Simple, effective, lighting is what I always strive for in my black and white portraits. For conversion I usually use a combination of Nik SilverEfex, Luts, and Curves to achieve the look that I am going after and of course there is the usual dodging and burning to shape the face and some final sharpening. I prefer shooting on a black background because I find it gives that grittier, high contrast look. This was the setup for this particular self-portrait.
What I like about this setup is the juxtaposition of the dark side of the face (camera right) with the illuminated black background on the same side. I just find that it is simple, yet effective lighting for a portrait. Below you can see the straight out of camera, the settings and the final edited image.
Here is the full size black and white.
