I'm new to here, and to straight razors in general. I do a lot of wood work and I make and collect knives, so I'm not completely new to sharp things. Here's a link to some photos of my work: Flickr: dobsoncwm's Photostream.
About a week ago, I picked up an old Genco Model B2 at an antique store. It had some problems. The blade was dull, rusted, and scratched, and the handle was warped and cracked. I re-finished the blade and made a temporary handle form desert ironwood and ebony. I'll be making a nicer handle when my adjustable pivot and washers come in. I honed it on a progression of stones through to a Spyderco UF ceramic and stropped it on leather loaded with cerium oxide. The same thing I do with my knives. I'm planning on loading a strop up with some 100k diamond soon.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3505/...f6898e8b_o.jpg
Shaving with it has been a good experience. The first couple of shaves were a bit rough, but it's getting much better. At the moment I'm just using regular shave gel, as I don't have anything specific to straight razors.
Any tips and suggestions would be appreciated. I plan on making my own razor soon. I have the steel profiled, (CPM154), and I'll be putting the grinds in as soon as my small contact wheel is up and running.
Phillip Dobson