Hi gents! I made the switch from a Fusion 5 and canned goo to a Merkur DE and C&E Sandalwood a few weeks ago and I am getting the best shaves of my life. But it hasn’t taken me long to want even more. I want to try a straight. But I have some questions. First, when y’all mention a 5/8 razor, what is the 5/8 a measure of?

Also, when it comes to honing, I am kind of a knife/steel nut so I have some sharpening stuff already and I am wondering if it will be sufficient for a straight razor. The razor’s I have seen appear to have a convex grind—that is the cross section of the blade is shaped like the nose of a bullet. Is this true? I know a lot use whetstones to hone their blades on but I am wondering how this would be able to maintain a convex edge because the stone will not give at all. I’d think it would create a flat grind on the edge over time and not cut as well.

In order to save money and make it a little easier I’m wanting to hone my razor on my Spyderco sharpmaker with ultra fine ceramic stones. Anyone who knows what the sharpmaker is, would that be okay to use? And one more question regarding keeping the razor sharp…do you guys load up your strops with a polishing compound like chromium oxide or just use straight leather? I’m thinking a compound would help but the videos I’ve seen do not look like they use any.

So I hope what I have written makes at least some sense you y’all don’t mind helping out a newbie. Thanks ahead of time!