Thread: Just getting started

These were 4 out of about 30 pics I tried taking with the wife's camera. it's a great camera but the lighting was bad and the flash kept washing everything out. I'll probably get help in salvaging the blade, I have too many other unfinished projects to finish before I try to get around to using this one. Also, when I bought my shavette, I didn't need to buy a strop or any other razor maintenance materials since the blades are disposable. I want to be able to shave exclusively with a straight and my big test will be when I go out to sea on my ship and attempt to shave a moving object on a moving object. After I find out how that goes, I'll be looking to invest in the rest of what I need.

Originally Posted by Brennan

...test will be when I go out to sea on my ship and attempt to shave a moving object on a moving object.

I'm new to these forums and haven't yet started shaving with my blade - still awaiting delivery, but I couldn't resit the jibe: there's a reason old sailors usually have beards

I dont' see anything that looks terrible on that blade from the pics you posted. If you go the the Aution/Ebay section there is some good advice on what to look for on a blade when you are shopping, the same applies when seeing one in person. Look for rust/pitting on the edge itself. Look for warped/cracked scales (handles), rot on the scales, usually shows up as pitting on the blade, and uneven hone wear. I see none of these...from your pics.

What does the tang say on both sides, BTW?

Goog

The tang says nothing special, just "full concave" I was looking on the wiki about razors and on one of the charts it looks like a cross section of the blade would be XIII or XIV. it's very flexible and I'm almost afraid to shave with it. I'm sure that it will be a thrill to shave with once some work is done to it and will produce closer shaves than my shavette does now.

as far as the blade goes looks-wise, I think it's in pretty great condition. just a little tarnish along the blade and tang. some rust around the pivot point. looks to be little decay in the scales (I think they may be bone...maybe horn...not familiar with what they look like.) the edge is at least sharp enough to cut through a piece of paper with little effort. Maybe I'm just being fussy and seeing all these brand new blades looking like they've been dipped in chrome.

There's seems to be some uneven honewear and looks like somebody took sandpaper to it to make it look shinier. There might also be some frown on that as well. I hope you get a good blade out of it.

Using straight on a boat on the ocean is not without its dangers, so I would advice against it. You're surprisingly far away from help if anything serious happens.
You might want to make clear to yourself what are you proving, why and to whom. If you're adamant to do it on your own risk, at least get very proficient before trying (say, a year of experience).

Scales are ivory-imitation celluloid.

Cutting paper is different that cutting hairs, and since paper is abrasive it can damage the edge. Don't use that test on truly shaveready razors. Your best bet in getting that to shave is to send it off to a professional razor honer (not a knife shop, whatever they say). Read about shavereadiness from the beginner's guide and the ever-useful FAQ http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...eginners_Guide

Be safe

Originally Posted by ursus

There's seems to be some uneven honewear and looks like somebody took sandpaper to it to make it look shinier. There might also be some frown on that as well. I hope you get a good blade out of it.

Using straight on a boat on the ocean is not without its dangers, so I would advice against it. You're surprisingly far away from help if anything serious happens.
You might want to make clear to yourself what are you proving, why and to whom. If you're adamant to do it on your own risk, at least get very proficient before trying (say, a year of experience).

Scales are ivory-imitation celluloid.

Cutting paper is different that cutting hairs, and since paper is abrasive it can damage the edge. Don't use that test on truly shaveready razors. Your best bet in getting that to shave is to send it off to a professional razor honer (not a knife shop, whatever they say). Read about shavereadiness from the beginner's guide and the ever-useful FAQ Straight Razor Place Wiki:Books/Beginners Guide - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Be safe

Since reading this, I've looked over my razor to get a better idea of what you are talking about and looked through the wiki to learn more. I haven't, however, been able to quite figure out what frown and smile are. I would assume that frown, when looking at the front of the razor would be a concave curve along the edge relative to the spine? and smile would be the opposite?

I'm well aware of the dangers of shaving on a boat...I suppose I exaggerated a little bit. The ship is an aircraft carrier and is pretty much stable in the water. Medical care is less that 1000 feet away at any given time. These factors embolden me to practice the art of the str8 while out on deployment. This way, I don't have to go back to my crappy electric.

That's pretty much what a frown is, concave edge profile. When compared to a straightedge, the toe and the heel (ends of the razors) will come to contact with the straightedge, but the middle won't. With smile, only the middle will touch the straightedge. It would be best not to do this with a shave-ready razor either. Or extremely carefully. After a while, you can estimate it by eye.

Your blade looks like it might have the tiniest amount of frown, or none at all. A proficient honer should be able to correct that for you in any case.

Here's one smiley My First Straight....a Bengall. - Straight Razor Place Forums

Carrier is quite different what I had imagined. You can decide if you can do it. DEs are be another option.