Hey guys,
Sorry about the delay in getting back to you. I went ahead and bought the 'Hans' below before I saw any of the other posts, but I figure I'll just be extra careful of the tip when I start off
Vintage 5 8 Otto Deutsch 'Hans' Straight Razor | eBay
Anyway the razor came in the mail today and really struggles to cut a hair when I try to do the hanging hair test. I actually have to apply a reasonable amount of pressure to cut a tense hair at all. Does this mean it isn't honed properly? The ebay auction said it was honed and stropped and the seller was recommended to me on here, so I hesitate to think it might not be properly honed. I've noticed there's a layer of oil on it as specified in the ebay auction ('It will be given a light coat of oil prior to being shipped'); do I need to wash the oil off or something before it will cut properly? Or is it just not honed at all and I need to send it off for honing?
Mick, that would be great if you could point me in the direction of a good guide to making my own strop. I wouldn't mind giving it a go if it's not too tricky, since I haven't ordered one yet.
I'm a bit confused about pre-shave balms, creams, after-shave lotions and stuff too. At the moment when I shave with a cartridge razor, I've been applying a layer of coconut oil and just using that, but I don't know if this is enough for straight razor shaving. If I need other creams and stuff, could somebody point me towards decent ones on mensbiz.com.au?
EDIT: Just nicked myself within a minute practising with a junky disposable straight from DAISO. Good start :D