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.

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.

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.

I think I have good news and possibly bad news...

First the good news: there are quite a few SRP members in Montreal, You might want to send a PM to member Badgister. Zayid is a great guy and if you can connect with him, you'll be on your way. I'll PM a link to his website too.

I'm not so optimistic about your razor unfortunately. I'm not familiar with that particular brand - and hopefully I am wrong - but *generally* speaking new razors selling around that price, particularly with a strop, tend not to be made of the greatest steel. It might turn into a decent shaver, but I wouldn't put any money on it.

I think your best bet at this point would be to get in touch with Zayid and ask him to check out the razor. When he has it in hand he'll be able to advise whether it has potential to be turned into a good shaver. Please be aware though that many honers will refuse to work on blades that they feel will not take or held a decent edge. They don't want to take your money for something that will disappoint, and they don't want their name associated with a sub-par blade.

If he reckons it's good to go, I *highly* recommend taking advantage of his honing service. Having a pro-honed razor - even if you only get it done once - will give you a benchmark to aim for if/when you hone yourself. Without that, you're chasing a target you can't see.

Kris

Nothing more expensive than buying razors and stones that won't work.

Most new razors from reputable makers will cost between 100-200 USD. Paying half that for a new razor from a faceless source will likely never get you a razor of substance.

That steel might take and edge, but i doubt that it will hold it. It may not even take an edge, and the grind may be "off". I'd relegate it to letter-opening for now.

Originally Posted by TheBlackCompany

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.