Thread: My new collection! Now what do i do?

Gents,

Well finally after being a huge fan of safety razor shaving for 7 years now i have decided to take the plunge into SR shaving. I recently purchased a collection of 8 razors from a friends uncle. Along with the collection i purchased a new strop. Now my question is, i tried shaving with all the razors and have the same results. After stropping they simply slide along my face not cutting the hairs. And if i adjust the angle (as im still getting used to it) the blade grabs the hairs and pull. Does this mean i need more practice in stropping or should take the step for honing the razors?

Here they are.

Gee, Lucky! Some look likely! Maybe all! Welcome and here we go! Show pics of each for some some to evaluate. You could have some nice ones there!

Send the duck out and get a pro hone. After that Sharptonn can talk you out of the rest :<0) It sounds like they need a hone if you can't get them to cut hair. No pressure and about 2 spine widths and they shouldn't pull anything. That is a nice group . Welcome to SRP. Lots of great info to read in the library.

That is one heck of a starter set! Just...wow.
Was the guy you bought them from using them on a regular basis? What is your pre-shave routine? Have you watched any instructional videos?
One way to tell if it is you or the razor is to have one or more pro-honed by a vendor here.
You can also check the member list here and see if there are any Mentors near you who could take a look for you.
Could be that they all need a good honing.
If you can't afford all at once, I would start with the DD.

Wow! That's one way to get started I guess!

Very nice collection, I have the creme bone / horn scale Boker King Cutter, only mine had a big smile on it and had to be leveled up, so I think now it's only maybe a Prince Cutter...very nice blade.

Yes, unless you're proficient in honing, you're going to have to send them out for a professional honing. With a nice collection like that, you want to make sure the fundamentals are taken care of, and that's a proper bevel set on all the blades and having them made shave ready. Go the the Classifieds here and I'm sure there's someone out West who can hone them for you. Obviously, you don't have to send them all out at once, but for your first go round, get them all done. With that many blades, you shouldn't have to even think about sending them out again for quite a long while.

By that time, you should have enough experience to refresh your own razors by that point.

Great find, heck of a way to start!

Good luck!

What a Nice Way to Start Out!

While I usually expect to get ‘beaten up’ when I post things, I might get knocked out of the ring with this one!!

What do those of you who have been honing for (at least) a couple of years think about offering to have the OP send you one or two of his razors for Free Honing??

I for one would just ask for the OP to pay for shipping to me and after honing I’d pay to have the razor sent back!

I know that I’m opening a Pandora’s Box!!

Perhaps if anyone offering to help could ask those that are highly thought of here such as Mentors, Mods, Senior Mods etc for ‘references’ to reassure the OP that the members who offer are trustworthy and are known to provide a good edge ???

Well I’d better get the ice trays filled so I’ll have something to help control the swelling and keep the bruising down!!!

Hi Lucky - there's a member out your way in Edmonton that offers all the services, he's in the classifieds, here's the link to his services page:

Honing & Restoration in Canada - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

Hey everybody thanks for the info!. I will defiantly try out honing the DD

here is a link to better photos of them up close.
Library Slideshow by luckynumberslevin69 | Photobucket

That's a heck of a starter set, definitely sounds like they need a hone. You would be in good hands having Rob tune them up for you.

Where in Alberta are you?

You have a great assortment of razors there. Congratulations on a nice haul.

That'll start you off. Be careful to put them in separate locations, otherwise they have a tendency to multiply (at least that's what I told my wife). Every time she turns around she finds another razor.