 2015 15:08:09 GMT -6
I too am lusting for one of these. Unfortunately I just watched one go off on the 'bay for £117 plus £13.50 shipping to the US.
It may not have helped that the seller had misidentified it as a Streamline set. They do look similar.
Of course these may be even rarer than a Streamline set.
I wonder if the buyer knows what he just bought.
--Bob
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Post by PJGH on Sept 13, 2015 15:09:15 GMT -6
Oh, and the Sun Ray ... Well, when I first came to traditional shaving I saw one of these kits and it went for more than I thought was reasonable to spend on "an old razor", but what did I know? I also didn't know how infrequently these things come up and so did not chase it. I have spent two years looking for another and so when it came up, I chased with without fear of consequence. It is truly a lovely set and the crown of my (little ) collection, certainly more so than the Streamline or any of my late 1800/early 1900 lather catchers. I have an Art Deco handle brush and a lovely Art Deco style shaving pot, two articles which together with this Sun Ray set make the perfect shaving kit. Puck of Mitchell's and a vial of Lilac Vegetal, it's all there ... my kit. So, back to these 'ere Damaskeene blades ... What other razors are folks planning to use with their blade? I'm going to finish with a strong recommendation for stropping on leather as a means to prolonging the fun. EDIT: Bob replied in the meantime. Yeah, I was aware there was another set on eBay and was quite tempted to chase it myself as a backup, but £117! Wow! I can certainly understand why ... and think I would have been prepared to chase the set I bought to over £100.
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Post by mjclark on Sept 13, 2015 15:53:38 GMT -6
Ha ha - I saw that misidentified "Streamline" Set too but didn't look further. Just added the Sun Ray 1912 to my list of Grail Razors (also featuring Schick F and Cobra Classic in the SE department)
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spidey9
Lather Catcher
All SE all the time!
Posts: 641
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Post by spidey9 on Sept 17, 2015 0:10:12 GMT -6
Last night I returned from a weekend getaway (okay, a bit more than a weekend) to find that the Damaskeene blade had made its way across the ocean to my mailbox. Let the fun begin. I broke out a couple of Damaskeene razors in which to use it; a Gem Cutlery Co. curved top model, and one of the prizes of my collection, an open comb Damaskeene. I will also be using a Damaskeene stropper, and a vintage strop with no markings but the right size for the stropper. The strop has a light coating of .1 micron FeOx. The OC is on the right. I couldn't resist putting the "new" blade under the microscope. This image is the blade exactly as it came from the packaging, with no cleaning or stropping or, well, anything. (Note: The reddish coloration on the right side is some sort of glitch in the microscope or the software, not something on the blade.) Not bad for being around 100 years old. Surprisingly no rust at all, and no visible deterioration of the blade edge. Interesting that even back then they were using a 2-facet grind. It also appears to be hollow-ground. Based on the experience of others in this thread, I loaded it into the Damaskeene stropper and gave it 50 laps. The result: It seems to have polished up rather nicely. Tomorrow: First shave. --Bob
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Post by birdlives on Sept 17, 2015 0:21:10 GMT -6
Ohh...I'm tingling with anticipation.....It sure did shine up very nicely....
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spidey9
Lather Catcher
All SE all the time!
Posts: 641
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Post by spidey9 on Sept 17, 2015 10:52:46 GMT -6
And the verdict is . . . wow!
I decided on the closed comb Gem Cutlery Co. Curved Top Damaskeene for shave No. 1, and stuck with proven classics - Valobra soap, Pinaud Lilac Vegetal AS. Okay, so I used a Plisson synthetic brush.
The stropping seems to have eliminated the tugging issue. The additional thickness of the blade was noticeable. It felt like a cross between a good quality carbon steel blade with a couple of shaves on it and a well honed/stropped wedge blade.
The result was a DFS, approaching BBS except in my usual trouble areas. More importantly (to me anyway), no nicks or weepers and very little irritation - a surprisingly smooth shave.
Tomorrow I'll give the Open Comb Damaskeene a shot.
I'm wondering if I should strop before each use like a wedge. Comments?
I put up a picture in the SOTD.
--Bob
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Post by mjclark on Sept 17, 2015 16:19:56 GMT -6
That's brilliant Bob! And those microscope shots are just what we need for a proper appraisal of these blades.
And it makes sense to me to strop before every shave...
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spidey9
Lather Catcher
All SE all the time!
Posts: 641
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Post by spidey9 on Sept 18, 2015 11:07:29 GMT -6
Day 2 with the Damaskeene blade went even better than day one. I opted to load it in an open comb Damaskeene razor for this go-round, and have decided that "Use Only With Gem Damaskeene Blades" may be more than just advertising hype. My previous experience with the open comb Dammie found it to be a bit on the mild side compared to the closed comb versions that came later. With the NOS blade, mildness becomes smoothness - a pleasant effortless shave that was closer than I expected. Before this shave I gave the blade another 50 laps in the Damaskeene stropper. Here is the blade after the stropping but before the most recent shave: I figured out how to squeeze some additional magnification from my inexpensive digital microscope. I haven't decided what to do next - possibly a Junior Lather Catcher? --Bob
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spidey9
Lather Catcher
All SE all the time!
Posts: 641
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Post by spidey9 on Sept 19, 2015 16:32:55 GMT -6
For today's shave with the vintage Damoskeene blade (#3) I loaded it into a Gem Junior Lather Catcher. Not too much of a stretch - Waits shows a Junior Bar set with a Damoskeene blade case. I experienced noticeable tugging during the shave, this despite a thorough stropping in the Damaskeene stropper prior to loading the blade. Oddly, this had little effect on the quality of the shave, a solid DDS. A look at the edge under the microscope didn't reveal much. This is after the third shave: Some deterioration of the edge can be seen, but it doesn't look a whole lot different than earlier images of the blade when it was shaving smoothly. I guess it doesn't take much. Tomorrow I'll probably put it back in a Damaskeene to determine if the razor itself had anything to do with the tugging. --Bob
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Post by PJGH on Sept 20, 2015 2:57:20 GMT -6
Shave 3 with a 1914 was one where I wished afterwards that I'd tried against the grain on my chin. Shave 4 was one where I did, with a 1924, and was well rewarded. Shave 5, with an open comb Damaskeene, was a simple one down, one up and that was a phenomenal shave.
With only a couple of shaves, the blade has mellowed and by five shaves it has mellowed to the point that against the grain is an absolute pleasure, much like the Durham Duplex in terms of feel and stubble regrowth.
I usually change blades at 5 unless the blade itself is demonstrating that it continues to be keep - my test is to see if the middle of the blade will easily shave a thin sliver of skin from the harder skin at the top of my thumb. If it doesn't, experience tells me that I will have a less than satisfactory shave and will have some irritable regrowth. By five shaves, a modern GEM is usually struggling. This vintage Damaskeene blade is NOT struggling; with stropping it is as keep as shave 3 and I think it will go on for a good few shaves yet.
Stropping? I'm stropping 50 laps after shaving and a good 20-30 before shaving.
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