New blade coming

Hey All!! :D

I have a new str8 coming in the mail, a Double Arrow, 7/8, full hollow, should be here in a few days.

I want to be able to take good care of my new razor, while saving money as well, which means I don't want to have to pay anyone to hone it for me.

My problem is that I can't afford a really nice hone and was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions for keeping a blade nice for cheap, and by "cheap" I mean as close to free as you can possibly get, if not completely free.

If I can manage this, there is a str8 at my local antique shop for $15 that I'll go pick up too. :)

Thanks in advance.

I would not be opposed to paying shipping if someone had a hone that is not being used, even an old one, that they wanted to send me.

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Originally Posted by rcardon

Hey All!! :D

I have a new str8 coming in the mail, a Double Arrow, 7/8, full hollow, should be here in a few days.

I want to be able to take good care of my new razor, while saving money as well, which means I don't want to have to pay anyone to hone it for me.

My problem is that I can't afford a really nice hone and was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions for keeping a blade nice for cheap, and by "cheap" I mean as close to free as you can possibly get, if not completely free.

If I can manage this, there is a str8 at my local antique shop for $15 that I'll go pick up too. :)

Thanks in advance.

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If you want to keep things as cheap as possible. pay to get your razors honed......

Plus the hours of frustration, crying, and blood....oh there will be blood.

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Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

If you want to keep things as cheap as possible. pay to get your razors honed......

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Yes, getting it honed by someone else is the cheapest route to start with. That will cost about $15 or $20 plus shipping -- check the member services area in the classifieds. Utopian was offering one free honing but I'm not sure if he's still doing it. Worth a PM to find out.

For cheap maintenance, you can look for a barber's hone in the classifieds or a strop with some abrasive paste (diamond or chromium oxide). That will help keep the razor sharp when your regular stropping just isn't cutting it anymore.

By golly,I bet there are piles of good old hones just sitting in a dark corner of someones house that would love to live in your house and help you learn the art of honing. I know if I had one that I wasn't using I would send it to you for grats. But alas I am hone poor and only have but one set. Perhaps some generous soul will step up and help this gentleman who is struggling at the moment but who will when he is on his feet return the favor to another in need. This could be the start of THE PEOPLES STIMULOUS PAKAGE. Give more stuff away to those who are in need. What say yee?:soapbox:

Art of Shaving has no objections to teaching anyone the art of the striaght razor shave. Call your nearest Art of Shaving, and make an appointment for a lessor. For $0 they will do a short fiteen minute session with their barber assuming that he/she is not foing a shave and/or a hair cut at that time.

So you want someone to hone your razor for free eh?

I know there are a few guys who say they do that from time to time so you need to check the posts to locate some of them.

You might also find someone who takes pity on you and will do it.

In the end though I would just save my money and then pay to have someone do.

I think that the original poster is saying that he would like to learn to hone his own razors. (Problem is in these times and possibly raising younguns not everyone has the ready cash to invest in stones). I for one have found the greatest pleasure in the honing process. I have purchased about a dozen antique shop razors and have learned to make them SR. I have not learned this by myself but with the help of many here. I find it a great sense of accomplishment to make your own razor capable of shaving them whiskers. I do not doubt for a minute that the honemeisters can do a better, faster job of it, but they can never give the owner of the blade the satisfaction of doing it him or her self. I wonder why so many are telling him to send it out when all he really wants to do is do it for himself. An admirable quality IMHO.

Thanks, mkevenson. That is exactly what I want to do, and that is, exactly my problem.

i just don't think there is a single inexpensive hone that can fix your razor.
the DA seem to need more than just honing.

once the shoulder is fixed i think some people have used lapping film to hone those.

if you don't have a spectrum of hones capable of taking a razor from chipped to shave-ready, or not able to get somebody else do it for you your $15 razor may be just a waste of $15.

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Originally Posted by gugi

i just don't think there is a single inexpensive hone that can fix your razor.
the DA seem to need more than just honing.

once the shoulder is fixed i think some people have used lapping film to hone those.

if you don't have a spectrum of hones capable of taking a razor from chipped to shave-ready, or not able to get somebody else do it for you your $15 razor may be just a waste of $15.

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K, I think this was not meant for this thread.

I think of the pro honing as sort of a start up costs. As I told my mrs its easier for a new straight shaver to learn to hone with a blade that that has been honed once right then it is for a new straight shaver to take a dull blade and hone it to ultra sharp for a new straight shaver.

Here's the deal. Spend the $15 a pop, or whatever price you can find or bargain for (some people will sometimes offer to do it free) and you're golden for like 6 months to a year. You may only need a balsa strop with CrO (<$10) or a nice-ish, fine barber hone ($15-$30) to refresh the edge now and then. Both are good investments, even people with $1000s in hones will use either pasted strops or barber hones or some kind of touch up technique. All of these touch up techniques will be *reasonably* cheap. The exception being natural finishers, which are technically meant for finishing but I've had no problems touching up on them (though they really are too expensive for solely that reason).

If I am reading this right, he HAS a shave ready DA and MIGHT GET a $15 antique shop razor. Even if the DA is not SR, I would still advise to get one or both pro-sharpened and maintain it. This is cheapest for starting. I am at the point where I have RAD, but am poor, so I end up buying (comparitively) a lot of $10 to $20 razors that NEED honing. So I am investing in hones. Because in the long run, honing ten razors @$15+shipping a pop is more expensive than doing it myself.

Take the $15.00 you're going to spend at the local antique place for an unknown condition razor, add a few more bucks to the fifteen and have a professional hone up your razor for you. You've never shaved with a straight before, let alone a shave ready one. How will you know what it's supposed to feel like if you start off with one not shave ready?

Or, as suggested above, look around (maybe the newbie section or basic honing section) for generous offers of free honing. Then you could take that same $15, add a little more and get a barbers hone to help maintain your razor.

I too, would love to learn how to hone and sharpen my own razors. And I will. Just not yet. I've got a fistful in a box patiently waiting. Well, not so patient anymore. I can hear them starting to whisper and conspire.

But I figured first things first. Get one that's shave ready and learn to shave with it and learn how to maintain it and keep it shave ready. That's where I'm at now. But thats just me. Am I getting anxious to buy some rocks and start scraping? Sure I am. Am I ready? Pretty soon.

Cash outlay for hones is pretty steep also. Especially if funds are extremely limited. I interpreted your OP to mean money is kinda tight. Me too. Another reason I haven't bought hones yet.

So anyway, just a suggestion from one newb to another. Get your new one shave ready. Learn to shave with it and maintain it. The fun honing stuff can come later.

Good shaving,

Kev

Yea the DA won't be shave ready and will likely take quite alot to make shave ready and if you buy a vintage for the prices your talking about it will likely need alot of work too.

I would be suprised if someone would send a good hone to someone who is short in the experience dept any more than someone would send a good razor to someone first learning to shave with a straight. If you did want to learn to hone the best bet is buy a new razor, have it made shaveready and then you can do easy touchups which would be a primer in razor maint. But of course if you don't have the money for that so forget that. Probably you would need more than 1 hone for the vintage razor and maybe even the DA

So your left with having someone else do the honing for you one way or another. I don't see any alternatives.

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Originally Posted by rcardon

K, I think this was not meant for this thread.

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uhm, no, my post was actually to your situation.

you've already spend whatever money you've spent for your DA and you think if somebody just gives you a hone you'll buy another $15 razor, will hone both and will be set for life.

so, first of all wait for your razor to arrive. try to shave with it. if it doesn't quite work strop it on newspaper for few thousand passes and see if it makes any difference (my money is that it won't do a thing). next step would be to spend $4 and buy a small pack of chromium oxide from ChrisL (it's a lifetime supply if you do it right), put some on a newspaper and strop several thousand pases (check at 10, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 if it makes any difference).

if you can't get your razor sharp that way, it's very unlikely you'll be able to get it with a cheap barber's hone either.

of, course the razor at your local shop may be already well honed, but from my experience so far that's about a 1:500 chance.

Sorry for not posting this in the original post, but the DA will be SR, it's from a member here.
The one from the antique shop seems to be in good condition, no dings, or rust spots. It seemed fairly sharp, but not SR.
I hope this helps to clear the confusion about my reluctance to spend extra money.
Just to clarify, I was not asking for a hand out, just suggestions, leaving it open for people to make offers, one of which I have already had, you guys all know Utopian's standard offer, which I do appreciate.

if the razor is already honed well you can maintain it sharp indefinitely with just a strop or failing that a newspaper or chromium oxide.
the caveat is that you have to know what you're doing (both shaving and stropping), but a hone doesn't change that at all.

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Originally Posted by gugi

if the razor is already honed well you can maintain it sharp indefinitely with just a strop or failing that a newspaper or chromium oxide.
the caveat is that you have to know what you're doing (both shaving and stropping), but a hone doesn't change that at all.

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I'm a visual learner, and I have watched several videos on how to properly strop a razor. I have also read through the guide in the wiki. At this point, I have all of the theoretical knowledge I can get, it is time to make it practical.

I do, honestly, appreciate all of your advice, and will use it. Thanks again.

As someone who is very new to this myself, i wanted to stress the importance to you of actually KNOWING what SR is. When i first started over a month ago, i got a a blade from sham (Hi_BUD) that came very very sharp. But before that i picked up a Krieger from the local flea market to practice stropping with. The Krieger seemed very sharp to me, and like it could provide a decent shave...UNTIL i got shams blade in the mail. The Krieger was sharp...but a different "kind" of sharp.

Dont get in too far over your head, use a cheap strop and a barbers hone to keep your razor in good condition. Save up and buy a decent setup for honing. Itll pay off in the long run

No. Gugi's post was meant for this thread. Double Arrows are notorious for having issues such as what he mentioned. I think he just misunderstood and thought you got the DA for $15. It would be best for you to send the razor out to get honed. Like someone mentioned earlier, Utopian was offering one free honing per person and the feedback has been good from what I've read. Shoot him a pm and see if he's still doing that. As far as the antique store razor, I say go for it. Almost all vintage blades are worth the antique store prices. Just make sure you aren't getting a damaged blade.

Good luck in finding someone to hone your razor for you.

David

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Originally Posted by shorynot

The Krieger was sharp...but a different "kind" of sharp.

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yes, the infamous letter-oppener kind :)!

+1 on what alot of other said. Get it honed by a honemeister. The term razor sharp is there for a reason. Save up other money to buy a nice set or see what the other ladies and gents on the forum are willing to part with. There's a nice setup of Nortons if you visit Water Stone Kit. I'm about ready to get a set of these, only a few more $'s.

While I don't want to dig my grave deeper, if you do want a Norton set, here is the best deal around. I believe gssixgun recommends it frequently. Amazon.com: Norton Waterstone Starter Kit: 220/1000 grit stone, 4000/8000 grit stone, SiC flattening stone: Home Improvement

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Originally Posted by gugi

yes, the infamous letter-oppener kind :)!

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Yes!!! That kind!

Hey, Gents.

First, thanks again for the advice.

Second, I know I can get CrOx for a very good price here, but I was also wondering what kind of stores would sell it. I am going to go buy that razor from the antique shop and just see what condition it is really in. If CrOx won't fix it, I'll find the money to send it to a honemeister. But I would like to be able to see what I can do with it first. Not to mention, it's good to have something to practice stropping with, so I don't screw up my SR DA when it gets here. ;)

Thanks again.

I think it is the general opinion that unless it is in surprisingly good shape even two hours on CrO will do nothing.

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Originally Posted by khaos

I think it is the general opinion that unless it is in surprisingly good shape even two hours on CrO will do nothing.

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When I get it home, I'll take some pics and post them.

But that still didn't answer my question. :)

Here are the pics gents. The info I could find, suggests it was made sometime between, either, 1866 or 1888 to 1921. The "00" tends to make me think it was made in 1900. Any other ideas?
http://rcardon.whsites.net/pictures/PICT0001.JPG
http://rcardon.whsites.net/pictures/PICT0002.JPG
http://rcardon.whsites.net/pictures/PICT0003.JPG
http://rcardon.whsites.net/pictures/PICT0004.JPG
http://rcardon.whsites.net/pictures/PICT0005.JPG
http://rcardon.whsites.net/pictures/PICT0006.JPG
http://rcardon.whsites.net/pictures/PICT0007.JPG

Looks like that has been used quite a bit. I think the 00 was a model number. Could be wrong, but its in the place that they put their other model numbers (60 comes to mind most readily- the Carbo-Magnetic model). Also correct me if I'm wrong but normally they are stamped XX, not just X, but the tang is so worn that it may have been.

yes, this razor's been honed to death and i'd only consider fixing it if it has a sentimental value.

i'm not sure if honemeisters would consider it honing territory, but in my view it's a serious restoration project and needs 1000 grit hone or lower.

crafts stores may have chromium oxide, it's green paint, the main issue is how fine the chromium oxide particles are.

For a larger view of the pictures, you can go to:

Index of /pictures

The camera I was taking the pictures with, apparently, isn't very good. The pictures looked very sharp in the LCD viewer, but turned out very blurry. I may have to take some more and see if I can't get any better ones to post in my gallery.

The tang is stamped with an "XX" beneath the company logo. I also noticed that the blade seemed to have been very well used. It has no sentimental value, other than I spent $15 on it that could have gone elsewhere.:boohoo:

I don't have any qualms a bout starting a restoration project. I will look in the wiki for "how to's" on getting that started. Though if anyone has any tips, I would be grateful.

On the plus side, I don't think it will take much to get it looking nice, getting it SR might be another issue. I'll just deal with them one at a time. :)

By the way, I got the DA yesterday! I was so stoked!! :D

I didn't have a strop, but I had an old pair of denim shorts that I haven't worn in a while, so I pulled them out and cut a 2" wide piece, as long as the shorts to use as my "strop", for now. I'll probably cut a similar piece to paste and mount them both to something, so they stay taught.

Then, while allowing my pre-shave oil to soak, I put one end of the denim "strop" under my foot, it seemed like the best place at the time, and pulled the other end tight, and commenced stropping the razor.

I can see you all cringing, waiting for me to say I dinged the blade on the floor, or cut myself, but I didn't, everything went well, though I can tell I need a lot more practice at stropping.

The shave started out good, nice and smooth, sounding much better than my shavette, but by the end, it was not performing very well, so I had to do a touch up pass with my shavette that I had just stuck a new blade in. Though I must say, I only had 4 weepers, none of which I felt, and only one nick, but that was on a zit, so I don't know if it counts as a nick or not. ;) I am, definitely hooked on traditional razors from here on out.

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Originally Posted by gugi

... i'm not sure if honemeisters would consider it honing territory, but in my view it's a serious restoration project and needs 1000 grit hone or lower.

crafts stores may have chromium oxide, it's green paint, the main issue is how fine the chromium oxide particles are.

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Thanks for the advice, I will take it in consideration. Also, thanks for answering my question. Knowing that craft stores might have it, I wonder if my mother-in-law might have some, she's big into scrap booking, and use to do tole painting and ceramic dolls, so I bet she will. I'll have to ask. ;)

It comes in different particle sizes (like sandpaper) and you have to get the "right" kind, as in a really small particle (.5 micron seems to be preferred/standard). I would suggest NOT using paint, unless you can get the Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) on it (which will be hard to find/get) and it explicitly states on the MSDS what the mean and standard deviation for particle size are (very very unlikely- it's an MSDS for paint not abrasive). If you don't and it's, say, 5 micron (ten times bigger) you'll probably stuff up a SR edge. Also, even if it is around .5 micron, that's microscopic! Odds are the paint company doesn't care what size their particles are, let alone having a good tolerance.

I think Gugi will agree with me on this one- don't try to sharpen with anything, even CrO, 'til you have quite a few shaves under your belt (so you know what sharp is). If at some point you still want CrO, the far and away best option is to talk to ChrisL who will sell you a tiny packet of it (tiny as in not a 4 oz tub, it'll still be more than you'll ever need) for a very nice price. The stuff he sells is what most people use so its tried and tested, and comes in "single serving" size.

I personally used my levi's as a strop for a while, but they do not work as well as leather- the edge slowly dulls over time. Not exactly sure why (probably not as smooth as leather) but it does. So the denim is only a quick fix. You'll need a leather strop eventually.

I recommend the only thing you do with the Griffon is maybe try and physically restore it, but my opinion and feeling is to agree with Gugi in that it really needs a honemeister. Thats it for now. Disclaimer: if what I have said is completely wrong, and a more senior member (Mentor, Mod, Supermod, etc) says something else, disregard what I said.

it doesn't really need much sanding, but the frown on the edge and the excessive hone wear are problematic.

denim would be the canvas component of stropping, you still want to use leather after that.

do some searches through the old threads, i think there was somebody using chromium oxide from the crafts stores. i still think it's best to just get the good stuff which has been sorted (it's a labourous process so it's generally done when there's a need only), although you really should hold off on using it on edges for at least a month or two.
but if you want to play with chromium oxide try it as a polishing of the blade. a 0.5u should get you mirror.

i think randy tuttle and spazola made some chromium oxide hones recently.

In the classifieds Veedub is selling prepasted hones I believe, but they're only 3x8. Worth a mention.