Thread: New to straight saving, unsure of technique, straight razor won't cut.

Hello, thank you for replying. Where did you buy the whetstone? In HK or you have it ordered overseas? And what would the price for it be? I heard from some people saying that they don't need any water solution or mineral oil. They could just hone the blade on the whetstone and it would cut perfectly fine. I chuckled a bit at your last sentence because HK people are always very busy haha. But if it takes time to understand the art of straight shaving, I guess it is worth the wait.

Originally Posted by chihwahli

Hello, I am new to shaving as well. But I succesfully set the bevel and honed an old straight shaver. Perhaps you can use some of my posts:http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ml#post1523650

I bought a RVS Dovo shaver and they also said it was shave ready. That is true, but after setting the bevel and honing a blade, I find the new blade not soo smooth. I guess they did not hone the blade with a 8K stone at all. Because after honing a straight razor with 8K wet-stone I can say the shaving is smooth!

Tip: buy a cheap doubled edge shaver (DE) with cheap Derby blades. Then you can learn to use the open shaver and in the meanwhile you finish the rest with the DE shaver. thatś what I do. Learning to shave with a straight razor takes a long time to master. Some say 6 months. As a HK man myself, speed and time is important not =p

Or even just use whatever you currently use to shave with to finish off your shaves, that way you are only learning one skill.

As to time, the general consensus is around 100 shaves to be reasonable and another couple of hundred to get your technique down so based on daily shaving; around 3 months to not be rubbish and then another 3-6 months to get consistent acceptable results. However you will continue to refine your technique for some time after, this will be exacerbated if you have multiple different razors in my opinion as weight of grind, Blade size and blade profile will all require slightly different techniques.

Sounds like you started where many of us did buying cheap before knowing better then spending more to fix the issues of buying cheap. As Chris said it may not hold an edge well and will need constant maintenance honing. Instead of hones and trying to learn honing on top of shaving you can probably get a decent shave ready razor and a barbers hone for a similar cost. You can also practice honing with the razor you have and still be able to shave. Good luck and if you can find someone local that is your best bet for starting well.

I am just a greenhorn, just learning the trade, perhaps a step further in the process than you , my advice should be tested by the other forum members.
Living in the Netherlands at this moment. So I cannot recommend about buying stones in Hong Kong. Forgive me.

The experts at this website do have a list of stones that can be used:
Hones - comparison table - Straight Razor Place Library

The stones I bought are not reviewed online so far as I can tell. Maybe I was lucky and got a set of 4K and 8K stone that was good enough for straight razors. Or these Zanmai 4K and 8K are an unknown brand (re-brand?) that are good for Razors as well, I cannot tell. If anyone is willing to test them out also and give a more definitive answer, until then it might be a risky chance to buy the Zanmai. I will send an e-mail to the seller about the Zanmai honing stones, if they know more about the quality of these stones. Will report back.
There are just many good brand, and tested stones that are well suited for your straight razor.
Look at the list and try to buy them in Hong kong.

I bought my zaimai from this Dutch shop:
http://www.japansemessen.nl/c-162739...n-slijpstaven/


Water or oil not needed?
Hmm, the stones I see straight razor users use are 99.9% water stones?? The reason is that they remove metal from your razor much quicker than the oil based stones. Water is really required with wet-stones like Naniwa. I tried making my Zanmai stones more flat with a 220 grit Naniwa stone and under the
220 grit stone was build-up of scraped off wet-stone particles. They kept sticking to my 220 grit stone. But when I used water everything was flat. On top of that, as others masters of honing have mentioned, water makes you see how good the honing process is going. You will see and even spread of metal particles with water over your naniwa stone, this means all is ok. Or you see a line without metal particles, that means your razor blade has some imperfections. You can read from the dirty water how the honing process is going.

But Farbgast? I think straight razors will be very good for you. You will need to learn to slow down and do it carefully. I guess you will enjoy these moments of peace. As if Hong kong is going forward with high speed and in your moment of shaving, time just became slow and peaceful. God bless you.

Edit: Remember something.
I bought a leather thing that can be tightened (forgot the name), on it you put a abrasive paste. These pastes have very small grit sizes. But I when I looked at it's leather, the surface was not straight and even!
The paste (red and black) are not cheap either. I conclude that honing stones are cheaper and are more consistent and will last you a life time. A canvas/leather strop is required (I guess), but for bevel setting and honing use
wet-stones. (I wasted about 40 euro on honing material)

Any Dovo straight razor is of highest quality. Here you can see some cheaper versions made by Dovo and the more expensive ones: www.messenwinkel.eu/DOVO-klassieke-scheermessen/

Originally Posted by Farbgast

Hello, thank you for replying. Where did you buy the whetstone? In HK or you have it ordered overseas? And what would the price for it be? I heard from some people saying that they don't need any water solution or mineral oil. They could just hone the blade on the whetstone and it would cut perfectly fine. I chuckled a bit at your last sentence because HK people are always very busy haha. But if it takes time to understand the art of straight shaving, I guess it is worth the wait.

Farbgast -- If you haven't, go to his link and read it and everything it cross-references. Buying a beginner's set on a budget - Straight Razor Place Library.

Then think about it. You had mentioned being a student and implied that money is tight. I assume you don't want to waste money, so going slowly into buying things is the best path.

I think others are trying to be kind. The razor you bought from a "salesman" is probably going to be money wasted for a primary razor. It does not appear to be high quality. While it may prove usable, it likely will not. The root word of "salesman" is "sales"....not expert on razors

So my advice would be while you read and ask some questions here about equipment and sources, explore the internet to see vendors who will ship reasonably to Hong Kong. There are a lot of SR users in Japan, it seems, so there may be a quality Asian source...and also don't give up looking for someone nearby who can give you razor advice that is oriented to you, not a salesman who is trying to move the products they have.

Most of all enjoy the exploration which will prepare you for enjoying the shaving experience.

Thank you all for your constructive comments. I am afraid I will have to postpone my straight shaving as I'm certain I will need a whetstone. But I need to ensure my finances are secure first before purchasing it. I do hope that I will be able to use it in the near future.

Wish you the best. See you shaving soon! (thumbs up)

Originally Posted by Farbgast

Thank you all for your constructive comments. I am afraid I will have to postpone my straight shaving as I'm certain I will need a whetstone. But I need to ensure my finances are secure first before purchasing it. I do hope that I will be able to use it in the near future.

Originally Posted by Farbgast

Thank you all for your constructive comments. I am afraid I will have to postpone my straight shaving...

Maybe not. I suggest you find a kind old barber and ask if he will instruct you in correct sharpening and use of your razor. It is always good to have a teacher if that is convenient. Many old barbers are willing to help, already have correct sharpening materials in a drawer and the correct techniques you need inside their heads.

It would help....if I was in Shanghai. Shanghai is known for retaining some of these 20th century practices. This is why we call them 'Shanghai shops' here. But, they are virtually non-existent anymore here. Also, if by chance I do find one, the price can be pretty expensive.

The problem is that buying hones that will be enough to get it sharp is going to be more costly than a good razor...

Even going the completely and utterly cheap way of sharpening... 1000-4000 grit sand paper, a flat surface surface some tape and a loaded homemade strop is going to cost you more time to get a sub-optimal result... i sharpen knives very well, better than most knifemakers i know and better than most stores i know. I am barely getting to grips with a straight razor in the two weeks of playing...