Thread: Am I bitting off more than I can chew

Just the other side of christmas I decided to look into SR shaving after reading a shed load of info alot from this fine site I decided to give it a go and convinced the wife that this is what she should get me for christmas. So ive got a vintage razor from ebay which needs honing and a set of hones a leather and canvase strop a brush and bowl. I then read that a newbe should jyst start with a shave ready razor and master dhaving first so am I bitting off mire than I can chew by trying to do it all myself from the start any advice wuld be great also what are your thourghts in polishing stones vs strop paste?

My first razor was supposed to be shave ready.
It wasn't.
My face hated me for a week and I only shaved twice with it.

Here's the way I started after that.

I bought two razors and had them honed by someone that new what they were doing.
I used only one until I thought it needed honed then switched to #2. If #2 shaved better, the first one went in for rehone.

This is how I learned when a razor became dull and the length of time I could shave before that needed to be done.

After this I bought a crappy blade and practice honing before I would touch a daily shaver.

Honing yourself with no reference point with regards to "shave ready" is not a great idea. There is a recent youtube video by Antony Esposito who is an expert shaver yet even he has just done his first honing which took 4 hours and he is going to have it sent off to a honemiester for feedback on his hone technique. Look him up if you have time.
Honestly you are setting yourself up for horrible shaves IMO. Beginner should ALWAYS start their journey with a honemiester shave ready razor, and concentrate on shaving and stropping only. As a beginner myself, I will not touch pastes/ hones and will just send them off to a honemiester till I have at least a years expericne, that's my plan anyway.
In the mean time, watch and read all about pastes and honing so you will have some idea when the time eventually comes to use them.

You should definitely learn to hone your own razors if that's what you want to do.

Just not yet.

Right now you're trying to hit a target you can't see, never having shaved with a truly shave-ready razor. Pro honers (look in the classified section here) really don't charge that much, and it will be worth every penny to *know* that a shave-ready blade is one variable that has been taken care of. Please don't make the mistake that I did of starting off with a crappy edge. Those first months were miserable, and when I finally got my razor properly honed, the difference was like night and day. Not only did the thing work far better than it ever had, I then had a reference point to know when my own honing technique was up to par.

Also, in the meantime, read up as much as you can on stropping. You don't want to kill your nice new shave-ready razor with improper stropping when it comes back!

Good luck

Originally Posted by StuartPhillips

what are your thourghts in polishing stones vs strop paste?

I've been told, beginners rave about strop pastes and diamond sprays but mostly everyone will end up using finishing stones 12k or higher and never touch the pastes again YMMV.

I'm not sure how it works but you may want to try to find someone in your area for some mentoring esp with honing.
Also UK hone miester is rather expensive compared to US.

Yes you are biting off more than you can chew. Get it pro honed, and don't strop it when it comes back. Your first shave should be straight out of the box. That will take the razors edge variable out of what went on in your first shave. Hopefully the second goes as great.

Originally Posted by RedGladiator

I've been told, beginners rave about strop pastes and diamond sprays but mostly everyone will end up using finishing stones 12k or higher and never touch the pastes again YMMV.

I would say that after experience absolutely a 12k would make sense once you have the skills to use one. I am only 4mos into SR shaving. I found for me that I was able to pick up a good strop technique fairly quickly. I would venture to say that most would agree that a good sound strop tehnique is high on the priority list of things to learn first. I found after I had it figured out. A good couple of laps with paste on the strop were just what the doctor ordered to get my razor back up to snuff after the first couple of sessions where I did more bad than good with my stropping. I'm sure it depends on the severity of damage done though. For me I was able to get my edge back to where I used it for 2 more months before sending out for re hone.
As to the OP I agree with the other comments. Yes you more than likely are biting off more than you can chew to start. I don't put anything past people some can pick up things amazingly fast. But definitely more of the exception than the rule.

Learning to shave is first - understanding your beard growth - building a consistent lather-mastering WTG, XTG, ATG.
At the same time learning a good stropping technique - most newbies dull their first razor right off the bat because of a poor stopping technique.
When experienced to have accomplished the above - learn to maintain your edges. A Barber's Hone or a 12k synthetic stone is what's needed.
After a year investigate honing from bevel set to shave ready and the steps needed -this is where a Mentor or Senior Member is invaluable. Sharpening a knife stops where honing a razor begins, it's the old apples and oranges.

But tantamount to success is reading in the Library and the videos and FINDING a Mentor or Senior Member for one-on-one session(s). Comb the advanced search section in the membership area for members in Great Britain. Select Senior Members that have posted recently, PM to see if they can give you some assistance.