Thread: Straight to hell - 1st attempt

I bought a shave ready dubl duck satinedge a while back. After a too long wait, I finally got my kit together including a Tony Miller strop. I've read every tidbit I can find including the wiki and youtube.

I think my razor isn't sharp enough. It will shave my arms but pulls a bit. On my beard, it isn't cutting worth a darn. I don't think there's anything wrong with my stropping technique.

So I got myself a Norton 4K/8K, flattened it, and I seem to need to learn a lot more about honing too. I'd say its worse, not better after doing Lynn's pyramid a couple of times.

Is there someone, (Canadian if possible but not necessary) that can help me get this shave ready? I'm in the London Ontario area.

I know FloppyShoes is in Canada, but I'm not sure how close he is (nothing is worse than my sense of Canadian geography). Also, check out the member services section of the classifieds.

I believe floppyshoes isn't taking on any more work at the moment.

Yes, it is possible that your razor was not sharp enough and we know it's currently even less sharp than it started. The problem obviously isn't the pyramids, but likely their execution - the method is extremely consistent as everybody who has tried it will attest.

If you don't find any canadian there's always the option to send your razor to US for honing. The mail is relatively quick. These can be found in the classifieds under member services.

Welcome to SRP ! Since you know about Lynn's pyramids I assume you have been reading tutorials on the Wiki here ? There are also honing videos by Lynn and by heavydutysg among others.

If you have some sort of magnification such as an eye loupe or a hand held microscope you can check your bevel and see if it is set adequately. That is the foundation of a sharp razor. Until the bevel is set correctly you'll not get a strong shave ready edge. Here is more info on that.

Your best bet is as the previous posters have suggested send the razor out to a honemiester. In the meanwhile get some reasonablly priced used razors in as full bladed a condition as you can find and practice you honing with them.

No doubt the fault lies 100% on myself. I was not trying to imply otherwise. I may fuse atoms for a living but its clear that there is a steep learning curve to straight razor shaving.

I will contact Lynn for a start and see if I can't eliminate the razor as the first variable.

Welcome to SRP! Listen to OLD_SCHOOL, he definitely knows what he's talking about! The first few shave's are a little daunting to say the least! Don't feel embarassed if you ever have a question or problem with your shave. ALL the guys here will gladly assist you! Stick with it and keep us updated on your progress. PM me if you need to, but I'm a newb also. Good luck and God Bless!

Make sure to do a good prep and lather, it makes a big difference.

Originally Posted by Mikus11

I may fuse atoms for a living but its clear that there is a steep learning curve to straight razor shaving.

Well, this may be a problem, honing is exactly the opposite - you've got to separate the atoms from each other...

Originally Posted by Mikus11

I bought a shave ready dubl duck satinedge a while back. After a too long wait, I finally got my kit together including a Tony Miller strop. I've read every tidbit I can find including the wiki and youtube.

I think my razor isn't sharp enough. It will shave my arms but pulls a bit. On my beard, it isn't cutting worth a darn. I don't think there's anything wrong with my stropping technique.

So I got myself a Norton 4K/8K, flattened it, and I seem to need to learn a lot more about honing too. I'd say its worse, not better after doing Lynn's pyramid a couple of times.

Is there someone, (Canadian if possible but not necessary) that can help me get this shave ready? I'm in the London Ontario area.

Hi Mikus,

There's a group of Kanuks on this site. I found them by accident and just joined. Hope they are helpful. I'm too new at this to be of much help to you. If you find out any more about stropping/honing or any local contacts, please let me know.

I'm from Kitchener ON.