Razor: Dovo Bismarck 2 (7/8″, full hollow, carbon steel)
Lather: Mäurer & Wirtz – Tabac Original
Post Shave: Mäurer & Wirtz – Tabac Original
Fragrance: Mäurer & Wirtz – Tabac Original
TabOKtoberfest is back, and it started it with a surprisingly delightful shave. The Bismarck was in my “bad buy” category because it wouldn’t take a good edge, but @gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social has been raving about his Bismarck shaves recently, even comparing it to the Fili 14, so I had to give mine another chance (Happy September 31, BTW, @gcgallant 😉 ). I made sure my bevel was set correctly with the Edding/Sharpie test (it was, BTW) and then honed it on my finishing stone (Naniwa 10k) using only trailing edge strokes until it tree-topped arm hair. That went very quickly, indicating that the previous edge was very close to good already. I smoothed it all out in a good 50 laps on a loaded canvas strop. The result was a bit shocking because it felt like a completely different razor and I had a wonderfully smooth shave. I’m not sure if the Bismarck steel is finnicky and I just lucked into a good edge this time around, or if this trailing edge strokes technique that I’ve beet trying out for a while is just so much more suited for this particular steel/geometry/whathaveyou. On other razors, I hadn’t really noted any dramatic improvement after my switch, so it’s a bit of a puzzle. A puzzle I’ll enjoy trying to solve, I think.
Lathering from the Stank Tank ® and having the Glorious Old Man Stank waft around the bathroom was like meeting a good friend again. TabOKtoberfest is going to be nice.
I’m not sure if the Bismarck steel is finnicky and I just lucked into a good edge this time around,
Nope. This will work on this razor reliably. It’s like finding a terrific razor that you didn’t realize you had! I’m very happy this worked out for you the same way it did for me.
Oh It’s Back
TabOKtoberfest is back, and it started it with a surprisingly delightful shave. The Bismarck was in my “bad buy” category because it wouldn’t take a good edge, but @gcgallant@sub.wetshaving.social has been raving about his Bismarck shaves recently, even comparing it to the Fili 14, so I had to give mine another chance (Happy September 31, BTW, @gcgallant 😉 ). I made sure my bevel was set correctly with the Edding/Sharpie test (it was, BTW) and then honed it on my finishing stone (Naniwa 10k) using only trailing edge strokes until it tree-topped arm hair. That went very quickly, indicating that the previous edge was very close to good already. I smoothed it all out in a good 50 laps on a loaded canvas strop. The result was a bit shocking because it felt like a completely different razor and I had a wonderfully smooth shave. I’m not sure if the Bismarck steel is finnicky and I just lucked into a good edge this time around, or if this trailing edge strokes technique that I’ve beet trying out for a while is just so much more suited for this particular steel/geometry/whathaveyou. On other razors, I hadn’t really noted any dramatic improvement after my switch, so it’s a bit of a puzzle. A puzzle I’ll enjoy trying to solve, I think.
Lathering from the Stank Tank ® and having the Glorious Old Man Stank waft around the bathroom was like meeting a good friend again. TabOKtoberfest is going to be nice.
Nope. This will work on this razor reliably. It’s like finding a terrific razor that you didn’t realize you had! I’m very happy this worked out for you the same way it did for me.