New Kriegar Blade and sharpening

So I just got a Kriegar straight edge for christmas along with leather strop. I found out right away that I needed to give the blade a good sharpening. I bought a Norton 4k/8k waterstone, and a 250/1k waterstone. I have been using an X pattern on the 1k stone for quite a while now and it just doesn't seem to be getting any sharper. So here is my question....How long should it take to sharpen an unsharpened straight edge razor out of the box? More specifically if it's a Kriegar blade how long? What am I doing wrong?

Railman

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by railman

So More specifically if it's a Kriegar blade how long? What am I doing wrong?

Railman

---

Well, it's a Kriegar...
Cheap Pakistani steel (read: retrofitted Soviet tank)

As far as I know that razor will never, ever sharpen properly.

SO with the bad news out of the way...

You CAN find a darn good shave-ready razor in the classifieds here for a very affordable price. On top of that, all of us here at SRP are ready to answer any questions and help you out!

First welcome to SRP you came to the right place. You could be doing nothing wrong, unfortunatly the Kriegar str8 is a POS but will probably make a decent letter opener. I recommend getting a decent blade from the classifieds or a reputible dealer. I am sorry your first razor isn't up to par.

I don't own one, but if you hang out here for any length of time, you will hear over and over that those Kriegars are pure junk. Don't risk your skin or waste your time with a crappy razor -- there's beautiful ones for sale every day, here and elsewhere, for $50, $40 and even $30. Welcome to SR shaving, and come back here when you can!

At first Welcome SRP.
As early mentioned it is not for shaving. you can use it for learning stropping or box opener. please visit wiki and see which title razor's to avoid (similar to it). there is list of them.
gl

Here is a link to the wiki listing brands to avoid.

Also on the wiki you will find the Straight Razor Database that has a ton of photos of razors that come from reputable makers.


And here is the link to the classifieds, look for one that matches your price range and make sure it says shave ready in the description

This should help guide your search for a good blade.
Cheers and welcome to SRP

Dave

Thanks Guys, I appreciate the info. It's hard because it was a gift from my father in law and I am sure he had good intentions. I will look on the wiki and find a more usable blade.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by railman

Thanks Guys, I appreciate the info. It's hard because it was a gift from my father in law and I am sure he had good intentions. I will look on the wiki and find a more usable blade.

---

Think of it this way then... he gave you the excuse to get into a very satisfying hobby and to learn a lot of history and new skills. There is no shame in getting a gift, or in giving one in good faith.

Good luck on your search, we are here to help

Dave

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by railman

Thanks Guys, I appreciate the info. It's hard because it was a gift from my father in law and I am sure he had good intentions. I will look on the wiki and find a more usable blade.

---

Yeah, that's always tough. A lot of bad blades are given as gifts by wives, friends, etc... but it makes sense. If you don't use a tool enough to be familiar with it, you don't know how to recognise a good one. I couldn't pick out a set of, say, good calipers from bad. But because I use them for work, I could tell you which set of chisels to buy blindfolded based on the feel of the steel.

So yeah, a lot of us personally bought poor quality razors... all part of the learning process. Luckily shaving razors can be found for a good price. It wasn't pretty, but my first razor was a beat up old Wostenholm that I got shave-ready for $20.50... so they're out there. :D

If you guys had to suggest a good blade for a new guy between $50-$100 what would it be?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by railman

If you guys had to suggest a good blade for a new guy between $50-$100 what would it be?

---

Here you go, right at the midpoint :)

Boker Red Injun 101 - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

Also, I would recommend to stay off the honing (sharpening) first. Get something pre-honed and experience that, then touch up when necessary, but be prepared to send it to someone to get it honed anyway. It's not something you'll do right immediately, although it's no rocket science either.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by railman

If you guys had to suggest a good blade for a new guy between $50-$100 what would it be?

---

Look in the Classifieds for one of the razors on this list:
Good Straight Razor Brands - Straight Razor Place Wiki

+1 on both Del1r1um and Hillie's posts.

I got 2 Dovo's from SRD and really enjoy shaving with both. I got the BL and the Bismark. Both were shave ready which is a must so buy from a know supplier.

I've looked at some of the razors for sale in the classifieds and there are some really nice ones there, and most would be shave ready from what I see.

If you find a razor you like, search the forums for comments people have left on razors or honing services they got from the vendor.

There are also links to suppliers other than SRD on the site, have a look at them as well. I'm sure you'll see something that catches your eye.

But be warned, RAD will happen once you started looking to buy a new razor.

Stuart.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by railman

Thanks Guys, I appreciate the info. It's hard because it was a gift from my father in law and I am sure he had good intentions. I will look on the wiki and find a more usable blade.

---

For Christmas '08 my wife got me a MasterUSA razor, which is also on the do not buy list and I'm guessing quite similar to your Kriegar. Then I registered here and did some reading and got an inexpensive vintage razor, which I still have, from the SRP classifieds.

Like Del1r1um said, think of it as a step in the right direction. I don't know how much Kriegers run but my wife paid like $10 for the razor I got; registering on SRP because of that lousy razor is priceless, though.

And at the least you can use that razor to practice technique without fear of cutting yourself! :)

Thank you for posting this thread. I recently received a Kriegar as well, and finding this site saved me a lot of time and heartache... and probably some skin as well.