Matching Seven-Day Sets (M7DS)

[rbscebu]

Some of us have recovered from our trauma and are willing to embrace a breadth of language, including words previously considered "taboo". Especially newcomers are cut some slack



There is a long history mate and much consternation in the early days of this forum about the way "gentlemen" or "gentlemanly" were terms used elsewhere to describe an "in group" or describe behaviour that was actually far from "gentlemanly".

The Aussie egalitarianism riles against such language - but all good (and all said in good fun)

My, how Australians have changed over the past couple of decades since I lived there. The Philippines is definitely not egalitarian. So as not to offend these new-found sensibilities of Australians, I will in future use the term "man of chivalrous manners".

 

[rbscebu]

After enjoying the use of my first (Latin) M7DS, I was hankering for another. Being very pleased with the performance of my Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60 SR's, I first purchased one of their top-of-the-line SR, a Titan ACRO T.H-70. Although much harder and thus more difficult to hone to my shave-ready standard than the ACRM-2, this ACRO took and held a wicked edge. I like it - a lot.

My next aim in life was to put together my second M7DS, this time of Titan ACRO T.H-70 SR's. Seven new of these SR's was ordered and received.

Then came the timber case and engraving, this time in English, with the final result being:

​

I now refer to this as my English M7DS.

Like my Latin M7DS, the eighth Titan ACRO SR is only used for the occasional required evening shave and is kept in its own timber case.

 

[Mong.]

Great photos, thanks for sharing. My time in professional kitchens has left me with an aversion to spending hours on end sharpening blades to a polished edge - which is why my lazy ass uses the same three knives all the time. I respect your commitment to keeping a weekly set sharp and shave-grade.

I appreciate that they all stay in better condition with one use a week (or less, perhaps). How often do you need to bust out a stone and give them all a touch up? I imagine that the strop goes a long way to keeping the edge smooth and keeping them off the stones for a decent length of time.

 

[rbscebu]

Great photos, thanks for sharing. My time in professional kitchens has left me with an aversion to spending hours on end sharpening blades to a polished edge - which is why my lazy ass uses the same three knives all the time. I respect your commitment to keeping a weekly set sharp and shave-grade.

I appreciate that they all stay in better condition with one use a week (or less, perhaps). How often do you need to bust out a stone and give them all a touch up? I imagine that the strop goes a long way to keeping the edge smooth and keeping them off the stones for a decent length of time.

Yes, I SR shave daily, and twice a day if I can. Even the best knife edge is nothing like a truly shave-ready SR edge. It's a whole different ballpark.

From bevel set to shave-ready takes me from 30 minutes to about an hour for one SR. That depends on the condition/quality of the initial factory-set edge bevel. All my SR's only need honing once (unless physically damaged), once properly honed up to my shave-ready standard. That includes a diamond pasted balsa strops progression to 200k grit. See here for details:

https://paste-and-cut.com.au/community/threads/how-to-use-diamond-pasted-balsa-strops.6465/

The only maintenance my SR's ever need besides clean leather stropping before each shave, is 50 laps on a 0.1um diamond pasted hanging balsa strop after each use. That takes about a minute or two. With this maintenance, they never need touch a whetstone or lapping film again.

 

[Mong.]

Wow, that is another level. But also much less work than I expected.

I take my sujihiki (big think slicer) up to 10k and it comes off looking pretty shiny and has shaved my arm to test without any complaints, so 200k is off the charts.

Some people strop their knives, so maybe I should look into this as a way of minimising time spent on the stones. Thanks for your thoughts mate.

 

[rbscebu]

Wow, that is another level. But also much less work than I expected.

I take my sujihiki (big think slicer) up to 10k and it comes off looking pretty shiny and has shaved my arm to test without any complaints, so 200k is off the charts.

Some people strop their knives, so maybe I should look into this as a way of minimising time spent on the stones. Thanks for your thoughts mate.

Forget most of what you have leant in knife sharpening. Many a knife will shave arm hair, but you would be a bloody mess if you shaved your face with it.

SR bevel setting, refining and polishing is quite different to knife sharpening in a lot of ways. Your whetstones must be PERFECTLY flat and once the bevel is set, you hone with NO pressure, just the weight of the blade. Always hold you whetstones in hand, not on a bench. Never touch the blade while honing - touching equals pressure.

 

[rbscebu]

The Titan ACRO T.H-70 razors cost about USD 80 each on AliExpress. The case was custom made in Cebu, Philippines of Philippines mahogany and cost about USD 50. The engraving was done locally be hand and cost about USD 50 total. Over all cost was about USD 560, much cheaper than a Tiers-Issard M7DS that costs thousands and I prefer the Titans over my TI's. Of course, some believe that if it is not expensive, it can't be any good.

 

[Gargravarr]

...Many a knife will shave arm hair, but you would be a bloody mess if you shaved your face with it.

Back when I was in my late teens, working in a professional kitchen in Paris, my boss insisted that for a knife to be any good, you should be able to shave with it, and further, insisted that I do so.

I quickly learned two things: a kitchen knife doesn't make a good razor, and if it's that sharp, it's not robust enough to make a very good knife. OK, three things: I learned that my boss was an asshat.

 

[rbscebu]

Over the past few weeks I have been putting my English M7DS to use to test the quality of their edges. My aim has been to get all their edges up to about the same standard as the best in the set.

The first week showed me that "Tuesday" was the worst, "Saturday" and "Sunday" the best and the others in between. At the end of that week all blades were given the maintenance they deserved based on the results.

The second week of testing reviewed that only "Monday" and "Wednesday" still needed a little work. Last Sunday only "Monday" and "Sunday" were put through a diamond pasted balsa strop progression and all were lapped on a 0.1um diamond pasted hanging balsa strop.

This week I am expecting that all blades in this English M7DS will be up to my standard of shave-ready. So far "Monday" and "Tuesday" are there.

Provided all goes well this week, I will then rotate each week between my Latin and English M7DS's while I put together a third M7DS.

 

[Wilkshire13]

Over the past few weeks I have been putting my English M7DS to use to test the quality of their edges. My aim has been to get all their edges up to about the same standard as the best in the set.

The first week showed me that "Tuesday" was the worst, "Saturday" and "Sunday" the best and the others in between. At the end of that week all blades were given the maintenance they deserved based on the results.

The second week of testing reviewed that only "Monday" and "Wednesday" still needed a little work. Last Sunday only "Monday" and "Sunday" were put through a diamond pasted balsa strop progression and all were lapped on a 0.1um diamond pasted hanging balsa strop.

This week I am expecting that all blades in this English M7DS will be up to my standard of shave-ready. So far "Monday" and "Tuesday" are there.

Provided all goes well this week, I will then rotate each week between my Latin and English M7DS's while I put together a third M7DS.

What's your third set going to be? I'd be keen to see a Gold Dollar set

 

[Gargravarr]

Over the past few weeks I have been putting my English M7DS to use to test the quality of their edges. My aim has been to get all their edges up to about the same standard as the best in the set.

The first week showed me that "Tuesday" was the worst, "Saturday" and "Sunday" the best and the others in between. At the end of that week all blades were given the maintenance they deserved based on the results.

The second week of testing reviewed that only "Monday" and "Wednesday" still needed a little work. Last Sunday only "Monday" and "Sunday" were put through a diamond pasted balsa strop progression and all were lapped on a 0.1um diamond pasted hanging balsa strop.

This week I am expecting that all blades in this English M7DS will be up to my standard of shave-ready. So far "Monday" and "Tuesday" are there.

Provided all goes well this week, I will then rotate each week between my Latin and English M7DS's while I put together a third M7DS.

As a matter of interest, why do you think they're no longer in the same state? A layman (ie myself) might assume that, other things being equal, they would wear at approximately the same rate if you're using them daily in the same rotation, with the same pre/post shave treatment...

 

[Rami]

Well, there are several possibilities, either

a. This is a new set so the initial edges needs some work.
b. Heat treat is not 100% exact between all the razors. Different edge retention which may well be within tolerance can equate to small differences between honeing.
c. Honing was not 100% consistent for the entire set.

 

[rbscebu]

As a matter of interest, why do you think they're no longer in the same state? A layman (ie myself) might assume that, other things being equal, they would wear at approximately the same rate if you're using them daily in the same rotation, with the same pre/post shave treatment...

Not sure if you are a SR shaver. Even if two identical blades are honed identically, the odds are that they will not shave the same. One will shave better than the other. This is probably due to honing by hand - not machine. My goal with M7DS's is to have all blades in the set shaving at about the same standard as the best in the set.

 

[rbscebu]

What's your third set going to be? I'd be keen to see a Gold Dollar set

I have two more Titan sets in the pipeline, VG10-HZ's and ACRO T.H.64's. After that it might be a set of vintage or a set of Gold Dollar W59's. Vintage could take years to get together. The W59's are readily available and not expensive so they might come sooner.

I am rather partial the the W59. I already have one in my room bag for travel and another in my home collection.

How many M7DS's does a "man of
chivalrous manners" (aka the "G" word) need?

 

[Mark1966]

...

How many M7DS's does a "man of chivalrous manners" (aka the "G" word) need?

Seven clearly, a set for each day of the week

 

[Rami]

I have two more Titan sets in the pipeline, VG10-HZ's and ACRO T.H.64's. After that it might be a set of vintage or a set of Gold Dollar W59's. Vintage could take years to get together. The W59's are readily available and not expensive so they might come sooner.

I am rather partial the the W59. I already have one in my room bag for travel and another in my home collection.

How many M7DS's does a "man of
chivalrous manners" (aka the "G" word) need?

Vintage. Japanese.

take your time. What’s the hurry?

 

[Gargravarr]

Not sure if you are a SR shaver. Even if two identical blades are honed identically, the odds are that they will not shave the same. One will shave better than the other. This is probably due to honing by hand - not machine. My goal with M7DS's is to have all blades in the set shaving at about the same standard as the best in the set.

I'm not an SR shaver any more, since I have been a daily head shaver for the last 16 years, and straights don't really fit the bill very readily for the back of the head.

But it seems to me you've got a lifelong project on your hands there, as your blades are destined to be always out of whack with respect to each other.

Maybe it would be easier with just a pair (or two) like they did in the old days...

 

[rbscebu]

I'm not an SR shaver any more, since I have been a daily head shaver for the last 16 years, and straights don't really fit the bill very readily for the back of the head.

But it seems to me you've got a lifelong project on your hands there, as your blades are destined to be always out of whack with respect to each other.

Maybe it would be easier with just a pair (or two) like they did in the old days...

In the old days, it was a M7DS for a man of chivelrous manners and means.

As for extra work, I have experience with my first (Latin) M7DS. Once I got all the blades in the set as good as or close to the best, the only maintenance required was 50 laps on a 0.1um diamond pasted hanging balsa strop once a week to keep them there. Takes about 2 minutes or less per blade. They never need honing again. That is the same as I do with all my other SR's after a shave.

Many don't properly look after their SR's, so their edges need to be reqularly refreshed on stone(s). I spend 10 to 15 minutes a week on blade maintenance and always have a perfect edge to shave with every shave.

 

[rbscebu]

I have bitten the bullet and ordered a set of Gold Dollar W59's for another M7DS. They have been ordered directly from Ningbo Gold Dollar Razor & Scissors Manufacture Co., Ltd. in Xikou, Fenghua, PRC and are being delivered by UPS Express. Should take a week or two to get here. Cost was about AUD 10.50 each plus about AUD 29 shipping.

​

I think that I will get these engraved in Chinese to match the Chinese steel that they are made of.

These SR's (etched on the face) are also available on AliExpress with free shipping but cost about AUD 45 each and take 40 to 90 days for delivery. It's good that I have contacts in China. There are also cheaper non-etched knock-offs on AliExpress but they are made of an inferior steel.

 

[Wilkshire13]

These SR's (etched on the face) are also available on AliExpress with free shipping but cost about AUD 45 each and take 40 to 90 days for delivery. It's good that I have contacts in China. There are also cheaper non-etched knock-offs on AliExpress but they are made of an inferior steel.

Where are you ordering these directly for so cheap, through Alibaba? The knock offs is why its good to include a link to the product so everyone can see the exact item