Will my straight razor "routine" be enough to ensure that it will last?

Hello there!

I am new to these forums so if I am posting in the wrong place or breaking some other form of etiquette please do inform me.

I would like to purchase a straight razor, but do not like the idea of sending my razor away to be honed, and wish to do it myself at home. This is what I was hoping to do...

1. Purchase a "shave ready" straight razor.
2. Use a leather strop before each shave.
3. If I feel the edge becoming dull after a number of shaves, I will use a strop with a 3.0 micron paste, then a strop with a 1.0 micron paste, then finish it with a normal leather strop.

Will this routine be enough to keep my razor sharp? I don't really like the idea of using a stone, so paste/compound would be preferable. I read on the wiki that a 3.0 micron paste is the same as an 8k grit. I just want to make sure that this routine would be ok.

So, is it possible to keep a razor that was purchased as "shave ready" sharp using only strops and pastes? Or will it need to be honed using a stone still?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

James

Hello James,
Welcome to SRP, you are at the right place.
Looks like you've already put in a fair amount of research which is great.
Have you already answered the questions like, which razor, where to purchase strop, brush, soap etc.?
Should I plan to have my razor honed at least twice while I practice on another blade of considerably lesser value? Have you shaved with a straight before? Where do you write from?
The more info you can share with us the easier it is to give you the answers you are looking for.
Ralph

Hello Ralph,

Thank you for the quick reply. In answer to your questions:

- I already have a badger brush and some Taylor Bond St Sandalwood Shaving Creme.
- I currently use a Gilette fusion safety razor and have not used a straight before.
- I have purchased a cheap shavette to practice the technique on. If I find that I like it I was considering getting either a Dovo Solinger Diamant / Bismarck - I am willing to pay for good quality.
- I have not decided where to purchase a strop from yet. But was considering getting a paddle strop with two sides so I can apply the 3.0 and 1.0 micron paste, and then also getting a hanging leather strop.
- I am writing from the UK.

Some other information that may or may not help:

- I have relatively thick, dark hair.
- I have a beard, but like to shave my neck 2-4 times a week

I was hoping that the pastes and the strops would be enough to keep a "shave ready" straight razor sharp without needing a stone or sending it away to be honed. What do you think?

Many thanks,
James

Some CrOx on a dedicated strop with proper technique can keep a blade going for a very long time.
It will eventually need a hone this is inevitable.
The blades are not indestructible but with proper care they can go for an (as far as I know) undermined length of time.
unfortunately as you learn to maintain a blade you will more than likely dull an edge or three.
Each time it will go longer but there is a learning curve.
If you really want to be self sufficient plan on getting hones and more than one razor.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I cannot see it happening any other way.
It will need to be honed at some point so the question is who,
and if you are going to do it there is a learning curve to honing that is longer than the learning curve to shaving with a straight.

I appreciate your useful information. I confess it wasn't the answer I was hoping for but thank you for the honesty!

So, does that mean that the wiki is wrong when it says that a 3.0 micron paste is the same abrasiveness as an 8k grit? I read on here that an 8k stone is enough for doing touch up honing, so if the 3.0 micron paste can't do the same job then either...

1. The 3.0 micron paste isn't the same abrasiveness as an 8k grit like the wiki says.
2. An 8k grit isn't in fact enough for touch up honing.
3. I'm missing something.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

You will prolong the blade's edge longer using your formula but as pfries mentioned ............

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pfries

It will need to be honed at some point.

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But not to worry, you've got lots of time to figure this one out.:D

The pastes are used as a finish after honing and do work as a maintenance tool . Great for touching up a blade that the strop just doesn't bring back. Another thing you might consider is a barbers hone. Look into them, they are made for what you are trying to accomplish. ( I think) You can find these relatively cheap and then you would only need 1 strop. No need for a series of stones. One thing I would say if you like the barbers hone idea is, be wise about buying 1. You can't find them new and if you just go to e-bay you may get 1 that is degraded and won't work well at all. Sometimes they have them in the classifieds here. Shop wisely for these.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JamesEde

I appreciate your useful information. I confess it wasn't the answer I was hoping for but thank you for the honesty!

So, does that mean that the wiki is wrong when it says that a 3.0 micron paste is the same abrasiveness as an 8k grit? I read on here that an 8k stone is enough for doing touch up honing, so if the 3.0 micron paste can't do the same job then either...

1. The 3.0 micron paste isn't the same abrasiveness as an 8k grit like the wiki says.
2. An 8k grit isn't in fact enough for touch up honing.
3. I'm missing something.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

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It maybe the same grit but remember the pastes is loose and on a soft surface. A stone has it's grit locked solid and therefore works harder and faster. Plus you are going the other direction with the blade :<0) Different animal all together. I shaved off an 8k then strop for a year. Most in here would not consider it a finisher stone.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JamesEde

I appreciate your useful information. I confess it wasn't the answer I was hoping for but thank you for the honesty!

So, does that mean that the wiki is wrong when it says that a 3.0 micron paste is the same abrasiveness as an 8k grit? I read on here that an 8k stone is enough for doing touch up honing, so if the 3.0 micron paste can't do the same job then either...

1. The 3.0 micron paste isn't the same abrasiveness as an 8k grit like the wiki says.
2. An 8k grit isn't in fact enough for touch up honing.
3. I'm missing something.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

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As 10 Pups said a stone is hard, if you apply enough pressure to make up the difference on a strop you are likely to do as much damage as good.
Dovo sells even coarser paste and you can get by like this for some time as we said but the inevitable will come.
Bear in mind we hone primarily with an edge leading stroke for a reason,
as a spine leading stroke will eventually create a wire edge and this is not conducive to shaving although great for a kitchen or utility knife.

You are not missing something with your thought process if you ask me it is spot on but lacking in working knowledge.
(Many things look good and are sound on paper)
Experience however will tell you why barbers had hones as well as strops

Thank you very much to everyone who has helped answer my question. It's great to have such a friendly community here and I appreciate you all taking time to help me out.

I can see now that if I wish to be self sufficient then I am going to need a stone of some sort, and I now have a better understanding of why this is.

I will do some research into getting a barber's hone, and then I will either go with that or, if the learning curve is a tad steep for me, I might consider switching to DE razors.

Thanks again, all.

Why are you so dead set against having your razor honed? It sounds like you'll do whatever it takes to maintain your razor, as long as you avoid stone at all costs...why? Honing is just standard razor maintenance.

There are a handful of well-recommended guys over here that you can send your blade to, and if you don't like the idea of sending it away and paying each time, an inexpensive finishing stone isn't hard to come by and will prolong the use of your razor until a lower grit is needed.

I know a natural stone is not always recommended for a beginner, but Welsh slates are good value for money and come from a variety of reputable sources, and I've had no trouble with mine.

Learning to hone is a little tricky, I won't deny it, but you're only doing light touch-up work and shouldn't prove too much of a problem (I'd say that the majority of active members have learnt to hone their own razors, so it's not like some unattainable, exclusive club). This should suit your needs for a long time and at the point that you do need a lower grit, you'll either want to buy one to try yourself, or you can send it off to someone for about £15.

Pasted strops will refresh effectively for a long time, but you will eventually need stones. However, you should have learned to shave and strop well by the time you will need stones. Starting with a shave ready edge, you may be able to keep going indefinately using strops and a Norton 4/8 K combo. A mentor makes learning to hone easier. The Norton 4/8K is very reliable, of reasonable cost, and very well known. Do not forget that stones must be flattened before each use. There is no single way to hone and refresh blades, but some ways are easier to learn than others. Eventually, most of us find a way that works well and develop preferances based on experences.

HTH

Well I definitely want to be self sufficient if I'm going to get a razor (I'd rather pay out the larger initial cost and save money in the long run), but I was initially against getting a stone because it seems a lot harder and I didn't want to ruin the razor. But the more I'm looking at it the more it seems like I should be able to learn it with some time. Thanks for your input.

Thanks for your kind advice.

I'm thinking I will be purchasing a stone then. I will either go with the norton 4/8k, but as this proves a little trickier to find in the UK I may go for something like this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...pf_rd_i=468294

It's a 3/8K - I'd be interested to hear what you guys think about a stone like this?

Also, I don't suppose you could expand on the flattening of the stones process? Is this the same as "lapping" which is a term I've heard a couple of times? Is this something simple I can do at home?

Many thanks.

If you want to use a pasted strop, I recommend Straight Razor Designs modular paddle strop.

Nortons are hard to find—I got mine at a reduced price from Amazon but they're not normally that cheap.

I've heard that the King 3/8k is a good alternative.

Flattening and lapping is the same thing. If you don't want to spend out on one of those fancy lapping plates, get a sheet of wet/dry sandpaper and a flat surface.

I tend to use 600 grit paper because I have plenty of it but if somebody could come along and either confirm or correct my ways, that might be quite useful.

Maintenance -vs- Honing

These are two different things, we here at SRP tend to believe in the power of the Hone :) we tend to believe that everyone will fall victim to RAD and will need "Hones" just as many of us did..

If you are truly just a "Shaver" then you will need to learn a maintenance system, nothing more, if I knew then what I know now I would simply find a Swaty or an equal quality Barber's Hone and a Good strop and be done..

I maintained my first two Straights for over 20 years on a Fine Grained Arkansas and a Illinois Linen/Leather strop, I would have done better with a quality Barber Hone but didn't know that then.. There are plenty of people that do this, it really isn't that hard at all..

These people that simply shave, tend to come here to SRP, learn what they need to get started, ask questions when they have an issue, and go about their lives, they don't tend to post a lot :hmmm:

So Yes I can take a Quality Barber's Hone and a Quality strop and shave for the rest of my days with just a couple of shave ready razors to start with, if I damage one or drop one I can get it fixed by a Pro, or buy a new shave ready razor and continue on... Now I know I can do that, the only question you have to answer is, will You take the time to learn to do that ?????

This maintenance can also be done for years using a proper strop and paste, but honestly the barber's hone is easier IMHO

Thank you for your thorough response.

Might I ask your opinion of the looks of this particular stone? (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...pf_rd_i=468294)

Do you think this combined with a strop could keep my shave ready razor sharp indefinitely?

Anybody else with an opinion on this would also be valuable to me.

James

I have never even heard of that stone, let alone used it, there is not enough info to even know what scale they are rating the grit from, basically :shrug:

But I am pretty sure you can snag up a 3/8 Naniwa SS combo over in the UK for even less, or the same price and that is a Proved performer on Straight Razors by many people

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

Maintenance -vs- Honing

These are two different things, we here at SRP tend to believe in the power of the Hone :) we tend to believe that everyone will fall victim to RAD and will need "Hones" just as many of us did..

If you are truly just a "Shaver" then you will need to learn a maintenance system, nothing more, if I knew then what I know now I would simply find a Swaty or an equal quality Barber's Hone and a Good strop and be done with it.

These people that simply shave, tend to come here to SRP, learn what they need to get started, ask questions when they have an issue, and go about their lives, they don't tend to post a lot :hmmm:

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Glen, you are so The Man.
I have my Barber's hone et al, and I'm still trying to figure out what kind of 'Shaver' I am.
With that said, I've got another razor to send to you and will give you the details in a separate email. This one is from/for yet another brother. I swear to Heaven that I have two brothers!!! Lol
Maybe someday I'll be fixing their razors but I I learned my lesson after reloading ammo for them....

Unfortunately I can't find a naniwa 3/8 anywhere in the UK. Certainly not for a cheaper price. If anyone has found anywhere in the UK that sells one I'd be keen to know.

In the meantime, I guess my plan will be to get a Norton 4k/8k and a leather strop for complete self sufficiency.

Japanese Waterstones: Naniwa Super Stones
It's not in UK, but shipping should be in the order of 10 euro.

If you are looking for natural finishing hones aj_1001 on eBay is a seller of Welsh hones, he's in the UK so shipping to the UK should be very reasonable . If you search on Ebay for barber hones, Swaty (three line) and Apart hones are considered very good. A CrOx pasted paddle is also a great option for refreshing an edge. If you need more, as others have said the Norton 4/8 or the King 3/8 should be fine. You won't need more unless you need to fix real damage.

I have used only a barber's hone to maintain my razors for the last 3 years. You can get caught up in the hype of buying many hones,but unless you see yourself buying abused razors that need restoring,it really isn't necessary.The trick is to do preventive maintenance. Give it a few laps every few shaves,and don't wait until it starts tugging and pulling.