Thread: Keeping the razor sharp....

Hanging untreated leather strop + paddle with crox, or 0.5 diamond spray, or Dovo black, or any barber hone, any 12k or higher finishing hone. With the pastes, you can maintain the edge for abou 6-18 months, dependng on use and beard, with the stones, if you don't damage the edge, than indefinitely.

Razorback;
Sorry about being so abrupt in an earlier post, If you wish I can send you Lynn's DVD on str8 razors. I have watched it several times and it should help you. Just PM your address and I will send to you no charge anywhere.
Have a nice day.
MIke

Originally Posted by MODINE

Razorback;
Sorry about being so abrupt in an earlier post, If you wish I can send you Lynn's DVD on str8 razors. I have watched it several times and it should help you. Just PM your address and I will send to you no charge anywhere.
Have a nice day.
MIke

MODINE,

NO offense taken . NO offense given either.
THIS is what i was talking about: trying to throw in some humor, and giving wrong impressions at the same time......... I REALLY have to work on that.
The dvd you're referring to, is what can be seen on the MAIN page of SRP?? And this is just a part of it??
If so, i would like to have a copy (will be shooting a PM your way soon).
Will also pay for shipment (wouldn't want to be known as being a "cheapskate")
Thanks for the offering; much appreciated!!

Cheers,

RazorBack

Lynn's DVD is a wealth on str8 razor info. The main thing is not wasting money on stuff you don't need starting out. Don't worry about cost, I'll throw in some sample shave creams, Alraz the Bomb, some La Toya etc.. We are one big happy, slightly dysfunctional group here on SRP.

Originally Posted by MODINE

We are one big happy, slightly dysfunctional group here on SRP.

Boy, is that an understatement!

Originally Posted by MODINE

Lynn's DVD is a wealth on str8 razor info. The main thing is not wasting money on stuff you don't need starting out. Don't worry about cost, I'll throw in some sample shave creams, Alraz the Bomb, some La Toya etc.. We are one big happy, slightly dysfunctional group here on SRP.

Wait...you mean a bunch of grown men, using thousands of dollars worth of computing gear, learning how to use hundreds of dollars worth of sharp gear, leather, and stones, plus other equipment, spending dozens of hours a week on an online board…to learn how to SHAVE…

…that's dysfunctional?

Wait....my wife's coming into the room...see you later!

Seriously…I made a huge mistake starting with straights.

After a bad start, I over-compensated and got it ALL: couple new and newly honed straights, Norton 220/1000, 4000/8000, strop, the works.

Promptly ruined the nice edge that that honer had put on my new razor.

Had to back up. Right now, the only thing that matters is a shave ready razor, the right brush and soap/cream, the right after-shave (if needed), and modest maintenance (starter strop).

I also suggest you master three basic skills:

-Producing a really good lather with your favorite soap and brush
-Learning to strop very lightly, with almost no pressure on the leather at all, with the strop either flat on a table or pulled tight (if hanging)
-Learning to stroke the razor with almost no pressure on your face, keeping the correct angle, and letting the razor do the work.

These have taken me about 3 months to begin to be good at, but I'm stupider than most. Still, you have to be patient here. Your next skill likely will be the use of a barber hone or a pasted paddle to touch up a blade that isn't as keen as it used to be.

From there, really you could go the rest of your life just enjoying great shaves. Periodically, you send your razors to someone for pro honing, but otherwise, shave, strop, sometimes a few strokes on the barber hone.

The zen of this is: Pressure hurts, angle helps. Applies to shaving, stropping, honing, and even building lather.

++1 on the previous posts. Stropping is the key to maintaining razor sharpness.

If you want to maintain the sharpness of your blade, I would opt for a CrOx or diamond spray treated secondary strop that can be used to strop your razor every 4-6 months. I got an SRD modular paddle strop for this specific purpose. I strop my razor on the diamond sprayed felt 15-20 strokes and 15-20 on the rough leather. Then I strop my razor 50 strokes on the linen and 55 strokes on the leather of my daily strop.

BTW...Lynn's dvd is an often overlooked, yet important, teaching tool for somebody new to straight razor shaving.

Gentlemen,
This thread has probably been the best one I have read so far. We joke about OCD but the truth is, as a new guy, I for one get very excited and eager to learn as much as I can. However, all of this information can get overwhelming. This ends in confusion with a head full of racing images, checklists, and d$%n smiley faces in assorted animation! It was nice to read as you broke it down for us. Razorback, great question. To all, I am glad to have found this group of wonderful anachronists.