Discouraged...

Hello everyone. Thanks for taking the time to view my post. I must admit, entering the world of straight razors is interesting, yet difficult to understand. My fear is investing money into something that I cannot maintain myself. I have read through this forum, and have realized that whatever razor I may purchase will need to be honed prior to use. However everything I read seems to tell me that after some use, honing the blade myself will be unusually difficult. This is obviously discouraging. How often would I need to hone a single blade? Furthermore, I have read many articles on stropping technique and maintenance and seem to understand, however how often does this need to take place? Daily? Weekly? If there is a newb guide to these things that I have missed i apologize. This is something is a lifestyle change I am very interested in, and would like to understand what it truly takes. After all, if your going to do something, you might as well do it right! Thanks again.

Stropping needs to be done just prior to using the straight each time. Honing depends on the person and the blade. Many say 2 to 6 months. I know a lot of guys have more than one straight that they use which will 1) lengthen the time between honing and 2) give you something to use if you decide to send yours out for honing rather that learning to do it yourself. There are people who prefer to send theirs out for various reasons. Cost without the shipping is typically $15 - $20 for honing. A good strop (like one from Tony Miller at thewellshavedgentlemen.com) is $60 - $75 I think. To pick up a full set of hones, etc would probably run you $200 approx depending on what you get. There is a pretty good sized learning curve to honing, but once you get there it's a breeze.

Hi nickg and welcome :)

Keeping a razor sharp is just an acquired skill, like anything else. Of course, it takes time, patience and practice, but once you get the hang of the basics it usually works out fine.

With proper stropping you can go several months before needing to touch up the edge with a hone.

I, and I think most here, strop the razor immediately before every shave.

It can seem a little daunting at first - there's a lot of information here to take in. The best advice I can give is to take it one step at a time. Get a pre-honed shave-ready razor, get a strop, and practice shaving with a straight and stropping properly first. I guarantee that once you get the hang of shaving with a straight, you'll be exceptionally motivated to learn how to sharpen it properly down the track.

Best wishes and good luck.

James.

Patience little cricket.... :D
This does take some practice to learn!

Where are you located?

There is a good chance a forum member is nearby and would be able to help you get over some of those tricky techniques. Seeing is often easier then reading!

Good luck, and ask plenty of questions!!

C utz

Part of the reason straights held the interest that they did for me, was for the discipline required. Not just for the shave itself, but the maintenace of the blade. If it was easy most people would probably still be using them, but it isnt, which is part of the reason I like them. Once I made the decision to go the way of the straight, the solutions started lining up before me as long as I did the research (thanks SRP) and the practice. Then I committed to using nothing but a straight razor for a few months. It was going to be a straight razor, or nothing - which was not an option because I work in an office.
I accepted that I would get cut, and I did. The initial shaves were not bbs and that didnt matter, if it was presentable it was a go. I use nothing but a straight now and appreciate the impact of that initial commitment - and daily risk, to many other things in life.

Its worth it, good luck.

Dave

I think if you get a pre-honed razor and a pasted paddle strop (along with a hanging strop), you will be good to go for some time. If you buy new or vintage "shave ready" razors, you really just have to know how to maintain a razor. I think a lot of the discussion about honing you see here involves making a dull blade sharp. That is different than keeping a sharp razor sharp. You can get a starter strop from Tony for less than $30, I think, and a two sided pasted paddle shouldn't be too much. From there you might want to get either a Norton 4/8K stone or just a finishing hone for touch ups . At the end of the day, I think you should enjoy the maintenance. Its part of the fun.

Jordan

thanks for all the help it is definitely appreciated. I am now confident to start with a straight, however the next step is the equipment obviously. I live in Fresno, but am originally from Las Vegas. I'm a college student at Fresno State, and as with most college students that means I operate on a pretty stiff budget. Any ideas as to a good blade on a budget? I realize I will most likely have to send it out to Lynn to get it honed correct? thanks again guys your quick and helpful answers are great.

Read through the Buy/Sell/Trade forum here or post a "want to buy". There are usually a number of shave ready blades for sale. For one-stop shopping, I would check thewellshavedgentleman.com or vintagebladesllc.com. Both Tony and Jim are members here and are great vendors to deal with.

Jordan

what kind of quality should i look for? i guess to be more specific, which is the better place to spend money, razor ( I assume) or strop? My limited budget is well...limited :(..however I realize ebay is not the place to look. What do you guys think would be a fair start up budget?

I would get a basic hanging strop to start with. You will probably nick it while learning. Once you've got the hang of stropping you can upgrade and use the cheaper one for travel. For a razor, I would look here for a basic blade say around $35-$50. Those two items will start you off. Tony Miller is on vacation for another day or two, but I think you can get a strop from him for $30 or less. So you'll probably need about $65-$80 to start. Then next month or so you may want a finishing hone or pasted strop. I can't remember the costs on those.

Jordan

I strongly believe that almost everyone has the potential to sharpen their own razors; but just like everything worth doing it will take some work to get good at it. If you want instant gratification then straight razor shaving is not for you, but if you are willing to put some work into it then you will be fine. As long as the razor is honed well initially and properly stropped every time that it is used you should be able to go for a long time before the razor needs to be touched up (at least several weeks, probably several months); pasted paddle strops are a very easy way to touch up your edges that are becomming dull and will greatly extend the time that you will need between honings (my friend has been going for over a year on only a Tony Miller 4-sided pasted paddle strop and one razor that I honed for him). It is a lot easier to keep a sharp razor sharp than it is to sharpen a razor from scratch. The honing "horror stories" that you hear that are probably discouraging to you are mostly from people learning to hone for the first time on an eBay razor that is as dull as a butter knife. Start with a razor that you know is shave ready, learn to shave properly with it, then learn to maintain the edge which should be easy. You can worry about honing the very dull razors (which are much more difficult) later on down the road if you decide that you want to get into that.

David