Thread: How unrealistic would it be to try and restore this razor by myself?

There was a wet shaving store in Winterpeg many years ago, and someone honed their razors. I believe the owner was unwell and retired. That there is someone there who hones does not surprise me, that you managed to find them is likely due to tenacity.

Originally Posted by RezDog

There was a wet shaving store in Winterpeg many years ago, and someone honed their razors. I believe the owner was unwell and retired. That there is someone there who hones does not surprise me, that you managed to find them is likely due to tenacity.

Exactly. It wouldn't surprise me if there is 20+ people in the city who can hone at a high enough level to do it professionally if they felt like or if there was enough demand for it, but they are either busy or just don't feel like doing it so they are impossible to find. Seems like the man I found just didn't realize how hard it was to find him though, so hopefully in the future it's not as bad.

Welcome aboard. Had the same problem myself. Took a bit but eventually found an old barber to hone my first razor.

Welcome to SRP from a fellow Canadian.

Do you shave with a straight razor? Until you can shave well with one it's useless to try to hone, because you have no idea what you're even trying to achieve.

With the advanced search function on this forum, you can search for members by location. But I also happen to remember that there's a fairly active member here who lives in Winnipeg, Captain Zero or something similar. I remember because there aren't many prairie people on here (I'm originally from Regina). I don't know if he hones professionally, though.

But no matter what, take Glen up on his offer. In fact, I think I'll take a zoom lesson from him soon, too.

I learned to hone from this forum. I would have loved to get in-person lessons, but I could never find any professional honers nearby that honed well enough that I wanted to take lessons from them. 5 years later, I'm finally getting edges that are consistently excellent. I'm certain that if I could have taken one lesson from someone like Glen, it would have taken me a fraction of the time to learn.

Your razor should be able to take a good edge, but you may ruin it trying to learn to hone. I found it very worthwhile to find a bunch of cheap vintage razors in decent condition that I didn't mind ruining for honing practise. Until I could get decent edges on those, I sent out my good razors to pros. Knowing what to look for in an Ebay post is an entirely different set of skills, but much easier to learn than honing.

Good luck! Ask lots of questions, and don't be afraid to make mistakes. They're only razors.

My sharpener seems to have a done a pretty bang up job, perfect looking straight edge all the way down on both sides, still cut myself a few times shaving with it (narrow face with sharp chin, it's difficult) but it's at least a few times better than before. Would recommend to anyone locally who needs one sharpened.

If you are new to it, there is no shame in keeping a regular razor for the lips and chin while you learn the straight on the cheeks and neck. I cheated, I started when I had a van dyke.

Originally Posted by planeden

If you are new to it, there is no shame in keeping a regular razor for the lips and chin while you learn the straight on the cheeks and neck. I cheated, I started when I had a van dyke.

I mean I could but I don't see a point, gotta learn the angles eventually. I have a narrow neck with a punch of little dips and curves so I have to switch hands multiple times for various parts of each side of my neck/face, I'll get it down eventually.

Looks as if he honed it with the toe off the stone, creating a lot of wear at the heal, almost leaving a spur as well as getting into the stabilizer.

Maybe its just me.

Originally Posted by outback

Looks as if he honed it with the toe off the stone, creating a lot of wear at the heal, almost leaving a spur as well as getting into the stabilizer.

Maybe its just me.

Probably just bad lighting, it has an even wear all the way down the spine. There certainly is a lot of wear there now, but I figure that was probably somewhat necessary to get the warp out of it from the factory. I'll post more pictures later on that show all the different angles with better lighting so you guys can look at it.

Yes, I see the hone wear on the spine, but I'm looking at the bevel. Not that I don't have razors, that hone up like that, due to uneven grinding, or a warp. I'm just going by what I see now, from your very first pic of the razor.

Could just be lighting, as u say.

Just saying...you might have to correct the heal, the next time it needs honed