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May 8, 2024
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Brush: Chisel & Hound Lost Nativ 26mm Fanchurian V13
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Razor: Red Imp 5/8" Near Wedge
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Lather: House of Mammoth - Indigo - Soap
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Toner: Thayers - Lavender - Toner
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Aftershave: Noble Otter - Cerberus - Aftershave
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Fragrance: Spearhead Shaving Company - Seaforth! Black Watch - Eau de Toilette
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Talc: Yardley Gold
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave.
@djundjila recommended this combination of soap, aftershave and fragrance, and I've tried it once before. This setup is (surprisingly) a real winner! I really like the progression of scent notes. I'll be using this regularly from now on.
The shave, itself, was extremely close and comfortable. This is not my Red Imp razor. It belongs to u/VisceralWatch. My own Red Imp has a synthetic edge on it. I put a Jnat edge on this one and I definitely like the Jnat softness better. Here's the video if you're interested.
Jnat edges++
I don't know that I could ever go back to synthetic. I have been considering picking up some Arks, though, to learn more about them. I've only ever had a couple Ark edges and I did not enjoy them. However, it doesn't seem that very many folks are as meticulous as us.
it doesn’t seem that very many folks are as meticulous as us.
And there's the rub. The Black Ark is used in different ways. Some people burnish the surface to round/smooth the novaculite there. Some use a flattening plate (or SiC powder) on the surface to create surface texture. I'm in the second camp. In neither case does the stone remove much material from a razor. Mostly, its scratch pattern creates a texture on the apex just like other finishing stones do. The Ark texture is finer than a coticule and not as even as the texture from a synthetic. To me, its feel is somewhere between a synthetic and a coticule. I haven't done this, but I've been told that if you really push the edge on an Ark its appearance under the scope will be bad, but the feel will be amazing. I haven't tried this yet, but I think that the edge will be quite fragile.
My friend, you probably just saved me some money 🤣
Oh, I don't know. The slate stones are fun. The Black Shadow edge that I have on my TI is quite nice, and the stone, itself, has a wonderful feel. I want to try a La Lune (which I think will be the same), and a Thuringian.
I've always been curious about La Lune's myself. I don't know that I've tried an edge off one, and general sentiment seems to be pretty positive
I think that the Black Shadow and La Lune stones are both microcrystalline quartz. I can say that, so far, I like the edge off of my Black Shadow better than the two edges I have from my Black Ark. But ... different razor types and different steels are involved.
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