Thread: I feel a little dejected BUT...

Originally Posted by edhewitt

Just don't do what I did and send both your razors off for honing at the same time

Yea, I like to plan ahead too.

Bob

Knew there was A reason for buying all those razors. Had 2-3 getting sharpened constantly for the first few months. Now have a rotation to last a few years. You should see my first razor. That thing has had chips taken out 3 times now and my first strop is half of what it used to be.

Originally Posted by BobH

Yea, I like to plan ahead too.

Bob

Well, it's a bit more complicated than it sounds: sent first razor off from Karratha where I work and live for two weeks out of 3, went back to Perth where I actually live and part way through that week I sent off my other razor expecting that when I got back to Karratha my first razor would be waiting, it wasn't. When I am in Perth I only shave every few days at best so for my week at home.it wasn't really a stress to be without.

Originally Posted by edhewitt

Well, it's a bit more complicated than it sounds: sent first razor off from Karratha where I work and live for two weeks out of 3, went back to Perth where I actually live and part way through that week I sent off my other razor expecting that when I got back to Karratha my first razor would be waiting, it wasn't. When I am in Perth I only shave every few days at best so for my week at home.it wasn't really a stress to be without.

OK change that from plan ahead to "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley" with a big thank you to Robbie Burns for that poem and insight.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

OK change that from plan ahead to "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley" with a big thank you to Robbie Burns for that poem and insight.

Bob

And plan ahead, by assuming Aust post will take half a lifetime to deliver stuff.

Originally Posted by Siguy

ColonelG,

I kindly offer you advice that I had taken which trained me on stropping.

Lay your hanging strop on a table and strop there and only there until you can perform the flip with minimal pressure without thought. I found myself with a pretty rough start to SR as well. All sorts of problems. Primarily, my blade wasn't shave ready and the honemeister remarked: "Nice razor, but the shave had to be pretty rough" and he was right. Ask the honemeister for feedback to see if he can notice anything else, like a rolled edge from poor stropping.

That wait without the straight in my hands KILLED ME! I cannot see having less than two razors now. Period. Hang in there. I was there and its only gotten better since. Don't get me wrong. There will always be set backs, but those set backs are things to be learned from. So, take them along with the successes and journey forward.

Kind Regards,

Siguy

You jogged my memory Siguy about stropping, which was the last thing of the three (shaving, honing, stropping) straight razor skills I learned. I got a balsa wood strop for removing residue off the edge after honing and immediately noticed how much easier it as to strop with something lying flat. I further learned from some here not to be so rigid about stropping technique that you never get past the slashing stage when the strop is hanging. The college I attended used to have the initials "USL" (before a name change) and for me that must have meant "University of Slow Learners."

Originally Posted by DCB2

LOL My razor felt dull after 3 - 4 weeks, so I I ordered a new Dovo from SRD....

Too funny. I had 'The Talk' today with SWMBO about how I would probably need another razor. She just looked at me and said: 'Just one??!! Oh, I've been expecting this little chat for weeks now....And, shouldn't your next razor be better than the one you bought to see if you were going to like this whole thing?'. She was smiling ready to laugh the whole time.
I don't think she noticed the grin I was working hard to suppress......

Yeah, when I started this whole thing I was worried about cutting myself. Now I'm worried about bleeding my checking account!

When I was just starting to research the whole straight razor thing, I felt kinda creepy thinking about using somebody else's old razor. But I have seen the light and now I appreciate vintage razors even more than new ones. You ought to mix it up a little. Now, you have two new razors. Might I suggest your next one be a vintage blade? Today I shaved with a loaner from my straight razor guru that he originally got from whipped dog, a Geneva Cutlery 5/8 full hollow, and dude, that thing ain't purty but it shaves like crazy and feels really good in the hand. It would never be my favorite, because I like the weight of my Gold Dollar conversions and my Bismarck, but it was sort of refreshing and different. Something about a completely different razor just makes you want to slow down and take your time and appreciate the process. I have a few other vintage razors and I have access to literally a bucketful of vintage razors belonging to my mentor, and I got to say without vintage razors I wouldn't know what I was missing. Plus it is fun to bring ebay rescues back to life and you see some very unique and unusual vintage razors there sometimes. Plus some old classics like the ones you read about so much on these forums. So think about making your next one a vintage one. Some are real bargains, too. Get 5 for the price of one!

BTW I am having excellent results stropping on diamond pasted balsa after every shave. So far since I started, (well TBH only a couple months ago) I haven't had a razor start to go dull on me yet. It's not magic and you have to do it the right way but it really works and for me it seems to work better than crox on linen or any other free hanging strop. The trick is to not over-paste, rub it in good, never have a coating on the balsa, and start out with the balsa sanded/lapped nice and flat, and especially with the .1 micron, use plenty of laps, like 4 or 5 dozen with light pressure, almost no pressure. And of course you still strop on leather before the next shave. And don't use a short skinny little block of balsa. Get a piece like 3x12 or so, so you get a nice long smooth stroke. I really think crox would work for this but I like the diamond. Be aware that diamond coarser than .1 micron will give you a sorta harsh edge sometimes, which crox usually won't do.

Nice thing about having a good rotation of razors is it puts you in a situation where learning to hone your own is very practical. As long as you got one or two others you can shave with, you can take as long as you need to get your first edge squared away. When you are doing your own honing and getting good edges you will be a lot more independent and self reliant. Gives you a good feeling, the first time you shave with an edge that you honed yourself.

Hang in there. You aren't doing so bad. It is all gonna come together for you.