Thread: Hi

Howdy

Figured it was time to stop lurking.
New to Straight razors.
Found one for a good deal at an antique store a while back and restored it(polished but didn't sharpen)
Came up quite nicely as it had very minimal pitting.
Recently I decided to sharpen it and give it a go( figured my Kitchen knife collection could do with some honing)
Also picked up a Cadman and Son's Bengal for dirt cheap( which i'm still working on)
After some Deliberation I ended up with a 1k/6k and a 3k/8k stone the 1/6k bieng of better quality( shun Brand)
I also picked up a Frank strop https://www.shaverhut.com.au/frank-s....html?___SID=U
and some strop paste https://www.shaverhut.com.au/stroppi....html?___SID=U
After watching numerous videos I set about setting the bevel.
Once this was done I moved to the 3k, 6k then 8k.
From there I gave it a few go's on the canvas then 20 or so on the pasted strop
It quite comfortably removed my leg hairs in the test zone.
I then had a shower and lathered up with proraso.
Sides of the face where fine, but as I progressed the razor started to pull very hard, to the point where it didn't cut and I had to finish with electric.
Where do i start with finding the problem, I use short strokes and I believe my angle is correct.
My beard did have a weeks growth and is very tough.
Also I think the 3k/8k stone isn't great and believe the 8k isn't truly 8k as it feels courser than the 6k shun stone.
I think I may need to get the razors professionally honed, is there anyone is Brisbane that does this?
Thanks!!

Welcome to SRP !!! Take it slow and progress as you feel comfortable in doing more shaving. Not a race. There are a lot of intro posts in the beginner's section will answer a lot of your questions and give you a lot of advice too.

Thanks
Guess first step is making sure my razor is shave ready, i'm probably not going to be able to achieve this for a while so definitely need to get it sharpened.
Are there any Australians here that provide a honing service?

Hi and welcome from the west coast. There are a few guys over your way so a meet might help with your honing and shaving skills. Oz is in Sydney I believe and has very good reputation. Should be able to find him in the vendor services in the classifieds. Very few manage to get a decent edge by themselves for a while. Also check out the down under forum a drop a thread in there. It also contains a list of aussie vendors.

Originally Posted by zimbyzim

I think I may need to get the razors professionally honed, ...

Errr ... yes. You should have done this before you started buying expensive stones. Seriously!
But welcome in the club

Originally Posted by decraew

Errr ... yes. You should have done this before you started buying expensive stones. Seriously!
But welcome in the club

Not Overly that Expensive, and they were really bought for my kitchen knives as much as the razors.
I'm also convinced alot of it is also due to poor shaving technique as the edge doesn't look too bad under the microscope.

Technique is going to be a huge part of shave comfort. Like you stated before, starting with a professionally honed edge will give you your best shave sarting out. As for others in your area you can always check out the international forums. Best of luck and welcome