Comment on Saturday SOTD Thread, April 19th, 2025 (#679)
walden@sub.wetshaving.social 3 days ago
April 19, 2025
- Brush: Wolf Whiskers – “Gianmaria” w/Maggard 26mm Synthetic
- Razor: Union City – Straight Razor (1)
- Lather: Stirling Soap Co. - Haverford - Soap
- Post Shave: Pinaud - Clubman Special Reserve - Aftershave
- Post Shave: Goodfellow & Co. - Face Lotion - Kelp & Sea Mineral
I got this razor in the mail yesterday, compliments of @gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social . I also got my Moarteen group-buy razor yesterday, so I had to decide which one to use first!
I decided to use the Union City despite my Moarteen excitement, because after shaving with my poorly honed Gold Dollar a couple of times I really wanted to see what a good edge felt like. No offense to Ulrik, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about Greg’s honing skills! It was certainly an improvement compared to the Gold Dollar. Less irritation, less tugging, etc. My hopes were too high, though… I was hoping it’d power through my chin and mustache without much effort, but those areas are still going to require me to develop some technique. It’s also quite possibly all my fault, because I didn’t strop before the shave. I had assumed, probably incorrectly, that that was done for me by the honemeister. I did the packing peanut test right after I shaved and it wasn’t great – then I stropped and tested again. The difference was very noticeable.
gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social 3 days ago
I strop all the razors I hone. You can shave with them right away. If the edge felt good at first, then felt more rough as the shave progressed, then the edge must have dulled during the shave. I used that razor a number of times and did not have that problem, but that doesn’t mean much; different beards, different technique, etc.
walden@sub.wetshaving.social 3 days ago
That’s what I figured. It didn’t feel dull, just didn’t quite pass the peanut test. I’m still figuring it all out, obviously, so there’s a tendancy for me to over analyze everything…
gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social 3 days ago
As you should. I’ve enjoyed how much more sensitive a straight razor shave is to the combination of technique, edge quality, steel quality, lather slickness, and razor geometry. That was a great edge for me, but there are a lot of unknowns about that razor.