Thread: Do I have everything I need to shave for life?

Hi all. I'm hoping to get some advice from folks who are more seasoned than I am on what I need to be self-sufficient in my shaving gear for life.

Since I started straight razor shaving a little over 2 years ago I have tried to buy everything I need to be self-sufficient. In terms of razors I have the following:

Boker Linden Elm
Boker King Cutter
J.A. Henckels Twin Works 18
Gold Dollar 66 (I bought it to practice honing but takes a decent edge)
Puma Special 89 (by far my favorite)

For stones I have a Norton 4000x8000 and a Fernsler's Ruby Hone. I also have an Illinois 827 linen/leather strop.

I have followed the paste debate and the consensus seems to be that .05 chromium oxide would be the way to go. I've seen Lynn use the CrOx .5 micron on the back side of a linen strop to freshen up blades and I know some swear by using it to finish an blade after honing. I feel like 8-12 laps on the Fernsler gets me a really nice edge, and I also use it to touch up blades between honing.

Do I need something finer than the Fernsler or anything else to maintain my blades? It's hard to justify spending $300+ for a Shapton 30,000, Jnat or Belgian coticule given that I'm middle income, only use my equipment for personal use, and I seem to be getting pretty good edges as it is. Will getting a .5 micron CrOx paste give me a finer edge than the Fernsler or do people just prefer doing a couple laps on a pasted strop to refresh rather than taking out a small finishing stone? Do I really need to buy anything I don't already have to keep my blades shaving for life?

I appreciate any advice.

If you're getting good shaves with what you have I'd say stick with it. A Naniwa 12k might put a bit of icing on the cake, but lots of guys used to be happy with the 4/8 and maybe a bit of chrom-ox on a paddle (aside from the regular untreated hanging strop)

How are your shaves? It seems that you are looking for something more. If you are not happy then you need it. If not....

My shaves have felt good, but I've only ever shaved on blades I've restored myself so I don't have much of a frame of reference. I was watching honing demonstrations and reading comments about the expensive equipment some people were using and then started reading about using pastes, and I wondered if I was missing out on something. I feel like I'm getting good shaves on the equipment I have now, but I don't know if a few laps on .5 micron CrOx after I finish with the Fernsler would make it better. I'm also not sure where one even gets quality CrOx anymore since half the forums I read suggested Hand American which evidently hasn't been in stock in years.

As to the Naniwa 12k, I saw an experiment that seemed to indicate that the Fernsler's hone is roughly in the 15k neighborhood. Would the Naniwa 12k be better than this? I guess there's more to stones than just the fineness, and I am only comparing numbers.

If you are getting shaves that are close enough, comfortable enough and smooth enough to satisfy you, then you are more or less set. OTH if you want to experiment a bit to try and see if you can improve your edge and shave that is a different story.

As far as expensive equipment goes, just remember that previous generations were able to shave well with far less gear than we use today.

Bob

My $0.02...

Admire your restraint - you seem to be on the path to a great set up.

If you want to try another finisher I would suggest sending one of your razors out to someone to hone. It would give you a frame of reference without committing to another rock.

But if this is working for you...many of us would like to have been able to stop in your spot...

Smooth shaving...

Originally Posted by jschwegel

Hi all. I'm hoping to get some advice from folks who are more seasoned than I am on what I need to be self-sufficient in my shaving gear for life.

Since I started straight razor shaving a little over 2 years ago I have tried to buy everything I need to be self-sufficient. In terms of razors I have the following:

Boker Linden Elm
Boker King Cutter
J.A. Henckels Twin Works 18
Gold Dollar 66 (I bought it to practice honing but takes a decent edge)
Puma Special 89 (by far my favorite)

For stones I have a Norton 4000x8000 and a Fernsler's Ruby Hone. I also have an Illinois 827 linen/leather strop.

I have followed the paste debate and the consensus seems to be that .05 chromium oxide would be the way to go. I've seen Lynn use the CrOx .5 micron on the back side of a linen strop to freshen up blades and I know some swear by using it to finish an blade after honing. I feel like 8-12 laps on the Fernsler gets me a really nice edge, and I also use it to touch up blades between honing.

Do I need something finer than the Fernsler or anything else to maintain my blades? It's hard to justify spending $300+ for a Shapton 30,000, Jnat or Belgian coticule given that I'm middle income, only use my equipment for personal use, and I seem to be getting pretty good edges as it is. Will getting a .5 micron CrOx paste give me a finer edge than the Fernsler or do people just prefer doing a couple laps on a pasted strop to refresh rather than taking out a small finishing stone? Do I really need to buy anything I don't already have to keep my blades shaving for life?

I appreciate any advice.

I would say you've got everything you really need. Out of the 20 some odd rocks and hones I have, more than half are finishers. Each of my razors is finished on a different rock, and a funny thing happens after about 3 to 5 shaves, it becomes fairly indistinguishable which blade was touched up with which hone. They're all a little different, but not by a lot. And they all shave well enough.

I'd say just be happy with what ya got. Unless you enjoy honing and playing with different stones to see the effects it's not particularly beneficial to have a large collection of rocks. If you're getting close clean and comfortable shaves that you're happy with chasing that last %1 is just gonna be an expensive rabbit hole. First it'll be a Naniwa 12k. Then a Gokumyo 20K. Then you'll get curious about Natural stones and want a Jnat, or Coticule, or Arkansas stone, or...you can see where I'm going with this.