Thread: Newbie Questions

Originally Posted by fccexpert

With all due respect to the many who believe honing and stropping to be some type of esoteric art, I just don't see it that way. I honed up my first straigth razor in an afternoon, and stropped it the next morning. Got a great shave. Frankly, I think hanging wall paper is much more difficult.

Honing is like learning how to ride a bike: some kids grab it instantly. Most need to practice a lot and fall a few times...

Stoneguard,

A shaveready razor does not pull during the shave. Your shaving angle could be too high, in which case you're likely to nick yourself, or your shaving angle could be too low, resulting in a lack of closeness. But either way, a razor should not pull.

A razors edge is extremely prone to damage. Your stropping accident could have easily dulled it. If it's only folded a bit, Glen is right that a decent stropping might realign it.

The Hanging Hair Test is not very difficult to perform: One clean head hair is pushed against the edge at about half an inch from the holding point. The other end of the hair is hanging freely. If a razor passes that test, it is sharp enough to give a decent shave. That's a bit of an oversimplified statement, but when starting out, it's a good method of knowing that a once properly honed razor is still up to his task. Perform the test after stropping.

If you want to tackle honing, the second blade is a good idea. Buying an old razor of Ebay is the cheapest way, but those razors mostly have serious issues, such as corroded steel near the edge, small chips, and a way off bevel. It might be better to order a honed Wapienica or Double Arrow from one of the forum member offering those entry level razors. Shave with it till it starts to become dull and learn to hone on that one. It's a slightly more expensive option, but one that offers a better chance of success.

Oh yes, welcome to SRP.

Best regards,
Bart.