First Razor - Crown

Ok, I just bought my first straight razor. I got it from an antique show after talking the guy down from $30 to $20 because one scale was cracked at the rivet that holds the blade. It's a Crown Razor Co. made in Boston, MA and says Extra Hollow Ground Fully Warrented on it. I read another post here that said this is a good razor that was made from 1900-1930. It has a little rust on it also, but it looks like it could be removed with steel wool. The edge is decent but it will need honed before use.

Now for questions.

1. Does this seem like it was a good deal? I looked at 20-30 razors before I got this one. I was looking for a very plain looking (therefore not expensive to antiquers) razor with a good blade for a decent price. I didn't want to spend much without knowing if I even liked shaving with one.

2. Is it hard to find someone who uses a straight razor locally (barber maybe?) that will hone a razor for you? I don't have a hone and assume a knife sharpening stone would not suffice.

3. Until I buy an actual strop, will any old piece of leather work as one? I have a few old leather belts around which is what my dad and grandpa always used after sharpening knives. It worked on fillet knives will it work on razors?

Thanks and any other tips/recomendations are more than welcome. I have done a lot of reading (mostly on this site) but have absolutely no actual hands-on knowledge of "real" razors.

I apologize if the pictures don't show up. If they don't I'll fix them later. They're not showing up in the preview so we'll see.

Looks like it can be saved. A bit too much hone wear for my taste, but the steel doesn't look pitted beyond hope.
Whether it was a good deal, depends on what you compare it to. You would have gotten a much better deal if you had picked one in the classifieds. Or you could've done a lot less buy picking up a newly made razor from a steel that can't hold an edge.

Yeah, I didn't want to spend a lot just to see if I liked it so I wasn't going to buy new. Especially since all the highly respected brands seem to be rather expensive. As for the classifieds, I hadn't seen any so cheap (price-wise). I probably would've known what I was getting that way, but I really wanted to start cheap... The way I see it is, I've bought my first razor for the price of a pack of Mach 3 refills so if I like it, good. And if I don't then if I don't shave for a month I've broken even. I basically just wanted to make sure I hadn't bought a completely crappy one. I personally could care less about the cracked scale, as long as it remains usable until I decide if I like it (if I decide I do I can always replace them) but I guess I didn't really know how to look for hone wear. Some of the other ones I looked at had really bad looking blades... Either they were wavy which looked to me like someone didn't know how to hone them correctly or they were chipped (some badly and some just slightly) which I didn't want to deal with.

Doesnt look too bad....

I would clean it up and send it too one of the honemeisters to get honed...

I dont know about the scales though that might be a problem but I never tried to replace or fix scales yet (I will soon)

I've got a similar Razor from the classifieds (same blade new scales) and it was in a perfect shaveready state.. It was my first razor and I loved every shave I got from it.. its now ready for a touch-up

$20 dolars is not too bad for such a razor I guess but it will need some work before you could use it.. but if you dont mind sanding and polishing you will have a great shaver soon..

I dont know if I would use a belt as a strop...but I'm pretty new myself so....I cant be of any help there...


Maarten

Thanks for the reply... I definitely don't mind if it needs some work... Money is in shorter supply right now than my willingness to work so I don't mind steel-wooling some rust and having to hone it. I just need someone to show me how. I wasn't real sure about the belt either... Just another attempt at saving a few bucks until I know if it's worth it (to me).

I'd personally rather not send it out to get honed. I only plan on having it honed by someone else once. I'm the type of person that prefers to do everything themselves. I'd just like it done once so I get the idea and then I'll learn from there. Sending it out won't give me the chance to learn so I'd rather learn by trial and error than by paying someone else to do something. If I can't find someone locally I'll probably just get a hone and keep trying until it passes the arm hair test.

Hone a man's razor and he'll shave for a month... Teach a man to hone and he'll shave for a lifetime... Or something like that.

By the way, I forgot to mention that I'm in the Phoenix area so if there's anyone from here on the board that wants to help a newbie I'd much appreciate it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by darobison

If I can't find someone locally I'll probably just get a hone and keep trying until it passes the arm hair test.

Hone a man's razor and he'll shave for a month... Teach a man to hone and he'll shave for a lifetime... Or something like that.

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Well... hone a mans razor and he knows how a sharp razor feels on his skin.. let somebody hone his first razor himself and he will probably get a burned face throw his razor in the corner and start using M3's and canned goo again....:confused:

If you want to see if its something for you I would really recomend to start out with a shave ready razor... its cheaper than the hones you need to get this puppy shaving again anyway.

the advantages are:
1- you will know what a sharp razor should feel like when you start honing yourself
2- you dont have to invest in hones right away
3 at first you will only have to worry about your technique and stropping... not to wonder if your razor is sharp enough

Maarten

It would be good if someone showed you how to hone.
But failing that plow through everything on the wiki on honing & stropping to give you a start.

Category:Straight Razor Maintenance - Honing & Stropping - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Right, you would most certainly learn by trial and error, but you will likely endure a bit more pain than necessary in the process.
There have been plenty of guys taking your approach and when they finally break down and pay somebody to hone them a razor they usually realize that their honing has been lacking, even if they've been able to shave with a degree of comfort.
In the short term I would say your best bet is to do the cleaning yourself (you probably want to use sandpaper progressively from 200 to 2000 grit) and then having one of our resident honemeisters put the edge on it. Even if it costs you another 25 or so I think it's worth while.
Maintaining the edge of a honed razor is an order of magnitude easier and about that much cheaper than getting it honed in the first place.

Let me explain where your cost analysis goes wrong. By going for the seemingly cheapest option you end up spending more. If you spend as much time in the classifieds as you did looking through razors I'm sure you'd find one for under $40-$45 and you wouldn't have to wonder whether it would shave or not. Then with enough persistance on ebay or your local stores you can find a swaty for $10 (you will likely have to spend quite a bit of time lapping it but according to you your time is cheap) and with that you would be set forever without having to purchase another pack of cartridges ever. Instead your current approach would require at least $75 for a norton and perhaps another pack or two of M3 blades while you're learning on subpar edges. Of course, you want to find somebody to teach you to hone and perhaps use their hones, but that's basically using somebody else's generosity to cover the expense, which while may be cheaper for you is not a cheaper solution.

With this razor you want to buy at least norton 4000/8000 hone and the initial cleaning of the edge could be done on sandpaper. Check the old posts of randydance, I think that's what he usually does.

I have the exact same razor; mine has patina on the blade but is in very good condition and came with the original box and the paper instruction sheet mostly intact.

It's been in and out of my shaving rotation for some time. It's a good shaver. I like how the etch on the blade when it's closed in the scales reads: "EXTRA FULLY" above the scales.

Chris L

--"1- you will know what a sharp razor should feel like when you start honing yourself
2- you dont have to invest in hones right away
3 at first you will only have to worry about your technique and stropping... not to wonder if your razor is sharp enough"

This is why I'm looking for someone that knows how to hone. I just don't want to send it out because then I can't see it done, and I'm not going to buy a new "shave ready" razor just to try it. I absolutely hate shaving right now... If that doesn't change with a straight I'd rather be out $20 for a razor and 10-15 to a barber for honing it than 80-120 for a new razor.
<--- poor person

--"It would be good if someone showed you how to hone.
But failing that plow through everything on the wiki on honing & stropping to give you a start."

Thanks, I've read this once but I'm going to read it again now that I have actually committed somewhat to giving it a try. I've looked into this on and off for about 6 months now so I've read most of the wiki and alot of the posts on this board.

--"As another suggestion you may also be able to find a barber who knows how to do that and you can see if they'll help you if you pay them, but again that would be an expense.
With this razor you want to buy at least norton 4000/8000 hone and the initial cleaning of the edge could be done on sandpaper. Check the old posts of randydance, I think that's what he usually does."

As for the barber idea, that is the plan... I don't mind spending a few more bucks, but I want to see it if I do. I don't care if they actually spend time explaining to me, I can get that online but to see a pro do it would really put the reading in perspective for me (I'm a very visual and tactile learner). I was wondering about the sandpaper just to get rid of the surface rust on the hollowed part but a scotchbrite pad seemed to get most of it. I'll try to get the rest tomorrow. I actually didn't think it got it all on the front of the blade so I didn't try very hard on the back, but once I rinsed and dried it I realized that the front was almost perfect and it was the worse side originally.

--"I have the exact same razor; mine has patina on the blade but is in very good condition and came with the original box and the paper instruction sheet mostly intact.

It's been in and out of my shaving rotation for some time. It's a good shaver. I like how the etch on the blade when it's closed in the scales reads: "EXTRA FULLY" above the scales."

Sounds like our razors are in about the same condition except for the cracked scale on mine. It's funny that you mentioned the "EXTRA FULLY"... It was what caught my eye on this one, there were others that did too, but this one had a nicer edge.

Thanks guys... I'll be continuing my search for a local old-school barber on Monday. Too bad my great uncle is 2000 miles away, he was a barber many years ago and my dad (who was with me at the antique show) said that he used a straight for many years after retiring as well.

OK now the little spam-induced detour is gone so back on topic.
As I said you need low and medium grit hones for this one, so hopefully you can find a barber with these and willing to do it.
My understanding is that when straight shaving was common barbers would do 'maintenance' on their razors which can really be done quickly and practically indefinitely. The edge restoration is different, and I personally like to make a distinction between honing a say brand new razor as Lynn would explain in his DVD and a razor in which the edge is chipped and oxidized.
Of course, I may be wrong on the history bits, but as far as what's involved in honing your razor I'm pretty sure I've got it right, as I've been doing these for some time now.
You may want to look in the restoration articles in the wiki. Since you have the time, you may want to get the razor nice and shiny.

I don't think that there will be too much restoration involved. There was rust on the hollowed part of the blade but not on the edge. It won't cut hair very easily but it is definitely way sharper than any knives I have even when they've just been sharpened. I also can't see any chips at all. Maybe that's still considered restoration, but I just thought that it needed a regular honing. This is the other reason I wanted to find someone local... I don't know anyone (other than the uncle) that uses a straight razor and I know you guys can't give an extremely accurate assesment of what it needs just from pictures. Someone that could look at it could easily I assume.

Ok, on second thought...

It's apparent that this is going to require more of a commitment than I would've liked just to find out if this will be something I enjoy. So, I've decided:

A. If I can't find someone local to hone this razor I will be sending it out.
B. I might as well do a complete restoration while picking up all the other items I'm going to need eventually.
C. Even if I spend as much on this razor as I would've on a new one I will like it more because it is old and because it will be more "mine"..
D. Even if I don't like shaving with a straight... I'm sure to enjoy the restoration project.

Ok, with that said here's the plan. I've removed the scales and sanded most of the discoloration off with 320 grit sandpaper. Unfortunately, I broke the other scale in the process so now it will be slightly trickier to trace onto new scale material but I was planning to replace them anyway. I will move up to 400 grit when I get some and it's ready (Still a little more to do with the 320. I've been working on it a few minutes at a time when I'm sick of reading for the moment) then move onto using the brass tumbler method since my dad reloads and has one and I'll be at his house next weekend reloading some .38 and .357 anyway and can check out what polish he uses with it. I'll probably make scales from wood but I haven't decided what kind yet. What do you guys think of teak? Too soft? I haven't decided between peened pins or the microfasteners yet. I like the look of the pins better (the micros seem to stick out further in the pictures I've seen), but the micros seem much easier.

I also have my first tip for the forum... Any guitar players out there know about the extra string that you cut off when you put new strings on the guitar, well the lower strings that are brass wound work great for cleaning the gunk out of the hole in the tang. I just took a piece of an A string and used it like a small, flexible, file. Of course a pipecleaner would be great too, but I didn't have any.

D@#$, my fiance is going to kill me... I can hear it already... WHY do you need ANOTHER hobby???

There ya go. A whole bunch of fun ahead of you :D

Don't forget to make something for the fiance too. That way she can see your new hobby as a good thing :p

looks like a good project razor restore the blade make some custom scales and post that bad boy in sotd :gl:

Yeah, I'm thinking it should be fun... It will probably take me awhile though as I'm short on finances right now and will need to borrow some of the tools I'll need. I do have everything I need tool-wise available though but I don't have access to a bandsaw which I'm sure would save me some time.

"Don't forget to make something for the fiance too. That way she can see your new hobby as a good thing."

Funny that I just noticed in my email the notification that there were replies. I was just working on convincing her that it was a good thing that I took it apart and now needed scales etc. I purposely made sure to read some of the stories of women using them earlier and was telling her some stories... Mostly the one of the guy (sorry can't remember who - too lazy right now to look it up... It's beer time) who caught his wife (or girlfriend) using his razors.

well, I guess my first post didnt go through. I am from chandler. Unfortunatly I am a noob as well. I did a search and accidentally searched fro barbers who do straight razor shaves. There are some in the valley. I just didnt double check to see if thats what the search was really for(never contacted any of them) Where did you pick up the razor?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by darobison

Ok, on second thought...

It's apparent that this is going to require more of a commitment than I would've liked just to find out if this will be something I enjoy. So, I've decided:

A. If I can't find someone local to hone this razor I will be sending it out.
B. I might as well do a complete restoration while picking up all the other items I'm going to need eventually.
C. Even if I spend as much on this razor as I would've on a new one I will like it more because it is old and because it will be more "mine"..
D. Even if I don't like shaving with a straight... I'm sure to enjoy the restoration project.

Ok, with that said here's the plan. I've removed the scales and sanded most of the discoloration off with 320 grit sandpaper. Unfortunately, I broke the other scale in the process so now it will be slightly trickier to trace onto new scale material but I was planning to replace them anyway. I will move up to 400 grit when I get some and it's ready (Still a little more to do with the 320. I've been working on it a few minutes at a time when I'm sick of reading for the moment) then move onto using the brass tumbler method since my dad reloads and has one and I'll be at his house next weekend reloading some .38 and .357 anyway and can check out what polish he uses with it. I'll probably make scales from wood but I haven't decided what kind yet. What do you guys think of teak? Too soft? I haven't decided between peened pins or the microfasteners yet. I like the look of the pins better (the micros seem to stick out further in the pictures I've seen), but the micros seem much easier.

I also have my first tip for the forum... Any guitar players out there know about the extra string that you cut off when you put new strings on the guitar, well the lower strings that are brass wound work great for cleaning the gunk out of the hole in the tang. I just took a piece of an A string and used it like a small, flexible, file. Of course a pipecleaner would be great too, but I didn't have any.

D@#$, my fiance is going to kill me... I can hear it already... WHY do you need ANOTHER hobby???

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:tu Sounds like a great plan!!!

I'm sure You will have loads of fun restoring this baby to shavereadyness...

While you are restoring your razor and you dont need a strop yet you could also consider a Dovo shavette to learn to shave with a straight.

They are pretty inexpansive, can give a very close shave but are pretty unforgiving..(You will nick yourself guaranteed the first couple of shaves) But you wont need to strop yet and you will have a razor that is guaranteed to be sharp.

I started with the shavette (because I didnt know if I liked straight shaving in the first place) and found that it made my transistion to a real straight very easy.. I still use my shavette when the real straight needs a hone. I'm still not very good at honing so If I start a shave and decide its not sharp enough I just pickup the shavette..

Well whatever you do... have fun!!

Maarten

Howdy!
I'm in the East Valley. There are quite a few people in the area, and while I'm willing to help you learn to hone, I'd like to do it at a meeting with other members. It's a little time consuming, and just last week I went through the whole process with two different people.

Here's the thread for the meet up;
http://straightrazorpalace.com/get-t...a-meeting.html

Post in there and keep an eye on the thread. Hopefully we can get something together in the next month or 2.

"Where did you pick up the razor?"

Psicko, if I tell you that I'll ruin my master plan of going back and getting more of them to restore... I figure once I fix up one I'll want to do a bunch. But I'm a nice guy and only half-kidding. I got them from the antique show at the state fairgrounds. I was actually there for the gun show and by chance my dad and I decided to stop at the antique show on the way out since it was free. At first I was just walking around looking at stuff... Then I saw a straight (I had been thinking about them already since I saw two at the gunshow but they were pretty expensive). My dad thought I had lost it, as everytime he saw me after that I was at another booth looking at more razors. I actually even had to borrow some cash from him because I had only brought enough to get into the gunshow and buy a soda or two if I got thirsty.

BigBubba, thanks, I didn't know something like this existed. I'll check it out. Hopefully there's some meetings over on my side of town as well though. I rarely get over to the east side (I'm in Peoria).

Psicko, if you haven't already you should probably check it out as well.

Edit: Forgot to mention that there was one booth there where the guy only had really nice razors. He said he only gets ones that will sell for between $175 and $1,000. I didn't spend a whole lot of time looking at these ones but I did notice a beautiful Winchester that as a gun nut I'd love to have one day.

dont worry darob, I wont be heading over that way for awhile. I found some good places inthe east valley that carry some. just gotta go check them out.