Hello! Jumped in to the deep end!... Wacker 7/8 and Baxter "Not a Replica" tomorrow!

Hello everyone!

John here. I've always loved fine German craftsmanship. From my firearms to my car I appreciate fine German Metallurgy and quality work...

I jumped in head first! Just got this 7/8 plain blade with Buffalo. Comments are welcome!

Few questions:

1. Best way to keep it from rusting?
2. Strop and stone recommendations for honing? (Dovo strop with the handle is my first inclination)
3. Stands for these so they don't sit in any water? I've seen the simple plastic ones which seem to do a good job.

My Baxter arrives tomorrow and I'll post photos of it. I have a Dovo entry straight blade which I may blue with a gun bluing kit and have buffalo put on by a local custom knife maker. I plan to learn honing on that blade and only work on this Wacker when I'm proficient.

Glad to be here! Love this stuff!

Beautiful razor! Hope it shaves as good as it looks !

Welcome! Your enthusiasm is awesome!

1. Mine don't rust all that much if I do my part drying em after use. If they aren't going to be used for a while, I put gun oil on mine. Works great.

2. I recommend you get Straight Razor Designs modular strop. As for the stones... Lol! Dude! That said, I would recommend a synthetic system to start.

3. Any stand will work really. But when shaving, I rest my blade on my sponge I use to wipe my blade the most.

Bluing your blade is fun and... it looks great. I think. Done two myself. You'll need to cold blue of course.

What you might not know though is that bluing is a corrosive process and as such, your blade is going to reek of corrosion for quite some time. It smells like sulpher gone wild. You'll get used to it - but those first two months...

Thank you, Harold! I love the simple blade and dark horn. I'll post when I've shaved with it. Can't wait!

Thanks, earcutter! I read a thread here about mineral oil and have dumped the alcohol out of my eyeglasses spritzer and put my mineral oil that I use on my Ozark West cutting boards in this spritzer. It works well to coat the blade with a thin film of mineral oil for now until I figure out what's going on here. I'l check out this Straight Razor Designs strop. I have been watching YT videos from thejapanblade on honing and have priced these japanese stones..... LOL is right, man! Wow! Synthetic will work for me! :D

I've done some research on the bluing and I started with Hot Salt Nitre Bluing but you are right. This process must be done at 650ºF which I presume is too hot for these blades so I'll look at cold bluing methods. Yes, I did know this is a corrosive process but I was not aware of the reek that you mention. I'll look up the processes. I'd like to have a bright purple/black finish on this blade. We'll see what happens!

Nice Blade.learn to strop it.learn to shave with it,forget the hones for 6 mos..
Wellcome to SRP.

Thank you, Mr. pixelfixed! Very good advice indeed. I'll have to ask if he honed it prior to shipping. If I had more hair, I'd test it myself! I'll have to find a date again! Grrrr.... ;)

Wellcome,When done shaving rinse the blade in the hottest tap water you have,wipe dry with a tissue,leave it open,it will be dry in a few minutes.
Than use mineral oil,it will not rust.
Above all, even tho it is called wet shaving,try to avoid getting any water on the tang or the scales,JMO, good luck.

Interesting. I'll try to keep the tang dry during shaving. Great stuff. When I sprayed the mineral oil on the blade, it almost sung as the oil hit the blade. Wonderful sound. I wish I could capture that sound. Amazing quality, IMHO.

Mineral oil and AlembiCases. You should never have any problems. Also consider not rinsing your blade with water. I wipe mine on a hand towel while shaving and wipe it completely with paper towels before wiping it down with the mineral oil and stowing it in the AlembiCase.

Stunning razor! In my humble opinion it is best to not rinse the blade at all. You may want to consider choji oil. The Japanese have been using it for centuries to treat and preserve fine cutlery. Also, if you plan on storing the razor Bag-Balm is a great product. A tiny bit goes a long way. One small jar will easily last you at least a year. Luck with your shaves!

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Originally Posted by BertramWacker

Hello everyone!

John here. I've always loved fine German craftsmanship. From my firearms to my car I appreciate fine German Metallurgy and quality work...

I jumped in head first! Just got this 7/8 plain blade with Buffalo. Comments are welcome!

Few questions:

1. Best way to keep it from rusting?
2. Strop and stone recommendations for honing? (Dovo strop with the handle is my first inclination)
3. Stands for these so they don't sit in any water? I've seen the simple plastic ones which seem to do a good job.

My Baxter arrives tomorrow and I'll post photos of it. I have a Dovo entry straight blade which I may blue with a gun bluing kit and have buffalo put on by a local custom knife maker. I plan to learn honing on that blade and only work on this Wacker when I'm proficient.

Glad to be here! Love this stuff!

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Stunning razor! Wash and dry the blade thoroughly after each use. Store in a room other than a bathroom. That's how I take care of mine.

It takes a lot of patience and practice to master the straight razor but it is such a great alternative to the department store and drug store fare.

Very nice.