Thread: "Shave Ready" new straight razor

Hello members,
I'm very new to the world of straight razor shaving, 6 shaves under my belt and I have to say the first 6 shaves were not my best experience. Honestly, my face looked like a battle field. Before I purchased my first SR I did a lot of research, read and watched numerous videos on how to shave, prepare my face, stropping, etc...
The razor I received, I was told was "Shave Ready". I practiced stropping the razor, preparing my face and for the first 6 shaves I cut my face up, it felt as if the razor was pulling my beard not gliding through it, so I thought that I was doing something wrong. I talked with a buddy of mine who also uses a straight razor and he told me that the razor cannot be sharp enough. He suggested getting a shavette, try that to see how it shaves with it's blade and then go from there.
Well, I have to say, the shavette was a great experience. I didn't cut myself once and the shave was incredible, smooth, felt like a babies bottom!! lol!!
So, I've come to the conclusion that the SR I purchased wasn't even close to shave ready. I've gone ahead and purchased a 4000/8000 sharpening stone along with a 12,000 sharpening stone. Once I receive them, sharpen the blade I'll report back to let you know how my first shave goes after the sharpening.
If anyone has any suggestions let me know, I'd like to hear back from you!

Hi and welcome here!

My shavette shaves are better for me too. But my SR shaves are getting nearly as good lately. Two things are important, besides a good prep: Practise (and with it patience) and a sharp Razor, of course.

Have you done any tests with the SR to see if its sharp? A Hair Test is a good test, but doesn't tell the whole story. How it shaves is what's important. If it doesn't pass a Hair Test, chances are it isn't sharp enough though. It's been that way with my SRs.

Just keep at it and you can have smooth close shaves with your SR too. Your stone setup is ideal, I'd say. If you still can't get the SR ready, give it to one of the Honemeisters here.

Best shaves,
OldSalt

If it was truly shave ready and you stropped it first, then you could have messed the blade up with a bad strop stroke.
More than likely though, it just had a 4k bevel set and while shave ready, it wasn't really face ready.

If you know how to hone, then wait on your stones and watch the videos on honing a razor. If you have never honed before, then I'd suggest that you send out to be professionally honed (check the classifieds) at least then you will know what sharp really is. While honing isn't really all that hard to do, it does take practice.

For a start what razor did you get and was it honed or factory edge. A factory edge will not be shave ready. As it sounds like you haven't honed before I would suggest that you send it to a pro because as of yet you don't know what shave ready is so how will you know that you have gotten the razor shave ready. The other point is as Chris said honing takes practice to get right and you can easily stuff up in the beginning stages of learning. Either way good luck

I used straight razor designs for my razors. I found shavettes to be a little tough and cut too often (opposite of you it seems), so I made the switch to the real straight.

Thanks for your feedback.
I'm wondering, is it because the SR is more ridged and longer than a shavette that it's harder to shave with?
I did do a Hair Test per your suggestion and the blade isn't sharp enough, I'll wait to shave with the SR until I get the sharpening stones, sharpen the blade and see how it goes.
Again, thanks!!

Originally Posted by OldSalt

Hi and welcome here!

My shavette shaves are better for me too. But my SR shaves are getting nearly as good lately. Two things are important, besides a good prep: Practise (and with it patience) and a sharp Razor, of course.

Have you done any tests with the SR to see if its sharp? A Hair Test is a good test, but doesn't tell the whole story. How it shaves is what's important. If it doesn't pass a Hair Test, chances are it isn't sharp enough though. It's been that way with my SRs.

Just keep at it and you can have smooth close shaves with your SR too. Your stone setup is ideal, I'd say. If you still can't get the SR ready, give it to one of the Honemeisters here.

Best shaves,
OldSalt

Originally Posted by manuforti

I did do a Hair Test per your suggestion and the blade isn't sharp enough
Again, thanks!!

Hmmm I can't get any of my razors to pass the HHT with my hair. If however I pinch some of my wife's hair (bit like trying to trim a lions claw ) they all pass with flying colours.

There is loads of info on the HHT and from what I have read its use as a meausure of sharpness is highly debatable. In other words just because the razor doesn't pass the HHT it doesn't mean the razor is not shave ready

Originally Posted by manuforti

Thanks for your feedback.
I'm wondering, is it because the SR is more ridged and longer than a shavette that it's harder to shave with?
I did do a Hair Test per your suggestion and the blade isn't sharp enough, I'll wait to shave with the SR until I get the sharpening stones, sharpen the blade and see how it goes.
Again, thanks!!

Please let us know where you got the straight from because that will give us some idea if it was really shave ready to begin with. Some places sell straights with factory edges that they claim are shave ready. The experience of a lot of members has been that factory edges are not 100% shave ready. Some places sell straights that they have had professionally honed before sending the new razor out and that would make them truly shave ready. There is a difference between the two.

As said before, if you have never stropped a straight before there is plenty of room to bung up the blade by stropping it. So if it was shave ready before the stropping it may not be after the stropping. The advice has always been to buy a "shave ready razor", on that has been pro honed before shipment and not to strop the razor before the first shave. That will give you an idea of what shave ready feels like and if it is worse after you strop it before the second shave you will know your stropping is killing the razor's edge.

The advice regarding honing a straight yourself has always been, if you have no experience honing straights, to wait till you can shave well with a shave ready razor before trying to hone one. The reason is that you can bung up a blade by inexperienced honing. Yea, you have to learn to hone at some point but first things first, get the shaving down pat. Get you straight pro honed and get a used razor to practice honing on when the time comes.

Bob

It sounds like you are determined to hone the blade yourself.
I don't have a problem with that, but as long as you are ordering honing stones, you will need a 1k for bevel setting and a lapping stone (DMT 325 works well) - you have to flatten your hones before honing a razor. You will probably also want a CrOx pasted strop and/or a diamond pasted strop. So now that we are up to $300 for basic honing equipment, does that $20-$30 honing charge sound so bad?

Guys, I need some advice. I bought the Norton 4000/8000 grit sharpening stones. I've sharpened my SR, well at least I thought I did. I stropped it before shaving and it still isn't sharp. Maybe it's my stropping technique, I just don't know?? I thought that I'm doing things right but it's starting to get frustrating. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!