am i on the right track?

hello to you.
any other aussies here?
should i have my vintage Geo.Wolstenholme straity professsionally honed to start with ?
who should I engage for the job (not the mr minit guy at the mall i'm guessing)
Its got some rust/age spots but looks worthwhile -
edge is fine -have honed it on a translucent stone from my dads shed
have bought a strop from UK off "the bay" its leather & black stuff that looks synthetic (any clues there ?) .
first shave was more a scraping exercise (3days growth )
BUT BY GOD IT WAS SMOOTH AFTER!
so imagine what it will be like sharp.
if at first... etc
cheers .









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Welcome Meako, I'm sure some of your countrymen will chime in soon. You'll want someone who knows what they're doing to hone your razor. Many sharpening services do not. Lets see if any of the members here might be up for it.

Jordan

There are several Aussies here - you might put it in the subject line to draw their attention. I'm sure they're a helpful lot!
Definitely start with a really keen edge to get things off on the right foot.
Welcome Mate!

thanks guys-
I dropped "geo." off at a sharpening place along with the translucent stone -i'm eager to find out more about that as well.
I hope to speak to the guy tomorrow & get some free advice maybe.
He sharpens just about everything by the look of the workshop.Fingers crossed.

Uh oh! this could be a problem. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you too.

I have not heard good things in general about people getting their straight razors sharpened at knife shops. Sharpening a straight razor is a very specific skill, and if the guy does not really know what he is doing then this will not turn out well. Ross Cutlery in Los Angeles is the exception though.

I initially thought about going to an old-school barber and seeing if they could help me out; maybe you should give that some consideration if the guy you gave it to doesn't work out.

I happened to have some appropriate stones when I picked up my first straight and I seem to be getting some decent results honing my own (shaving still needs some practice though!). DIY is definately a viable option, but make sure you buy the right stones.

Alternatively, you could get in touch with a local SRP member. 'Chopper' is in Mittagong maybe he'd be willing to help you out??