Thread: I'm New and I have some Razor Questions

Hi everyone, my name is Justin. I'm 29 years old writer who lives in Northern Ky with my special lady friend of 14 yrs and my little bichon puppy Luci.

I recently got into straight razors by accident. I was driving around town trying to find a safety razor because I had a rush of memories of my grandfather using one with a brush and mug when I was a kid, he would often lather up my face as he did his and let me use a bic razor with the safety cap still on it to pretend shave. I was feeling nostalgic for those times, so I ran out to buy all the stuff I would need.

After a long day of coming up empty handed, a tired, bedraggled version of myself wound up at some beauty shop in the next town over. They didn't have any safety razors but they did have a cheap straight razor with replaceable blades so I got that instead and declared defeat. After using that fake straight for about a month I decided I liked it enough to buy a real straight razor.

At one point, during my adventure, I had mentioned to my dad that I was looking for a straight razor and today, when I went to see him for fathers day, he surprised me and gave me a box of 6 antique straight razors, all in varying degrees of condition, that he'd picked up on the cheap at a local swapmeet.

I have a good brush, soap, and a bowl for the soap. Just so you know where I'm starting at.

Now for the questions:

(1) Where can I find a good strop on the cheap? If you could point me to a link that would rock! Also, do I need a whetstone for honing it as well? Where is the best place to get a starter one for cheap?

(2) Should I attempt to hone these little guys myself or send them off? I'm guessing, from reading other posts on this board, you're going to say send them off. That brings me to questions 3 and 4.

(3) Allow me to list the three that are in the best shape. I'm wondering if any of them are worth sending off to have cleaned and honed, and if so, which one should I send first if I don't have the cash to send all three?

(a) The First one is in pretty good condition it seems and says "Hamburg Ground" on the Blade, on one side of the shank it says "WH Morely and Sons" and under that it says "Clover Brand" and has a little Clover symbol. On the reverse side of the shank it just says "Germany".

(b) The next one is in a cool green box that says "Union Cutlery Co. Inc. Olean, Ny 9/16 Spike". This one is in the best condition of the three and I really like the Spike Logo on the shank. On the other side of the shank it just says "Union Cutlery Co. Olean Ny". On one side of the scales it says "Spike" really big and has a spike symbol. Under that it says "REG. US PA OFF." On the other side of the scales it says "National Union Bar. Sup. Co., Cincinnati, Ohio." Just based on looks, this is my favorite.

(c) The last one is in OK condition, although the scales are pretty dinged up. What I notice about this one is that the tang seemed to extend out further than the rest. Written on the shank, it says "Waterville Cutlery Co." and under that it says "Waterville.Conn." I couldn't find any other details on it.

So those are the three that look the most promising. Are any of these worth fixing up or should I just buy a new one?

(4) If you think I should send one of these off, where would you recomend I send it?

(5) If none of these are worth it, what do you recomend for my first razor and where is the best place to get it?

Thanks so much for taking the time to help out someone who is very interested in the hobby and craft of straight razor shaving, but feels confused and lost in the details.

necrozen,

You have some well-known vintage razors there, in varying conditions.

If you are new to straight razor shaving, imho I would send the razors to somebody listed in the SRP Classifieds who offers honing as a service. They may also be able to perform some restoration work on your razors that will make them look nice as well.

PM me, I can give you the email of a person who lives close to you who has honed and restored razors for me as well.

Take care--and smooth shaving.

At first Welcome to SRP.
I would say will better send at least 1 of your razor honed by pro's . then you can see how straight razor suppose to shave.
You can choose anyone you like from our classified members services section.
good luck and have fun.
Remember Patience is the most important factor in this hobby.

Welcome I agree they are all good razors and yes they should all be hone professionally. As for the strop a cheap would be a filly or illinois, if you are handy you could also make your own. I might also recommend getting a round point first for learning purposes, although many, my self included, have learned on a spike/square point it can be more difficult and possibly turn you off of str8 shaving.
Please read there is a lot of info here, I know, but read old posts current posts and the wiki a lot it is good information.

Again, yes send them to some one in the classified section to hone them. You will have enough to learn just using them to shave with let alone learning to hone them. I would suggest picking the overall best one of the bunch and sending it. Do not get a strop off ebay as most of them are cheap junk. I understand what it is to have no money and try to get set up in something. Dont go for the cheapest thing as its inferior quality may discourage you from straight razor shaving and at the same time dont go for the most expensive either because you may end up not liking straights. Your first strop will get nicked all up and you dont want to ruin an expensive strop.

Good luck and dont ever be afraid to ask questions. All the people that i have met on here are willing to help.

So it looks like I will be sending one (or all) of these guys off soon! I'm happy to know that they are all razors that can actually hold an edge and not some cheap crazy knockoff. Looks like my dad got pretty lucky, since he got the whole lot of six for like $30!

So the hunt is on for a honester! I've PM'd Jhenry for the email of the honester he knows who is located near me, but I am open to all suggestions so that I can weigh my options.

I looked at both strops that red96ta mentioned and I think I will start with the philly. It fits my current budget better and I have no problem upgrading to a nicer one once I get the hang of this and decide it is definitely for me.

Once again, thanks to everyone for their replies and advice! Can't wait to get the ball rolling on this!

Originally Posted by necrozen

So it looks like I will be sending one (or all) of these guys off soon! I'm happy to know that they are all razors that can actually hold an edge and not some cheap crazy knockoff. Looks like my dad got pretty lucky, since he got the whole lot of six for like $30!

So the hunt is on for a honester! I've PM'd Jhenry for the email of the honester he knows who is located near me, but I am open to all suggestions so that I can weigh my options.

I looked at both strops that red96ta mentioned and I think I will start with the philly. It fits my current budget better and I have no problem upgrading to a nicer one once I get the hang of this and decide it is definitely for me.

Once again, thanks to everyone for their replies and advice! Can't wait to get the ball rolling on this!

+1 on the previous advice...You can't go wrong with a filly as a good starter strop. Once you get into the hang of things and become more proficient at stropping, you can upgrade to an SRD or some other brand of strop.

My only recommendation is to try and get a strop that is 2.5" to 3" wide. For me, 3" is preferred. Doing so will make it easier for you to become proficient at stropping quicker imho.

Take care--and smooth shaving.

I guess send the spike first since it doesn't look in need of any work other than honing.
I think getting a strop with a fabric component is much better than just leather, as regular stropping on it translates to significantly longer edge life. Of course you can use a pair of jeans to do that too, but going ghetto without absolutely necessary usually has the negative effect of taking shortcuts and ultimately not getting the desired results.

And since you have had that special lady friend of yours for half of your life, there's probably the option of stropping the razor on her tighs instead of leather

Welcome to SRP. Nice razors you've got there and good advice. Read my sig line below to avoid nicks and cuts.

Originally Posted by gugi

And since you have had that special lady friend of yours for half of your life, there's probably the option of stropping the razor on her tighs instead of leather

Some very god advice! Maybe I could have her wear a pair of expensive pantyhose...