Thread: I can't quite get to shave ready...

Hmmm. There's a lot of advice possible.

1. I think the most important thing in bringing an old razor back to life is setting the bevel. For that, I'd recommend that you use a magic marker to mark the shaving edge of the blade and work the low grits (I start with my 1k stone).

2. While others will certainly disagree, I find the best results occur when you have something between an 8k stone and your strop. Some folks use a 10k/16k stone, some use chromium oxide (green) or diamond paste. After that, you can use newspaper for stropping, which adds a really nice polish and sharpness.

3. I suspect many folks will suggest getting a high quality strop, like those Tony Miller. Seems to me to be good advice -- your razor touches your strop more often than anything else, even than your face, and they're relatively inexpensive (particularly for the quality of a TM handmade strop!), so why not work with the best? I say "others will suggest" because I started with a TM strop, and have never used the Pakistan made ones, so YMMV.

4. Even a relatively dull razor will shave the hair from your arm if you shave it like your face -- a good test, particularly if you don't want to be pulling hair out of your head all the time, is to run the razor over your arm, spine touching but blade lifted slightly. If the hairs pop off, you're there. Given what you have, without buying more stuff, a polish (50 stokes?) with newspaper after the 8k may help.

5. Lynn Abrams has a great video that has all the info needed for a new entrant into straight shaving. It will repay it's initial cost within a few days in time lost to bad honing, shaving, and other frustrations.

6. Perhaps the most offered advice on this forum is to get a razor sharpened by one of the many honemeisters to shave-readyness. It's useful to see where you need to be for a good shave.

7. Keep at it. Some Razors are harder to deal with than others, and, if my experience is any example, there is much to learn in the beginning, and the middle, and so on. But it's great fun, and a great shave is something to look forward to.

Of course, there are many more experienced than I, and their advice is undoubtedly worth more. But I'm just starting out as well, and have brought auction razors to HHT sharpness, thanks mostly to advice by folks here. I'm just passing on what I've learned through reading the forum and helpful answers to my questions. Always remember, if it was fast and easy, everyone would be doing it. Most folks do it, seems to me, because of the craft -- which takes some time and effort to learn. But this is a great community, and a storehouse of a great amount of collected knowledge. And always remember: it's possible.

Best of luck,

cass