the folly of a newb

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the forum and want to say thanks already for the wealth of information found in all the threads! I'm new to straight razor shaving and love the idea of never buying another pack of mach 3 razor heads. I went ahead and bought two razors, a paddle strop and a hone on ebay, but really wish I found this site first as I think I might have been a little too ambitious in my pursuit of getting stuff for cheap.

I read that solingen blades were pretty good so I found a "ben-hur 60" and a "walky registered No. 84 silver steel". the ben hur looks really used but the walky seems to be in more promising condition.

So my biggest problem is that my razors are about as sharp as a butter knife. The hone and strop seem to be in not too terrific condition and my luck trying to sharpen my razors have left me a little discouraged. I'm not sure if my hone is even a razor hone, but it does have two different grits which has scratches on one side. My biggest question is if I should continue trying to hone and strop to get an acceptable edge or stop what I'm doing and wait for my student aid check to buy some better gear. Any suggestions would be great!

here are some pics for those interested. Also, I'm in Paris if anyone can suggest someplace to go to hone my blades if I shouldn't be trying with my stone.

thanks!

Welcome aboard! Glad to see you're interested.

The razors look like they're in fairly nice condition, so I wouldn't worry too much about them. They will definitely need to be sharpened and pass some important tests before you shave with them.

The hone, in my opinion, does not look usable at this point from the pictures you posted. It looks like the stone needs to be lapped, or flattened, in order to work properly. Also, do you know what grit each side of the stone is? This is VERY important to. For instance, if it is a low grit (1000, 1500), you cannot get a finished edge off of the stone. If it is a very high grit finishing stone, then it would work well for polishing and maintaining a nice edge.

Many people have differing opinions about newbies and honing. Some say to wait and have your razors honed by a professional (BTW we do have a couple members in the UK who hone). This was your first shave is better, and there's one less factor in figuring out why the shave wasn't perfect :) (trust me, it will happen!). Others say to try it from the get go...jump in with both feet, so to speak. If you really want to learn to hone, you should check out the stickies in the Honing Forum. They are incredibly helpful!!

As far as the stop, it may be usable if the stop were conditioned. Again, the pictures aren't close up, so we can't really tell if there are problems. Are there any major nicks or deformities in the leather? There's some good information about conditioning a strop in the Strops Forum. It really doesn't take that much.

It would probably be a great idea to use some of your student aid to get some nice shaving gear. You'll be buying more anyway! LOL

~Chris

Well, when I was first starting out, I tried to do it all too. Someone on the forum advised me to let someone else hone my razor initially so that I would have a good idea of what a sharp razor should be. I would advise the same. I do know there is someone in Germany but am not aware of any members in the Paris area. I am sure that someone will chime in with some ideas.

If you are anxious to get started and want to just focus just on the shaving part for bit, I have found the Feather Artist Club with disposable blades to be a nearly identical experience. While I have a number of straights, I routinely use a Feather AC in my rotation. Just a thought...

wow, thanks for the fast responses!

i just tried honing and stroping and went for a go for my first shave. I got half way through when I realized I wasn't shaving as much as scraping my face with little success and decided to switch over to my mach3 before I killed myself! I guess I was a little too excited.

Thanks for the advice on the hone cwrighta70, I might try to flatten it latter but I think I'll stop using it before I mess up my razors. I'm not sure the grit, but both sides are very hard and smooth, not porous at all. One side is yellow, which I didn't show in the pictures but has some bad lookin scratches on it. Would sanding it down take those out?

I'll check out the stickies about stop conditioning and honing, there seems to be so much info on this site I didn't know where to start! The strop has a few small nicks, but the leather just seems old. It is smooth almost all over but has a few small "rough spots".

I'd like to get my razors honed by a pro, but that might take a while unless I find a place here in Paris. My french is horrible so it might be a while calling around =). I guess a straight razor is called a "coupe chou" or cabbage cutter or something like that around here.

I'll look into the disposable blades too, thanks netsurfr!

cheers,

+1 on initiative and drive! :tu

Good advice has been given here. I really can't stress enough that you should get one of your razors honed by a pro, so you know what you're aiming for. Can't really say much about the quality of your equipment there, but I just wanted to reinforce the notion that you should have some help to get you on your feet. :)

There are a lot of people on SRP who will hone your razor for you. Check out the honing forum- I believe there is a list. also visit www.thewellhonedrazor.com --the guy who runs the site is a member here and from what I have heard hones really well (plus it is only about $15 so is affordable even with international shippping). there are also some members who provide honing service in europe--just check the honing thread to find them. Hopes this info helps-Charlie

I believe the member "poona" is in the UK (sorry, poona, if this is not correct) and "LX_Emergency" is in the Netherlands. Pretty much, if someone is recommended on these boards, they are trustworthy and will do a great job with your razors. Most even offer a "satisfaction warranty".

Oh, and Yes - lapping/sanding the hone should take the scratches out unless they are deep.

Welcome! On the other hand you may have all the equipment you need except a useable strop. If that hone is a coticule you can lap it with 320/400/600/+ wet sandpaper on plate glass. The coticule may have natural cracks that can be OK once the hone is flat and edges are beveled. Check with your fingernail. You should not feel any hang up on the cracks. If the other side is a "blue" you may be in business to hone if the razor isn't too rough. When you lap the dark side if it shows purple or dark red slurry it is probably a "blue."

I learned the hard way to hone (and am still learning) with the help (reading) from the old yahoo group . If you like to do it yourself and no one is near to show you it can be done. Do not give up; the voyage is worth the end result.

Monte

thanks guys again for the advice! I'm still a little shocked that I'm getting responses the day of my post!

looking at my stone, there are scratches that do hang on my fingernail. I'm going to go out and find some sandpaper and a sheet of glass to work on flattening it out this weekend, hopefully the scratches aren't too deep but if so I guess I'll have a new paper weight.

here are some closer pics of both sides of the stone and strop, I found the "macro" button on my camera.:)

cheers

The yellow looks like coticule. The scratches look like scratches and not cracks. Scratches will come out when you lap. If there are any cracks the 600 and above grit will smooth them and you will probably not be able to feel them. I have a coticule with numerous cracks and use it regularly with no ill efects. It is one of my best stones.

Monte

the strop looks to have some cracked leather at the ends that is very bad and that may render it useless. try using a saddle soap to clean the dirt and grime off it and then after letting it dry apply either mink oil or neetsfoot oil to it.

before sanding the hone i would first wash it with a little bleach water and then scrub it with either a nylon scotchbrite pad and baking soda or an old toothbrush and baking soda that should clean it up nicely so we can ooh and aah over it when you repost the pictures it will also make it easier to sand.