Thread: help me ! I must be doing something wrong

I recently bought a straight edge blade but it wasn't professionally sharpened. I bought with that a strop. When I received it, I tried to use the strop to make the blade sharper, however it didn't do anything. Now I bought this whetstone king kw-65 combistone 800/4000 I tried to sharpen it with the 4000 side but it doesn't seem to work I must have done 30 run for both sides doing the X motion but it didn't seem to do anything. I tried to shave with that but first it always seem to be awkward to shave with the straight blade I can't really get all the hairs and I always seem to irritate my skin to the point of bleeding. Now after that I tried to hone with the 800 but it doesn't seem to do anything and I am really getting frustrated to this point. Also I have a shaving cream and that works fine but seriously holding the straight blade with the pinky on the aide and 3 fingers on the blade just doesn't seem to work. That's why I am asking you guys what am I suppose to do, I don't want to abandon this but I need to see that what I am doing is working.

Can you give me any advice ?

The King stones are fairly soft; harder stones seem to work better with razors. Many go to at least 8K if not 12 or 16K grit stones before stropping; if they end at 8K, they will use some compounds in strops like a 1 micron, 1/2 and 1/4 micron paste on different strops before going to linen and then bare leather. Razors should really be honed by a professional first and then stropped by you before use.

Well you landed in the right place my friend. Welcome to SRP. Up top is a button called library. With the amount of knowledge you need right now I would suggest you start there. First off , honing your own razor is not that easy. Especially if you have a razor that was cheap and not made of good steel. I started out the same as you and found SRP just in time. Don't give, up as you obviously have the desire and deserve a fair chance to actually try this. I would also look for someone in the members section that lives near by if somebody doesn't just come along soon. Give a more specific location of where you are and we will find you :<0)

+1 on what 10pups said, plus stop trying to hone before you ruin any chance that might exist for the razor.

Heh, at least you tried to sharpen yours before shaving with it! I took my Great Uncle's razor (with a chip in the edge) and tried to shave with that; looked like I got into a cat fight with the scratches all over my face! Since then I have learned more about honing, setting the bevel, stropping, etc. Now I can get a decent shave on most areas. It's fun, but can be frusturating! If you check the Vendors forum, you can find people you can send your blades to for honing and to make truly shave ready! I would go that route so when you get into sharpening, you know what it should look/feel like. I will probably send some of mine out ( I now have 5 straights and just bought a DE today as well!), so I have something to base my edges off of.

Hi, and welcome to SRP! You have come to the right place to get you going.

First off, whereabouts are you? There may be someone local to you who could meet with you in person to help. If you're anywhere near Ottawa, let me know and I'd be happy to assist.

OK, lots here...

What kind of razor is it? Everything below assumes that it's a workable, usable razor and not a razor-shaped-object. Some things being marketed as razors are absolute garbage that will not take/hold an edge. See here for a list of brands to avoid:
Brands of Straight Razors to Avoid - Straight Razor Place Library

And here for a list of good brands:
Good Straight Razor Brands - Straight Razor Place Library

Now, when it comes to honing, the most important thing is to set your bevel. I.e. where the two sides of the cutting edge come together at the point. If the bevel isn't set, no amount of stropping will help, and it will take many, many more than 30 strokes at a higher grit than 4000 to set a bevel. Typically something in the neighbourhood of 1000 grit is considered a bevel setter, and the higher grits (4000, 8000, 12000, even 20000, not to mention 'natural' finishers) are used to refine the edge.

The best way (I found at least) to learn to hone in the absence of 1-on-1 mentoring is to check out some of the excellent videos out there. Look in particular for those of gssixgun and Lynn. I like this one because Glen is taking a beginner through the process.



Do yourself a favour and get a brush and proper soap or creme. You don't need anything fancy, but it will make a heck of a difference. Proraso soaps are very good and can be found at Shoppers Drug Mart, as can an inexpensive brush. Body Shop's maca root cream is very nice and not too spendy. Moving from canned cream (sorry - just realized I made an assumption that you're talking about cream from a can, so please ignore if you're using a brush etc already) to 'proper' wet shaving makes a huge difference.

As for the grip, it comes with practice. But it does require patience.

Good luck!

I have a couple of thoughts. First thought is about the razor. What brand? The next thought is that if it is a good quality blade you should send it to someone to sharpen. Where you are in Canada has a lot to do with who you should send it to. There are several guys that hone out East a couple in Alberta and a handful of guys on the west coast. A mentor might also be a good idea. If you could get together with someone it would go a long way in learning.

Originally Posted by TheBlackCompany

I recently bought a straight edge blade but it wasn't professionally sharpened.
Can you give me any advice ?

It's really quite simple.

Thank you for the repies! Here is a blade similar to what I am usinghttp://m.ebay.ca/itm/221056137472?nav=SEARCH
I live in Montreal, quebec . as for the soap, I am using dreadnought shaving creami do not have the money to buy a 4k/8k whetstone it is so expensive.

No matter how many stones you buy, or what you do to it. It will not be professionally sharpened.