Should I stay with my King razor or get something better?

Hi guys. I'm back after several years hiatus. I have a Boker King razor that I got for about $100 ( straight razor for all requirements - BOKER Solingen, Germany ) when I first started a while back but I eventually gave up because I couldn't maintain the edge sharp enough for a comfortable shave. I practiced and practiced with my spyderco ultra fine ( Amazon.com: Spyderco Ultra Fine Benchstone with Pouch, 3 X 8 -Inch: Sports & Outdoors ) but the shave always hurt and the razor pulled (watched many youtube videos about how to hone a straight razor). It could be that my beard is very course and thick with lots of red which I hear contains more iron and could be contributing to the painful shave.


So I've thought about it long enough and I'm ready to give it a second chance because I find it hard to believe that I'm just not cut out for this sort of thing. I like honing and have the patience for it. I may not have a really great strop, but it is real leather. Hopefully you guys can shed some light on what exactly it is that I need to do. Do I need a new razor? New stones? New strop? All three? My budget is $250. Is that enough for what I'm want? There is some wiggle room if necessary.


If there is any other information, let me know. I'm very thankful for this forum with all the years of experience here.


Regards, Abel

My first suggestion would be to have the razor professionally honed to see if there is a difference. If there is then you mar need different stones. If you have it honed try it without stropping. If OK then strop next time. If not OK it could be your stropping method. Good luck.

Hi, I am not sure as I can't see the info, but i would wager that the spyderco stone isn't more than about 3000 grit, and hasn't been lapped flat.
My suggestion would be to get some of the more conventional razor hones like Norton or naniwa that are commonly used by members here.
Bouchie's suggestion of getting a professional hone job is probably your best starting point though. Once you have a benchmark, with a bit of practice you should be able to maintain the razor with a finishing stone assuming you don't damage the edge or let it go for too long.

Edit - I just read that the spyderco stone Is 4-6k so it is a good job I didn't put money down, however it is probably still a bit coarse for shaving straight off of.

Alright, thanks to both of you. I'll go along with the suggestion of getting it honed professionally. If the shave is smooth, then I'll have to get a new stone I'm sure. I just can't handle the pain of a shave that pulls. Pretty bad luck with DNA that I get sensitive skin and a course beard...

Go with a professional hone. Then maintain it with a CrOx pasted strop when it tugs and a 12k or 20k water stone when the CrOx stops working. After a few months you may need to touch up with an 8K stone. If you ding the blade, you can work the ding out with the spider co or reset the bevel.

My beard is red when it grows out and I have some sensitive skin especially on the neck. I don't have a boker but they seem to be quality razors from what I have seen. My first shaves sucked as well but with practice it all became clear. Light pressure is key too. Get that razor pro honed and then get a nice finishing stone for maintenance like a naniwa 12k. If you feel like you need a nicer or newer strop just go to tandy leather and get a 3x50 strip of the European cow leather and get some leather conditioner. You then have enough leather for 3 strops for the price of 1 nice one. That's what I use.oh and you can try shaving every few days instead of every day. That has helped me a tremendous amount.

One other trick I have used is to use some kind of face cleanser with the salicylic acid as the active ingredient. Use that to wash you face and let it sit for 30 seconds or so and then wash you face and proceed as normal. It seems to strip all the grease from the hair follicles and thus letting more water soak in to the hairs. In fact that's probably the number one thing that has made my shaves better. That and a good soap. I use bath and body works mac root shave cream.

Good luck man.

You can buy you a Norton ik for setting the bevel & a Norton 4k/8k for honing. You then might have some money left over for a 10k or a 12k finishing stone then go to Tandy Leather like cosperryan said & buy you some European cow leather & and some leather conditioner. Those stones will work well for honing your razor sharp then strop it but make sure you learn to strop first. If you go to the Library here you can learn to strop. You can also practice with a butter knife until you feel comfortable with stropping but one bad stropping stroke can dull your razor so make sure you learn to strop first.

With the combination of tough beard and sensitive skin, your shaving prep is at least as important as a sharp razor. Moisturizing your facial skin and beard prior to, during, and after your shave is critical. Myself and many deal with the same issue. My shaving improved dramatically when I developed a protocol that met the needs of my skin and beard. Shaves are close and comfy now.

Let me add some thoughts here about prep work. I had a fairly coarse beard and sensitive skin. Even with a fresh honed razor I can occasionally have a problem. In the shower I wash my beard with Neutrogena T-Sal (contains 3% Salycylic acid) and let it sit till the last thing I do in the shower. I rinse the T-Sal off with as cold water as I can stand and apply a thin coat of hair conditioner and leave it on. This will act, in part, as a pre shave lotion. I mix my lather with cold water (lukewarm is ok also), strop my razor, splash cold water on my face, apply a little bit of Cremo or Kiss My Face as a pre shave and then lather up. When I'm done shaving I rinse with cold water. I no longer use an alum block, I react too much to the alum. My aftershave balm of choice is Nivea Aftershave Balm for Sensitive Skin. No cologne (alcohol not always good for sensitive skin.) Along with sensitive skin I'm sensitive to menthol, eucalyptus and Shea butter and suffer form a mild case of Rosacea. As long as I follow this routine as religiously as possible I have had almost no irritation. I recently tried the alum block recently to see what would happen. In two days I was suffering from it again.

So, in essence, cold water lather, cold water shave, T-Sal, ASB for sensitive Skin = fewer skin problems and better shaves.

Also, adjust your info to show were you are. There could be amentor near you that can work with you on a one on one situation. After all, that's what we are here for.

So my comments would just be about the edge...

As other have suggested, get it Pro-Honed and when it comes back do not strop it before you try it..just carefully rise the blade and shave with it.
More that likely the results will be shocking in a good way.

There is some great info on making a Balsa strop with Crox in the Wiki.
With good stropping and judicious use of the Balsa & Crox you can maintain your edge for a long long time.
Glen -gssixgun has a thread on maintaining a razor with just Diamond/Crox for so long that he finally got bored and stopped...just so he could shave with something else.

Honing is more like Zen that sharpening stuff. I've sharpened a lot of "stuff" - from broadaxes to spoon bits to spoke shaves, draw knives and the usual plane irons and chisels and saws.

Razors are in a league of their own. I enjoy it a great deal and it can be relaxing to do but like shaving it is a skill that takes some time to master (and can be frustrating along the way)

It seems to be easier to learn if you start by maintaining a razor.

And this is the part were I suggest you check out the honing forum, the first few posts are a great primer on the subject.

Good luck and Smooth Shaving...

Lot's of encouraging and thoughtful replies. I'm very appreciative for every comment so far. I'm reading everything and taking notes. The last time I gave this a try I spend a few months studying and practicing intensely on the subject.

The things I'm taking to heart now that I didn't quite understand in the past are how important a good strop is. The shop where I bought the Boker razor from didn't have a selection when it came to strops. Also the salesperson, although helpful, probably didn't appreciate just how desperate I was to learn as much as possible. I don't think he was as enthusiastic about straight razor shaving as I was then.

As a way of giving some back-story, I'll relate what really discouraged me and ultimately got me to give up shaving altogether for the past couple of years (yes I grew my beard out completely and I miss it very much). Towards the end of my shaving experience, I began to get depressed because I could never hone my razor to the level it was when I bought it (which still wasn't as sharp as I'd like). I saw a really helpful set of videos on youtube showing a method using a whetstone with a slurry and black electrical tape. I didn't have the stone, but I had the tape and the spyderco. I thought I was in for sure.

Fast forward a few weeks and I'm failing miserably and the edge is getting worse by the day. So I finally gave in and called in for some help. Enter a man that sharpens kitchen knives with his mobile utility van. He was visiting my parents to sharpen their set of knives, so what I thought was a reasonable conclusion, he must know what he's doing and that he could help me.

What took place was quite shocking, and perhaps nightmare worthy to many of you. To the squeamish, you have been warned. I handed him the razor asking him what he thought, and he said something to the effect of "Oh nice! I've always wanted to get into sharpening these." That was red flag number 1. He swung open the back door to his van and turned on his belt sander... And as quickly as he turned it on and sat down, he was grinding away on the razor. I was speechless. I couldn't move either as I watched in horror of what was taking place.

What he handed back to me was an edge that was worse off than before. He asked me to try it out and see what I thought. This, obviously, I could not do. So I smiled and said "Sure". I went to the bathroom and examined the edge closer with the tiniest bit of hope that something magical might have happened. I put the blade to my beard and, what next? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The razor couldn't cut one strand. I think that was the moment I really died inside.

Well I can't actually remember anything after that. I don't even know if I saw the man again. If I did, I know I probably just lied and said thanks, as would be my normal way of avoiding confrontation and not making waves. Besides, I knew I was the one to blame when I saw the belt sander turn on. I should have stopped him there. Wherever you are, mobile kitchen knife sharpener, may the razor gods be with you. I hope you've found what you've been looking for.

If it got hot, the temper of the blade might be stuffed, you may need a new razor. Make sure that whoever you send it to knows this bit of the razors life, they might be able to advise you.

AbelG, since you are in Houston contact Sharptonn (Tom Whittlesey). Very knowledgeable, hosts mini meets on a regular basis, knows good honers and is a collector of these beauties we love to play with.

AbelG, I'm very sorry the guy used a belt sander on your razor & I hope he didn't ruin it. I hope you have more than one razor. I live in the Houston area. Sugar Land is in the Southwest part of Houston off Southwest Freeway & Hwy 6. What part of Houston do you live?

We all cringed at your story....

As noted above, reach out to one of the Mentors in your area.
The difference between the path of frustration and the one to success is often just a little bit of knowledge and coaching, and it is near at hand.

Good luck and Smooth shaving in your very near future...

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Originally Posted by MJC

We all cringed at your story....

As noted above, reach out to one of the Mentors in your area.
The difference between the path of frustration and the one to success is often just a little bit of knowledge and coaching, and it is near at hand.

Good luck and Smooth shaving in your very near future...

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Yeah, my jaw dropped wide open when he said the guy used a belt sander on his straight razor!!! I'm in the Houston area & another friend is less than a mile away. He isn't a member on here but on the other one but he does know his stuff. He got me started & at the time took a W & B of mine & honed it until it popped hairs so AbelG is in luck. I do my own honing now & have Norton, Shapton & Naniwa stones so I have enough to chose from.

Thanks again to everyone. Your encouragement goes a long way, to say the least.

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Originally Posted by edhewitt

If it got hot, the temper of the blade might be stuffed, you may need a new razor. Make sure that whoever you send it to knows this bit of the razors life, they might be able to advise you.

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Thanks, I'll be sure to mention it.

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Originally Posted by Razorfeld

AbelG, since you are in Houston contact Sharptonn (Tom Whittlesey). Very knowledgeable, hosts mini meets on a regular basis, knows good honers and is a collector of these beauties we love to play with.

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Right on! I'll be on the look out for these mini-meets.

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Originally Posted by engine46

AbelG, I'm very sorry the guy used a belt sander on your razor & I hope he didn't ruin it. I hope you have more than one razor. I live in the Houston area. Sugar Land is in the Southwest part of Houston off Southwest Freeway & Hwy 6. What part of Houston do you live?

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I Live on the West side just a stones throw away from Katy off I-10 Between Barker Cypress and Fry Rd.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MJC

We all cringed at your story....

As noted above, reach out to one of the Mentors in your area.
The difference between the path of frustration and the one to success is often just a little bit of knowledge and coaching, and it is near at hand.

Good luck and Smooth shaving in your very near future...

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I cringed re-reading it! haha We live and we learn. Thanks for bolstering my faith.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by engine46

Yeah, my jaw dropped wide open when he said the guy used a belt sander on his straight razor!!! I'm in the Houston area & another friend is less than a mile away. He isn't a member on here but on the other one but he does know his stuff. He got me started & at the time took a W & B of mine & honed it until it popped hairs so AbelG is in luck. I do my own honing now & have Norton, Shapton & Naniwa stones so I have enough to chose from.

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Well, you've got my attention ;) Where do we go from here?

I'll send you a PM.