Assistance Please (honing question)

No I'm not honing, just barely got my razor this week. I've been patient, doing as I'm told. Started just going down my cheek the first few days. Trying to slowly figure out more of how the blade feels. So tonight I'm trying again and I'm very focused, I lift the blade from the sink and for a second I think I barely caught the blade on the faucet (just barely).

So I dry the blade and look, but theres a bit of a glare and I can't realy tell. Well I'm done with the straight razor anyways so I run it up and down the strop a couple times as I do before I oil and put it away. I look at the blade and theres a tiny spec of black on the edge.

Sure enough I nicked the blade. It's going to need to be rehoned and I'm a little ****ed off about it. there's also a couple hairline scratches up and down my strop (not very deep, just a faint scratch when you hold it in the light).

So two questions...

I'm assuming SRD's free sharpening service that I get for purchasing the razor from them does not cover reclaiming an edge. So who do I talk to about repairs.

second, did I just ruin my strop with faint scratches or can that be saved as well.

To be honest I'm having all sorts of problems, can't even seem to figure out a consistent lather that doesn't melt the second I put it on my face. I would have thought the soap and water part would be a bit easier.

since the chip seems very small i would assume it's not going to be a problem, i'll check with SRD.

you didn't ruin your strop.

yeah soap and water is rather simple, but just takes some practice. i'd suggest take half an hour to an hour and keep making lather over and over, start with more soap and less water than you think you need and keep adding water very little by very little. it's easy to add water, it's hard to take it out. you'll get the hang of it in no time.

Not much to add to what Gugi said, but making good lather is just like getting to Carnegie Hall...take the E train to Columbus circle and walk to....

I mean, Practice Practice Practice!!!!

They'll probably fix that for you. They take one return trip. I'll be glad to hone it for you if you need a third trip. Otherwise, we seem to have a member every six months that learns the "faucet tip"

Lather is just a proportional thing. Soap vs water. There are a few tutorials floating around.

[QUOTE=AFDavis11;438137]we seem to have a member every six months that learns the "faucet tip"QUOTE]

If there's a lesson to be learned the hard way, I'll usually be the one to find it.


As for the the lather, I have seen all the tutorials I can find and I have practiced quite a few times. The lather is getting better but I feel like I'm missing something. I'm using the Van Der Hagen set up to learn with, I know it is not top of the line but others here seem to be able to get it to work so I doubt it is an issue with equipment.

Seems like when I get a lather going it is almost there, it starts to have some body to it but it is full of really tiny bubbles and if I put my ear close to the lather bowl, it sounds like a soda, you can hear the bubbles fizzing out. If I add more soap it gets pasty like and if I add water it gets runny.

Ouch!!! The learning process sucks, doesn't it? Don't think you are the only one around here that this has happened to. You'll get through it though.

About the lather thing. One thing that I found out about my lather is that when it is made properly, when I put the blade under the faucet water to rinse it off, it just washes off completely. If the lather is to dry, some of it stays on the blade, and I just have to add a little water to the tips of the brush and remix until it washes off. You might try this by mixing your lather a little dryer and find out when it is wet enough by using this method.

Good luck, and stay with it.

Ray

Once early on, I got a great looking Challenge Razor with a beautiful "Conqueror" in gold wash on the blade and I was buffing the blade and cut myself , dropping the blade in the sink. I bled like stink on Limburger and chipped/ruined the blade (still hacks me off). This is to say we all have to learn just how delicate those edges are. Glad it's repairable.