Greetings from the UK

[CyberPaddy66]

Thought I would just say hello from my home in the UK, My name is Patrick and I live with my partner Nicola in a rented house in Cornwall which we moved into this January (during the worst weather Cornwall has seen for about 20 years!).

When I was at university about 10 years ago (I was a mature student) my partner at the time was a cute French girl named Nathalie, it was she who bought me my straight razor as a birthday present. I tried using it for a few months and even managed a half decent shave but I did not know anything about straight razor shaving apart from what I had seen on the old cowboy films

Anyway enough about me it's time I told you about my razor

I am the proud owner of a Horstator Solinger (I guess you would call it a sofisticated) Wertarbeit 1827, I have absolutely no idea where Nathalie bought the razor or how much she paid for it but I personally believe it's priceless



I need to give it a good clean as there are some marks appearing at the hinge where I stupidly put it away wet and forgot about it for a year

I hope it stands up to your expectations and I look forward to learning the correct way to hone, strop and shave with it soon oh and the small travel strop seen in the picture used to be Nathalie's grandfathers which I rescued from their home in France... thinking back now I wish I'd also rescued his straight razor but it looked like a rusty nail and I didn't think about restoring it

[technika1]

Hello from a fellow brit, lovely looking razor but as i am new myself have not at all familiar with your, or for any matter any razor, hope you have some fun on here and learn loads.

[F16WarBird]

Ack! There goes the neighborhood!

Welcome to the forums, Paddy!

[ianp1966]

Nice looker ! welcome

ian

[ben.mid]

Lovely blade. Welcome along. There are quite a few of us on this side of the Atlantic, not that it seems to make the slightest difference!

Be very careful with the gold wash. It'll practically wipe off with polish.

Also, get it honed by someone who knows what they're doing before you use it again. It can make the difference between sticking with it & giving up.

[Stubear]

Welcome from a fellow Brit!

Do check out the Wiki here as it is full of useful information. Especially take a look at the FAQ and beginners guide.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[CyberPaddy66]

Be very careful with the gold wash. It'll practically wipe off with polish.

Also, get it honed by someone who knows what they're doing before you use it again. It can make the difference between sticking with it & giving up.

Good tip about the gold bit, never really thought about it before, if my knife sharpening stone is fine enough I'm going to have a go at honing it myself as I can't afford to send it off for someone else to do it. I watched the you tube clips about honing and it looks easy enough, just like sharpening a normal knife only more gentle

You have not said what other kit you have - i assume you have a working strop (as you shaved with it before,) or is that antique strop in the photo usable?

Apart from that old stick strop (the side showing is in good condition compared to the other side!) I have a badger hair brush that my dad used to use (he gave it to me when I was 18) and I have used it many times with my old WW1 Safety Razor (I'll post a pic if you want me to).

As I'm a mediaevalist and re-enactor who's always been on a budget I tend to make a lot of my own stuff and with that in mind I'm going to put together a proper hanging strop from some of the boot leather I have lying about. If your lucky I'll post a 'look what I made' thread about that as well.

Do check out the Wiki here as it is full of useful information. Especially take a look at the FAQ and beginners guide.

1st thing I did before signing up when F16WarBird told me about this place (he and my Fiancée are good friends) was to read as much of the Wiki as I could, I'll re-read it a few times more whilst I'm learning a bit more about what I should be doing with my razor.

Fingers Crossed.

[CyberPaddy66]

my old WW1 Safety Razor (I'll post a pic if you want me to).

What the heck I'll do it anyway








And here's a pic of both sides of the strop I have, as you can see the other side is probably well knackered but I have used the better side a few times... guess I need a new one

[CyberPaddy66]

How about asking your introducer about straight shaving? He might have a whole set of rocks, strops, the shebang. He could show you the ropes (stropping, shaving, lathering, honing) in a jiffy. Beats learning off internets. Or maybe you're close to some other member?

I'm afraid learning to hone on a single unknown quality stone right off the bat sounds like extremely steep learning curve. If you can't get your introducer to hone it, sending it off really is your best bet. Steve of razorsharpening.co.uk and Neil of strop-shop.co.uk are both fine honers.

Welcome btw

I would if we wasn't normally in the USA but he's also on duty in a very sandy place right now so it's doubly impossible

Not the same at all, & the hones that seem fine grit for a knife tend to be about where we start on a razor. Watch the videos in the wiki if you do intend to try it yourself.

If you really won't send it out to a honemiester, then I'll do it, if you wanted to send it to me. I don't claim to be a pro, but i do hone my own. PM me if you're interested. I can't bear the thought of you wrecking it!

Thanks for the offer and the heads up about the grit grades, I'll have a look and see if I can't pick up a real honing block somewhere cheap'ish as I really want to have a go myself... I might even pick up a cheap razor to practice with too but if all else fails I'll let you know.

[noggs247]

Hi Cyberpaddy66,
That safety razor is ACE!!-i love the case & the brush too.
There's something great about really old kit thats special.
I like the strop as an antique but you may be able to get it refurbished.Neil miller of Strop-shop.co.uk would probably be able to quote you a price as he is a member of SRP.
Thanks for posting the very interesting pics!
You are lucky to own such historic and interesting items.
Smooth shaving,
Regards
Noggs