Not shave ready!

I sent my first razor out to be honed to a guy that was referred to me by the Art of Shaving, unfortunately I don't think it is ready to shave. I am not sure what to do here. I have tried the hanging hair test which it failed, and the thumb pad test seemed to fail too. I am not experienced enough with the thumb test so I cannot be sure enough. Also, the razor barely cuts the hair off my arm even if I wet it a bit. It shaved most of the hair but not very well wet, and that was full skin contact. I have not stropped it yet, and I do have a barbers hone. I really don't want to spend another $25 bucks to get this thing honed. Should I try honing it up on a barbers hone, strop, and then try again? I really wish I had just gone the safe route and sent it to someone through here, that won't happen again. Any advice would be great.

Question?? did you try shaving with it first before all these tests????

No I did not. I actually just got it in the mail about two hours ago. Also I think i was just pm'd but my browser blocked it but its fixed now.

OK a few things
One: $25!!! damn I need to up my prices :D
Two: Those tests you performed are for people that hone razors, the shave test is really the only one that counts for you..
Three: Strop the razor carefully and try shaving..
Four: wait 2 days and try stropping and shaving again
Five: This is all assuming the guy that honed it knows what he was doing in the first place...
Six: Go ahead and try the barbers hone, and see what happens...
Seven: Go to the Classifieds and send the razor out for a real honing for way less that $25

Oh yeah if the razor shaves well after any of these steps STOP there..... and enjoy the shave !!!!

PS: I think one of the honemiesters here actually lives in St Louis can't remember for sure...

Will do. Thanks glen! I am also curious about his process, I think that will tell me if he knows what he is doing. I might give him a call, he made it sound like he deals with a lot of razors too. He gave the manufacturing info and dates and was really interested in the razor. Maybe I should just have a little more faith. It was actually more like $20 with shipping, I was exaggerating! Thanks a lot, and I will give it a try later this afternoon!

That would be great if someone knows a honemiester here in St. Louis.

Hopefully its the guy I sent it too! I don't want to post his name in a potentially negative thread though if I'm not even sure yet.

I would not recommend the barber hone, but the stropping should not hurt. I am concerned that people still try every other test besides shaving and think a razor is not shave ready. You can always send it back to be re-honed at no additional fee from any of the people I know who are honing, so that should not be a worry. The other concern here is that most of the people I know who hone razors send them back to people coated with Camellia Oil or something similar. That needs to be wiped off before shaving. I don't think most razors will be passing hanging hair test after being oiled in this manner.

Most guys who hone razors test them by shaving and don't let them go until they shave.

If this is your first shave, I would also recommend only shaving from the sideburn down to the jaw for the first couple days to get the feeling of the razor and to ensure your angle is 30 degrees or less when shaving. Then move over to the cheek for a couple days and then over to the other side and then the neck. Once comfortable there, take on the chin and cross grain as you feel more comfortable.

Lynn

Just tried a shave test and it was terrible, painful tugging, and would not cut the hair at base. hi_bud_gl is gonna hone it up for me. I would rather send it to him so that I can be sure its me and not the razor! Thanks for the help guys!

Also since there are a couple of people from missouri here, I am curious to ask something. It seems like every antique mall I go to that tell me they have razors, I get there one day too late. I'm not sure if its the same guy but literaly like 4 or 5 places told me I was a day too late. I am just wondering if its someone here on SRP is picking over all of the razors in saint louis before I get to them!

Thanks again!

Michael

I seem to encounter the same thing, its probably Tim/Oldblades scouring the country filling his razor rolls and plastic tubs. When you get your razor back from Sham/hi bud you wont be able to blame the razor. be ready and be careful!

You could try stropping the razor. You could be amazed at how much a little stropping can improve a razor.

Glad to read you finally tried shaving. Sorry the shave was terrible!

I'll say this about those tests (and I'm an advocate of them) they are really useful as indicators of your progress during honing and stropping. But until you've actually tried shaving, you'll never know if you've achieved what you were attempting.

In this particular case, the shaving test seems to confirm the others.

Keep trying. Stropping may be the answer here.

It's very difficult to learn this on your own, even with good advice. It just takes a lot of trial and error.



Scott

What type of razor is it? I just curious, I'd glad hi bud is helping you out. Many of the members will.

I got here a little late in the thread, but if you want I'll hone it for you for the price of shipping. I'm no honemeister, but all of my razors shave comfortably, and the few I've sold have been well received.

My own start was pretty rocky. I bought a Dovo Classic Special, a DMT D8EE, and a linen and leather strop, and tried to do everything myself from the start. The first few shaves were pretty painful until I got the honing down, and a few hundred laps on the linen strop helped a lot too.

I'd hate to see a new guy get off to that bad of a start, so if you're interested, just let me know.

Ya did a little stropping before the shave, maybe should have done a few more laps. I was worried about rounding the edge so I wanted to take it easy. Oh ya, hi bud on here actually already offered to do the same. Thanks for the offer though Alex, appreciate it! Your right Scott, as much reading and cruising SRP that I do I have that much further to go in gaining the experience. As for the razor I'm pretty proud of my first acquisition so I just attached a picture. The original box came with it, its in perfect condition which is surprising to me. Thanks for your responses everyone!

I love the scales on those. That's a very nice first straight you have there. Should shave you a lifetime if you get it taken care of.

These Droeschers are really nice razors.

Ya I'm still amazed at the condition its in. Production stopped on these I think 1920 or 25 and started 1890. Its very close to those dates, but other than just some minor spotting on the blade its in perfect shape. I know it was used cause it was loaded with whiskers when I got it!

The blade is blued or something which you can see in the picture, would anyone know how to get the spots out without ruining the finish? Its not a big deal, if its possible though I would like to do it.

Thanks

Ahhhh!!... the Black Smith… lovely razor you have there. The tang, Tail and Spine all the way up to the tip is blued (beautiful glazed black oxide)… The face is brushed steel, so you may “carefully” clean the face with metal polish on a polishing cloth between the fingers and thumb and she will be OK… but do this before you send her out to be honed.… keep her dry.

Ya I'm pretty excited about it and I'll try that. I have MAAS and assume that'll do. Thanks Smythe!

Really? I never knew the whole blade was blued, from your picture I thought that's fairly even patina. The only one with full bluing that I have is the Bresduck Lifetime Rooster.
My Black Smith definitely has the tang and the spine blued, but the blade looks like it never was blued - nice and shiny with nice deep grinding marks. But I wouldn't be surprised if they made them differently through the years.

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Originally Posted by gugi

Really? I never knew the whole blade was blued, from your picture I thought that's fairly even patina. The only one with full bluing that I have is the Bresduck Lifetime Rooster.
My Black Smith definitely has the tang and the spine blued, but the blade looks like it never was blued - nice and shiny with nice deep grinding marks. But I wouldn't be surprised if they made them differently through the years.

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No, not the whole blade... The bluing is on the tang, tail and the spine up to the tip. The face has the usual grind marks and is not blued (that's what I call "brushed steel"). So he can clean the face to remove some of that patina that has gathered over the years.
I think have a few other brands with that type of bluing including a DD No1 and Genco fluid steel... I just love the two-tone bluing.

Ok, so just polished it up and you guys are right its not blued steel. I didn't know what patina was, I thought it was the technical scientific term for pitting! Anyway, like you said it is a shiny mirror finish.

As much as I polished though there is still some very faint staining. The stain looks like the blade was wet and wiped off but water was still left on the blade. Is there any other way to get this off with out sanding? I am but a lowly student of humble means and so confined to the very basics of equipment, any suggestions?

Thanks!
Michael

Quote:

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Originally Posted by flampen85

As much as I polished though there is still some very faint staining. The stain looks like the blade was wet and wiped off but water was still left on the blade. Is there any other way to get this off with out sanding? I am but a lowly student of humble means and so confined to the very basics of equipment, any suggestions?

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Wet and dry sanding paper is very cheap. But to be on the safe side maybe you should start by using the finest grade (highest number) you can find. I'm sure there would be plenty of people on here who could tell you exactly what grade of paper would be best.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by flampen85

Anyway, like you said it is a shiny mirror finish.



Thanks!
Michael

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If you use any kind of abrasive paper on that blabe , you will be saying "WAS a shiny mirror finish". I don't worry about very light staining , I've found that it fades away if you use the razor regularly . I value the original mirror finish on an old blade , so I don't use anything but Flitz and elbow grease when I clean up an old blade .

I think your right dave, the staining is very faint and quite honestly I'm more anxious to finally get a shave out of the damn thing then worry about some slight staining. Its going in the mail!!!

Thanks everyone, your help iis most appreciated!!!