Results 1 to 10 of 10
  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    2
    Thanked: 0

    Default First Shave & met Bill Ellis

    I picked up a straight at a local antique place a couple of weeks ago and was eager to use it. I'd read on the forums that it was a good idea to have the razor honed by a pro the first time as a reference. I looked around and found out Bill Ellis lived pretty close to me, so I got in contact with him.

    Today, I went over to Bill's house and he honed, rescaled and cleaned up my razor for me free of charge. He went over the basics of honing, stropping, shaving and gave me some straights to practice on. Thanks Bill.

    I went home and had to try the razor out. The razor is sharp, my technique is not, but I went nice and slow and got a decent shave with no mishaps.

    Bob

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    108
    Thanked: 4

    Default

    I went to Bill to have a razor honed recently and had a similar experience. He was very gracious with his time and knowledge, it was very much appreciated. I live in visalia by the way

  3. #3
    SIB
    SIB is offline
    sergioclassic SIB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Los Angeles
    Posts
    271
    Thanked: 30

    Default

    Lucky guys!

  4. #4
    JMS
    JMS is offline
    Usagi Yojimbo JMS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Ramona California
    Posts
    6,858
    Thanked: 792

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by sergiobruna View Post
    Lucky guys!
    You're not all that far from him yourself!

  5. #5
    French Toast Please! sicboater's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Atlanta GA
    Posts
    2,852
    Thanked: 591

    Default

    This is what I love about this site! It is great to read such tales of fellowship. That is all, carry on gentlemen.

  6. #6
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    2
    Thanked: 0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by JMS View Post
    You're not all that far from him yourself!
    I agree, I would have driven much further for the experience.

    Mejnoon I'm in Fresno, how long have you been using a straight and how's it progressing?

    Bob

  7. #7
    Senior Member sebell's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    928
    Thanked: 144

    Default

    Way cool, that must have been a great experience. This is the
    kind of hands-on instruction that most of us these days do not
    have the privilege of receiving -- in the past, this was the _only_
    way to learn (and surely the best).

    I think it's so cool that you get to start out straight razor shaving
    like that!

    - Scott

  8. #8
    <--- NIGH-INVULNERABLE! Belegnole's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Badger State
    Posts
    174
    Thanked: 5

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by sebell View Post
    Way cool, that must have been a great experience. This is the
    kind of hands-on instruction that most of us these days do not
    have the privilege of receiving -- in the past, this was the _only_
    way to learn (and surely the best).

    I think it's so cool that you get to start out straight razor shaving
    like that!

    - Scott
    +1 .........more characters so I can post


    btw, someone needs to set the clock. I posted at @1:30am not 8:30pm

  9. #9
    Hones & Honing randydance062449's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
    Posts
    7,971
    Thanked: 2202
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    Bill Ellis is a pretty good guy. He is one of the guys responsible for the huge increase in razor restoration and handmade razors.
    Randolph Tuttle, a SRP Mentor for residents of Minnesota & western Wisconsin

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    108
    Thanked: 4

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bladewielder View Post
    I agree, I would have driven much further for the experience.

    Mejnoon I'm in Fresno, how long have you been using a straight and how's it progressing?

    Bob
    About a month and a half, and its progressing quite well. I haven't so much as picked up a DE since that first week, and I'm getting closer/more comfortable shaves every time.

    Oh and one thing Bill did that was extremely useful was show me how to strop...it probably seems easy and intuitive if you've done it for a while, but its hard to gauge exactly how much pressure to use, etc unless you see it in person. That really helped me.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •