Help me avoid the wrath of my Girlfriend

I mentioned to my girlfriend awhile back that I was interested in trying to shave with a straight razor. Since she is amazing, when my birthday came around she remembered and surprised me with a razor and all the accessories. The blade is a Theirs-Issard that she got from The Art Of Shaving web site. The first shave was very uncomfortable. After looking around the web some I've decided that it is way too dull to shave with. It doesn't come close to passing the HHT. A friend of mine has a Norton 4k/8k that I've borrowed and used a bit with no real improvement. To be honest I'm worried about damaging the edge. If I do that I'll probably be in more trouble than if I just don't use it.

So what should I do?

You should spend the nominal fee that people charge and send it out to someone for a good honing. There are many to choose from: Lynn and Glen (Gssixgun) are just two off the top of my head in the US. You can also find others I think in the classifieds section under "member services".

If you intend to sharpen your own into the future, this is also an excellent opportunity to see what a professionally honed edge feels like. You can aim for that when you start doing it yourself. And while it is away you can spend the time reading up on how to hone from the many excellent threads on the subject here at SRP.

I see many benefits to doing this (sending it out), not the least of which is that you are treating your girlfriend's gift with the respect it deserves.

Good luck and happy shaving.

James.

First I would suggest following Jimbo's advice and get it professionally honed. Secondly, it may not have been the razors fault, if you are new to this way of shaving it is more than likely your technique that is off. Thirdly its probably a little of both, razors rarely come ready straight out of the box, and even more rarely are we ready to use them flawlessly the first time. JMHO. Welcome to our world and because youve found your way here, you must absolutely rock!:rock:

+1 on the above. If you decide straight shaving is something for you get some el cheapo vintage razors off ebay or the classifieds' forum to practice on. TI's aren't the easiest razors to hone but if you get them right (and strop them corerctly) they are great shavers.

I'll hone it for you free if you'll pay the postage. I am in Canada so that might be less than convenient, but the offer stands. PM me if interested.

Get yourself a few practice razors to hone on and not worry about screwing them up.

X

That is a very kind offer X-Man!


Later,
R

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Duke19d

I mentioned to my girlfriend awhile back that I was interested in trying to shave with a straight razor. Since she is amazing, when my birthday came around she remembered and surprised me with a razor and all the accessories. The blade is a Theirs-Issard that she got from The Art Of Shaving web site. The first shave was very uncomfortable. After looking around the web some I've decided that it is way too dull to shave with. It doesn't come close to passing the HHT. A friend of mine has a Norton 4k/8k that I've borrowed and used a bit with no real improvement. To be honest I'm worried about damaging the edge. If I do that I'll probably be in more trouble than if I just don't use it.

So what should I do?

---

How about just telling her the truth?

Something along the line of..."Honey it's one of the most wonderfully thoughtful gifts I've ever received but after doing some research I've learned that most brand new razors need to be sharpened before they are used and I don't want to mess it up." Then send it out to a honemeister!
:gl:

Duke all the best advice has been offered to you. However nobody else has mentioned just how much of an amazing woman your girlfriend sounds like! An entire starter kit for straight razor shaving? Including a TI, arguably one of the top brands? This girl has displayed 3 things: 1. She listened to you when you happened to mention you were interested in it. 2. and this is a big one- she must have done her research. There are more razors than TIs. More expensive however doesnt make it better. She must have asked around or done some form of research. 3. HUGE generosity. Dude, she's a keeper :tu

Send the TI away to be honed. Its the right thing to do.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'll definitely send my blade away to get honed correctly. It'll be good to know what kind of standard I'm going for.

And yes, she is quite the woman. I don't plan to let her get away.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by sidneykidney

Duke all the best advice has been offered to you. However nobody else has mentioned just how much of an amazing woman your girlfriend sounds like! An entire starter kit for straight razor shaving? Including a TI, arguably one of the top brands? This girl has displayed 3 things: 1. She listened to you when you happened to mention you were interested in it. 2. and this is a big one- she must have done her research. There are more razors than TIs. More expensive however doesnt make it better. She must have asked around or done some form of research. 3. HUGE generosity. Dude, she's a keeper :tu

Send the TI away to be honed. Its the right thing to do.

---

Or it was all self interest: some women just love BBS men! :D

OR, if sending it for honing becomes an issue, I'd suggest the following: "My love, your gift of a razor was one of the most thoughtful things anyone has ever done for me. Sadly, I couldn't get it to work. Rather than have it become an issue between us, I have found a guy named "maplemaker" that is more than willing to take it off my hands, so we never have to worry about me slicing myself up or you being upset that I don't use your lovely gift as often as you think. What a noble gesture he has made, in a purely altruistic concern over our love and long-term relationship."

Yep, I think that will work just fine.

Welcome, man. Get that thing sharpened and enjoy the ride! This shaving stuff is one of the most enjoyable things I do, which means that it's a really cool thing to do, or I lead a really boring life... the jury is still out.
Again, welcome!