Str8 noob and honing questions

Hi all

I am pretty new here - and to the world of straight razors. I have a tendenct to ramble in posts - to please bear with me or just switch out if i start to bore you.

I want to let you know why I wanted to try it;

-I find cartrdge razors obnoxiously expensive
-I worry about the environmental impact of all those cartidges being trashed
-I believe that the cartridge razors are designed to worsen things like razor burn, so they can sell you their overpriced skin care products and make us all beleive we have sensitive skin, hence sell their upgraded product every 3-5 years.

My girlfriend bought me my first razor, that unfortunately was not a great product. It was an ebay job. I bought myself a Solingen made razor shortly thereafter, and have sent the original one my GF bought back - and it was replaced with another Solingen one. I think the guy must have sent her the wrong one or something...

I read and read and read, read some more, then found this place and read a bit more. The first shave with the (second) str8 was gr8, thanks mostly to the advice contained in this site. The razor was bought "ready honed" and I can't say that I would disagree too strongly with that. The shave was excellent - far better then normal - and almost without irritation.

However, it does not pass the "hanging hair" test, despite giving me a super shave. This is where the problem is - both razors fail the HHT, and yet i get a great shave already from one of them. I am a great advocate of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", but at the same time if my experience can be improved, even better. I dont know whether to try the second one now or not, or to send it away to be honed...

...which brings me to my real question. Is there anyone in Europe that can offer honing? All the american experts on the site really look amazing and the price is good - but shipping from Germany to the USA will be expensive - both ways - dangerous and time consuming. Are there any pro-honers on the site from the EU - or even in Germany or the UK itself??? Failing that does anyone know where in Germany or the wider EU one can get Norton 4/8 stones as these appear to be the most popular.

Looking forward to many more wonderful shaves!

Sunsi

Don't sweat the HHT. It is a very ambiguous test at times, as there are a lot of variables that can affect it such as how fine your hair is, the razor it self (even if it is shave sharp), if you hair is freshly washed vs. dirty... Anyway it can be a good test, but we have come to understand that it is not absolute. If the razor gives you a comfortable shave, then that is the ultimate test. You may find that a razor will give you a better shave after having it honed by one of the pros, but until then I wouldn't worry about it too much. Your current comfort is all that matters.

Also, even if the shave is comfortable and the razor is sharp, you will still feel some irritation as you are just starting out. Most find that it takes about two weeks for your skin to get use to the exfoliating properties of the razor. One of the reasons that the razors gives such a smooth finish is that it not only takes your beard off, but also the dead skin with it.

This is a good thing though. I am young and still have some pimples here and there. The frequency of said zits dropped dramatically after I started straight shaving. The soaps are generally a lot better for your skin as well. Sorry, I too ramble on.

I don't know of any Euro honemeisters, but I am sure someone will be along shortly to help you there. Welcome to SRP.

Matt

I believe Alex (LX_Emergency) will hone (Netherlands) and recently saw a post from Bruno (Belgium) offering honing.

Check this out. And get that razor honed. You might want to consider using a pasted paddle or learning to hone yourself to keep the razors in good trim.

X

Hi Guys

@Kentriv - problem is that I have no hair - so I have to use my girlfriends which is long. Strange thing is that they are everywhere until you need to find one...

@majurey - thanks - is it really OK to just pm someone out of the blue about getting a hone job? Can you actually say that without getting arrested?

@xman - thanks for the HHT test information - one of the things I have missed in my reading.

I am thinking of buying honing stone and all to learn how to do it myself - I actually already have 3 razors, 2 low-ish quality and one good that I am using to shave with - so I have practice material. I am struggling to locate Norton 4/8 stones here in Germany though, well any grinding stone come to that. Any tips on where to look would be very well appreciated - I am UK citizen so UK or Germany would be great.

Thanks for the welcome - already feel part of a community. Second full (almost) shave today was another success, but late alarm means it wasn't a luxurious triple pass one - just one wtg pass. I am amazed with how different the skin feels.

Si

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sunsi

@majurey - thanks - is it really OK to just pm someone out of the blue about getting a hone job? Can you actually say that without getting arrested?

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Yeah, we're a pretty approachable bunch on here. Loads of support and help. As long as you're polite (and why wouldn't you be? :) ) then go ahead and PM to your heart's delight. And if you decide not to take up with someone, they won't be offended. No pressure.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sunsi

I am thinking of buying honing stone and all to learn how to do it myself...

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I reckon it's the only way to go! And it's very therapeutic. The advice we all get given around here is to get one of your straights honed by a honemeister on this forum so that you have a 'gold standard' against which you can judge your own honing efforts. And very sound advice it is too!

Learning to hone your razor is another one of the good skills to acquire with straight shaving. I'm sure other members will agree, but stropping and honing complete the entire experience of shaving for me.

I can hone for you (I do it for a small fee since I'm a student and can use every penny I get, once I make serious money I'll do it for free)

As for honing stones. Look for Belgische Brocken in germany. They have a website. Those are the famed belgian Coticules. I have a very small one and love the thing to death. Norton's are very hard to get over here in the EU and coticules are almost as cheap if you can buy them locally.

Any questions you can mail me at: lxemergency at geemail dot com (translate that into the right characters offcourse)

Thanks Alex - email on the way.

Looking at the Belgischer website threw up something interesting. I used to be a chef, and still carry supplies of sharpening tools for my knives. I have dis-regarded them thinking they would be way too coarse. However I have something that looks a whole heap like a Coticle off cut. Its tiny - maybe only 5cmx8cm, but it looks like granite on the one side, and has a white-ish yellow side on the other. I always used it for final polishing on suhsi knives - as that is what it was sold as. Do you guys think this could be used for honing? I mean the size might take some adaptation and all..

How would I find out if its the right sort of grit for honing a str8? Does anyone have techniques you can use on such a small stone? Which side is the finer and which side the coarser grit? Am I shooting in the dark and trying to save a penny to spend a pound? Is that too many questions in one post?

If those are coticules then that could work. That's about the size of the stone I have. So with the use of an x-pattern in honing that should work just fine.

Thanks again Alex - can you tell me which is the "rough" side and which the "smooth" and I will give it a go on my trash blade for practising on tonight. I am still sending my second to you as soon as you get back to me, and probably my first straight after if the results are that much better then what I already have with it, as has been suggested.

Cheers

si

Sunsi - post a couple of photos, with detailed description - we should be able to tell you if this is a Coticule (if photos are any good). From your post - I would say there's a good chance this is a Coticule, indeed

The white / yellow side is the fine side.

Is the other side purple? If so - it's the coarse one. However, it might be just slate back unusable for honing (if it's not purple but gray, etc.)

Cheers
Ivo

Well I finally found my digital camera and took a couple of snaps of the mystery stone... Its a lot tiner then I thought - you can see it relative to a 4/8 blade here too.

What does everyone think?

Si

You could make it work - I've got barber hones that are about that size, but that's really on the small end. Coticules are slow hones, such a small hone will be even slower because of the very short stone means you'll have to make a lot more strokes. You really want a stone that's at least 6 inches long and 2 inches wide, whatever that is in metric.

He he - not to worry about inches and mm's - I am one of the fortunate few of my generation that are fluent in both. I think most UK citizens in their early-late 30's are fluent in all measurements. A lucky bunch I am sure you will agree.

Yeah I realised I would have my work cut out. So I have just ordered a Tam O'Shanter - I would use this after the tam to put the final edge on the blade, right?

Si