Newbie comments & questions

I'm fairly new to SR8 razor shaving (3 weeks into it). I have a few comments and a question or two.

- First, I bought a brand new Thiers-Issard Sheffield razor. Although the documentation says it's supposed to be shave ready, I'm experiencing some drag. It's hard to tell whether I've dulled the edge due to poor stropping technique the first few times or whether it simply needed to be honed out the box. Not sure how much damage poor stroping technique can do, so I've decided to order some Norton wet stones (despite the girlish "rants and raves" in the Reviews space) and hone it myself. I suspect that a pyramid honing should sharpen things up. Any comments or words of advice are appreciated.

- Second, I bought a Thiers-Issard stropping paddle and I'm not sure I like it. It feels too "short". Anyone else have that going on? I think I should have went with a traditional hanging strop.

- Third, I bought Lynn's instructional DVD, which is a must-have for newbies. Before you buy anything or get too far down the path, watch this DVD. You won't regret it.

- Fourth, I have a pretty thick beard. Should a three day beard cause a ton of drag/pulling (after a long, hot shower and brisk silvertip brushing/lather)? My guess is not. The conclusion I keep coming up with is that my "brand new" razor needs to be honed. Am I off base?

Anyhow, your input is appreciated. And this straight razor stuff really is cool. I used to hate shaving and now I actually look forward to it. I'm digging it -- just need to work out a few kinks.

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Originally Posted by chilira

I'm fairly new to SR8 razor shaving (3 weeks into it). I have a few comments and a question or two.

- First, I bought a brand new Thiers-Issard Sheffield razor. Although the documentation says it's supposed to be shave ready, I'm experiencing some drag. It's hard to tell whether I've dulled the edge due to poor stropping technique the first few times or whether it simply needed to be honed out the box. Not sure how much damage poor stroping technique can do, so I've decided to order some Norton wet stones (despite the girlish "rants and raves" in the Reviews space) and hone it myself. I suspect that a pyramid honing should sharpen things up. Any comments or words of advice are appreciated.

- Second, I bought a Thiers-Issard stropping paddle and I'm not sure I like it. It feels too "short". Anyone else have that going on? I think I should have went with a traditional hanging strop.

- Third, I bought Lynn's instructional DVD, which is a must-have for newbies. Before you buy anything or get too far down the path, watch this DVD. You won't regret it.

- Fourth, I have a pretty thick beard. Should a three day beard cause a ton of drag/pulling (after a long, hot shower and brisk silvertip brushing/lather)? My guess is not. The conclusion I keep coming up with is that my "brand new" razor needs to be honed. Am I off base?

Anyhow, your input is appreciated. And this straight razor stuff really is cool. I used to hate shaving and now I actually look forward to it. I'm digging it -- just need to work out a few kinks.

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Glad to have you here! Welcome!

You may or may not have seen the sticky about why a factory blade is not shave ready. Your blade needs to be properly honed for certain. And you're right, it should not be pulling like it is. Don't shave through with a dull edge. Trust me, don't do it. The razor will win and your raw face will lose.

I can speak from experience that an edge definitely can be screwed up by improper stropping. When I started I bought a new TI (super gnome) had it honed by Lynn and had a new Dovo 3" russian style hanging strop (very thin leather albeit velvety). Without even too much pulling of the strop, I only noticed until later that I was making it markedly concave dulling my blade. I actually found that letting the strop slack a little bit helped me (no more than 1/4 to 1/2" slack from parallel to the floor).

Finally, I appreciate and empathize completely with your enthusiasm to jump into honing. However, I would be concerned about starting your first foray into honing with your one new nice blade, if in fact the TI is your only blade. Unless you are very lucky, I don't want to burst your bubble or be a "glass half empty" kind of a guy, but it's unlikely that you'll effectively hone that new razor shaving sharp out of the gate.

Remember, you absolutely most lap both sides of your Norton when you get it. Do NOT start honing on the factory surface. They are not as flat as they should be from the factory and you'll need to put a small bevel on the long edges to avoid any edge roughness from screwing up your work.

If in fact your TI is your only razor, given that it's new and nice and rather than advise that you buy an "Ebay special" or used razor at an antique store both of which would need restoration to the blades/edges, I recommend you either watch the BST post for nice inexpensive prehoned razors for sale by SRP members or you post a WTB listing in that same area requesting that someone sell you a pre honed razor for maybe $30-$50. THAT would be the razor to shave with and strop with, and....when it's dulled.....hone with (only on the 8000 side of your Norton for a few passes to touch up the edge).

Good luck!

Chris L

Seems like Chris already hit every point to help you out, soooooo all I can add is welcome aboard the straight train may you have a smooth ride....:D

Great advice.

I just purchased a gently used Dovo razor on eBay to practice my honing skills before attempting to hone my brand new TI. I bought the Norton "kit", which includes a flattening stone. So I'll obviously take your advice and lap both sides of my 4000/8000 combo stone before I try honing my newly acquired Dovo, which seems to need some help.

I'm also going to get myself an inexpensive microscope from RadioShack to compare my TI and Dovo (before and after). I'm excited to start honing, but realize the learning curve is pretty steep. Feedback on this forum has really helped.

I'd still like to find a hanging strop because my paddle strop still feels "short" to me.

How critical is a Belgium stone / Nagura stone combination for finishing (assuming I have a 8000 Norton)?

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Originally Posted by Chrisl

You may or may not have seen the sticky about why a factory blade is not shave ready.

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Welcome to SRP! Glad you found us :D

Chris very kindly mentioned the Sticky. I'm one of the crew involved in making it. Its an FAQ of loads of newbie questions (and I dont mind telling you its an education for me too!).

Its VERY much a work in progress but it currently does address the shave-ready discussion. It can be found here:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=16283

Hope it is of some use to you.

All the best and dont hesitate to post any questions or queries. They all help with future content for FAQs

Sandy :tu

Welcome to SRP!!!