Thread: Ok I'm a Klutz, so what do I do now?

Hello everyone,

Well I've always wanted a straight razor and I finally decided to give it a try, just ordered everything I needed a week or two ago. It all arrived safe and sound so I'm pleased to say I'm finally part of the family!

Here's what I got
Presharpened Dovo 5/8 Spike point with ebony scales.(Honed by Mr. Lynn Abrams)
2" linen and latigo strop from Tony Miller
Two sided paddle strop with 1.0 diamond paste and Chromium Oxide Paste. (Also from Tony Miller)
Vufix Best badger Brush
Shaving soap & bowl

I already have 4000 and 8000 grit waterstones so I think that should just about be everything I need to keep me going for awhile.

I had my first shave a couple of days ago and everything went even better than I expected, no nicks worth mentioning just a little bit of razor burn on my neck and jawline. The shave wasn't as close as I would like but that will come with a little practice. I've had a beard for the last couple of years and my face isn't used to being shaved yet so that's probably not helping me much either. The left side of my neck was a little tricky but like I said all I need is a little (probably lots) of practice.

I shaved again this evening and everything went just about like last time untill I did something REALLY STUPID! I was rinsing the lather off the blade and must not have been paying attention because when I pulled the razor up out of the sink the edge of the blade bumped against the bottom of the faucet and duh, put a tiny ding in the edge. Now I dont want to give anyone the wrong impression, It's not like there's a big nasty chip on the edge, I can just barely tell the edge is damaged with the naked eye. I've looked at it with a magnifying glass and It's more like the edge just got flattened out or rolled over a bit, and really, it is quite tiny. My razor is definately out of commission untill I get it fixed so my question is what exactly should I do? Do I need to go back to the waterstones or would the diamond paste and paddle strop do the trick? I could just send it back to Mr. Abrams but I would like to aviod this unless everyone thinks thats the only way to go.

yep, send it back to be honed. you can't shave with it and you can't hone it yourself (learn on something else while you have a good razor for a benchmark).

Ya you could send it back, or you could try to fix it yourself. I personaly would try myself. You have the beginings of the right hones. You could add a 12k for finishing and maybe a 1000-1200k for bevel setting. What is the worst that could happen if you try it yourself? I am new to this also, but what the hell, go for it. You can always send it back if you fail, but what if you succeed? How sweet is that? Send me a pm we can talk.

Mark

I'm not highly experienced in honing, but have read a lot of threads and ordered my hones. A 10-12k will not set a bevel any time before you're 80.
I'd say give it a go in the 4 and 8k if you feel like you've done enough reading to give it a go. If you screw it up, you can always send it out for honing.

You know what? That is exactly the thing I did with my first razor.You could fix it yourself, I did.I only had the norton 4000/8000, but somehow it worked out.You have an advantage in the paddle strop.If you deside to fix it (it will probably be frustrating)you need to work on the 4000 until there is no sign of the chip.You have mag.Thats really helpfull.What you could do is make small cirkels on the 4000, say in 20 and 20.That will speed up things.If you haven't you should get Lynns DVD, its very helpful.I would try a pyramid after the chip removal, until you pass the TPT and the HHT to some degree.Then finish with paste.good luck.Don't be afraid to ask questions.

Kristoffer

Sounds like you got everything you need. Why not give it a try? If it goes wrong at all it will be a good learning experience, and its not like you're going to destroy the razor. If you have to, you can always send it to get honed pro-style. Good luck.

I agree as well, If it's minor you can attempt fixing it yourself and if it doesn't work out send it to a pro. Either way a pro can fix it so why not just try it yourself?

It's a nice razor & you have to consider, do you want to risk resolving it yourself? I recommend you do no more than strop the hell out of it on the paddle. How's your stropping? It's impossible to tell if this would be effective without seeing it up close though. If you get nowhere with that i'd send it off. Honing is a skill that takes time to master & you may find it a very frustrating process trying to get it shave ready again if you take it to the stones.

Yea, but there's no "risk". worst case, it doesn't shave and you send it off to be honed anyway. He's not going to ruin anything by trying.

That's a fair point, & to be honest, in the same position i would have had a go myself. I just don't feel willing to recommend he has a go at it. I know it's James' call & after reading the thread he'll no doubt weigh it up & make a decision.