Newbie,hone and irritation!

Hello all!

I am a straight razor newbie from sweden (might be some bad spelling=)...)
I got my first straight razor a while back,a razor from Solingen Germany,it's a sweet looking razor but it could be sharper.I've only shaved like 5-6 times with it so i realize that my technice is far from good but i think it would be easier on my skin if the razor was sharper.

The problem area is the neck and chin area,where my beard is dense.It feels like the razor is pulling the beard where it's dense.The result is a bad shave on the neck and severe razorburn.The first times i shaved I stropped about 20-30 times but the last times I stropped 100 times,it felt like the razor was a little bit sharper the last two shaves,but not by much.

So I need a hone.I think I'm going to order some stuff from Straight Razors - Safety Razors - Wet Shaving & Grooming Supplies but I'm kind of lost in the jungle of stones.I've been reading on the forum that the norton 4000/8000 is a good stone,how about the cheaper stones on classicshaving?I'm a university student so I don't have too much cash lying around.But if the norton is the way to go,I'll have to go for it.How do I test if a razor is sharp enough?

Victor
Sweden

As far as testing whether a razor is sharp enough, I use either a thumb pad test (TPT) or hanging hair test (HHT). As far as a hone, I would recommend a blue coticule and a yellow coticule. Purchase them with slurry stones. You will need to flatten these stones but this can be accomplished with sandpaper on a piece of plexiglass or thick glass.
Here is a link for a locaiton nearer to you: Ardennes Coticule - natural sharpening stones from Vielsalm Belgium. - Home

Beautiful razor by the way!

Edit: Iin looking at the site above, their prices are a bit high. You should compare but even with shipping, you may do better with the prices from Howard at http://straightrazorpalace.com/newbi...erfectedge.com. He has quite a selection and the prices seem reasonable IMHO.

Once you solve the razor sharpeness issue, then you have to work on your technique.

Remember this, straight razor shaving is all about beard reduction.

If your beard is dense, you need to do goog WTG and XTG passes and you'll see the improvements.

After you get the WTG and XTG down, then you can go slowly and try ATG, but be aware, you may get razor bumps.

Download this document and study the technique.

Good luck

http://www.shavemyface.com/downloads...azor-Shave.pdf

That's a great looking guide Navaja. Thanks :tu

You have a nice razor. Was it honed by a professional? I am asking this because most "shave ready" razors are not actually shave ready, but need to be honed by a professional. If your razor was not honed by a professional, it will be hard for you to determine if it's sharp enough. There are many members here that will hone it for you.

As for honing your razors, you may want to buy a cheap razor off ebay to practice your technique. I made the mistake of using an expensive razor on my first hone attempt and really messed it up.

As for hones, I have used the Norton 8k/4k exclusively. For a very fine edge, I use chromium oxide on the reverse side of my strop.

I have found that the most valuable tool in learning to hone is Lynn's DVD, so I suggest that you purchase the DVD as well.

I also suggest that you look in the classifieds section, you may find a hone, paste, etc. at a very reasonable price.

Hi Victor,
I have at times had some shave bumps,and being quite new myself , I have found that by doing a second with-the-grain pass, my shave is quite smooth. I dont bother with ATG or XTG. It seemed to clear up my face quite quickly.
Stu

@Mike7120

No,it was not honed by professionals,straight from the factory,so I kind of knew it had to be honed.
It seems hard to get ahold of good hones here in sweden.

I've got some old swedish forged razors that I can practice honing on=)

How do you hone?4k --> 8k --> Pasted strop --> Strop --> Shave?

I've already planned on purchasing(!?) Lynn's DVD...=)

//Victor

Victor, I highly recommend Lynn's CD. In it hwe suggests that you start with the area just under the sideburns to learn the feel and handling of the razor before venturing into the more difficult places on the face. It's not just a short 5 minute instruction. It's over 3 hours and covers all the major topics related to the razor. It's money well spent...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by woork

@Mike7120

No,it was not honed by professionals,straight from the factory,so I kind of knew it had to be honed.
It seems hard to get ahold of good hones here in sweden.

I've got some old swedish forged razors that I can practice honing on=)

How do you hone?4k --> 8k --> Pasted strop --> Strop --> Shave?

I've already planned on purchasing(!?) Lynn's DVD...=)

//Victor

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The first step is to hone the razor on the 4K/8K Norton, then move to the pasted strop, then to the leather strop, and then shave.

I use the pyramid honing technique. A typical pyramid may look like this:

1 stroke 4K, 5 strokes 8K
3 strokes 4K, 5 strokes 8K
5 strokes 4K, 5 strokes 8K
3 strokes 4K, 5 strokes 8K
1 stroke 4K, 5 strokes 8K

This honing method is illustrated in Lynn's DVD, and you can find a lot of info here in the forums. You may want to begin your search here http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...faq-index.html

Can I go from the honing pyramid directly to the leather strop?
If not I'll probably have to buy another strop..
The strop I have now does'nt have linen on the backside,just the backside of the leather,can I use paste on the backside of the leather?

//Victor

4K/8K Norton is all you need for the time being, after the 8K go to the leather strop if you do not have a pasted strop. Jury is still out whether or not you need the linen.

If the back side of the leather strop is very smooth you could put paste on it however if you want to use pastes you better get yourself a bench strop. As no haning leather strop is perfectly flat you may get uneven wear when you use it with pastes.

I've decided to buy the Norton 4k/8k and Lynn's DVD from Classic Shaving.
Do I need a lapping stone?Is there other ways of flattening the stone?


//Victor

Quote:

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Originally Posted by woork

I've decided to buy the Norton 4k/8k and Lynn's DVD from Classic Shaving.
Do I need a lapping stone?Is there other ways of flattening the stone?


//Victor

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You have made a wise decision. Lynn's DVD will help you learn how to hone and the Norton 4K/8K will suit you well. I've always lapped my stone with a fine grit sandpaper. However, using sandpaper is becoming problematic because I like to lap my stone each time I hone a razor, and as the number of razors that I own have increased, so has the number of times I have to hone. So sandpaper as a lapping device has become somewhat inefficient. I recommend just buying the Norton Lapping stone, as it would be a good investment for the future.

How do you lap with sandpaper?What grit?

I cannot find any lappingstones on Classic Shaving..

I'm buying my lapping stone from Vintage Blades Vintage*Blades*LLC*::...

For lapping with sandpaper, I pretty much follow this procedure:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...ing-101-a.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by woork

How do you lap with sandpaper?What grit?

I cannot find any lappingstones on Classic Shaving..

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Hi and welcome, it's always nice to see some more Scandinavians here!

For lapping you could use the following options, in ascending order of cost:

- sandpaper on a flat surface i.e glasspalte, granite tile, or a flat countertop
- A Norton lapping stone
- A DMT C which is a course diamond hone from DMT Sharpners
- A Atoma diamond plate
- A Shapton GDLP

The most cost effective solution is a DMT C, IMHO as for the sandpaper grit I used 400, before getting a DMT C.

I lap Thuringian hones, Eschers and coticules with 220 followed by 400 grit sandpaper on a kitchn work top. As I never had one I am not sure that would work on a Norton as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kees

I lap Thuringian hones, Eschers and coticules with 220 followed by 400 grit sandpaper on a kitchn work top. As I never had one I am not sure that would work on a Norton as well.

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You didn't need to lap that Hohenzollern I sold you though, did you Kees?;)

I should never have let that one go. Escher Schmescher.

Chris L

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chris L

You didn't need to lap that Hohenzollern I sold you though, did you Kees?;)

I should never have let that one go. Escher Schmescher.

Chris L

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No I didn't. I have always wondered why you sold it.

I recently scored a vintage natural combo coicule/Belgian blue that had been used as an oil stone. After sanding the finest coticule I ever saw emerged.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kees

No I didn't. I have always wondered why you sold it.

I recently scored a vintage natural combo coicule/Belgian blue that had been used as an oil stone. After sanding the finest coticule I ever saw emerged.

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How did you finally get the oil out of it ?