touching up my razor....

hello everyone!

So i have been shaving now for about 1 month about 4 or 5 times a week. I got my vintage razor shave ready from hi_bud_gl. When i first got it, simply passing it through my arm hairs would make them pop off without the blade even touching the skin. Now it won't even come close to that even after stropping about 25 times on canvas and 50 on leather. I also can tell the difference on my shave, as it tugs a lot more than it used to. I don't know if this is due partially to my beard thickness, or more probably my stropping technique.... I do have a new dovo that i am sending out to get honed so i figure i would learn to hone on this razor i have now.

What would be a good starting stone to just touch my razor up on, i've read everything from 8k to 12k to a barber hone would be good but i just wanted some advice on which would be a better investment for someone running low on cash. I'm pretty sure i don't need to set a new bevel so i can leave the 1k and 5k stones for later...

what do you guys think?

Thank You for all the help and advice!

I'm not a expert but you may want to try a piece of balsa with some CrXo
paste for touch up or maybe a barber's hone.I personally use either the CROx or diamond spray .5 micron on a felt pad. The balsa strop is your least expensive. Contact Larry Andro at WhippedDog.com he got a bunch of us started he can set you up with a CrOx pasted balsa strop for a couple of bucks. I would hold off on getting into heavy duty honing until you get some more experience. I went whole hog and got a lot of stuff I didn't need. Good Luck.

i no sham does'nt use any paste on his edges. so i would say geta barbers hone, i no sham would recomend barbers hone.

gary

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Originally Posted by ShoreBird

The balsa strop is your least expensive. Contact Larry Andro at WhippedDog.com he got a bunch of us started he can set you up with a CrOx pasted balsa strop for a couple of bucks. I would hold off on getting into heavy duty honing until you get some more experience.

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+1 to what ShoreBird says here. Also, you might try increasing the number of laps when you strop. I typically do 50 webbing/100 leather before I shave, and 25 webbing/50 leather post-shave. That seems to be working for me. But I'd get the pasted balsa from Larry @ WhippedDog for sure.

If you're short on cash, a barber hone is the cheapest option. It will maintain your razor longer than your life.

Thanks for all your help!! i think i'm going to hold off on pasted strops, until i know my stropping is in better shape.

Where can i get a good barber hone?

Check the classifieds (there's one listed now). Also, Glen (GSSixGun) often has the on his site (Gem Star Customs - Welcome GemStar Customs) or Dylan (holli4pirating) also tends to have them available on his site. They can also be found on eBay (but I'd stick with a known source)...

Thanks for the suggestions!!!

Also on a side note, while im shaving i wouldn't say im shaving very slow, but once i am donw with half of my face, and move on to the other half it seems that my lather is already kinda dry and i need to re lather. It takes me about 3-4 min to do half of my face. is this normal, or am i not putting enough water in my lather, i seem to be making a good amount of lather, way more than i use to shave. I am using the Edwin Jagger Sandalwood Shaving Cream.

Any Thoughts?
Thank You

Oddly, when your lather dries quickly, it's more likely that you've got too much water in it already. You want thick lather, not soapy bubbles.

I have a barber hone and Chromium Oxide balsa--both from Larry. IMO, the pasted balsa gives a smoother edge than the hone and was worth the money.

Maybe my honing isn't up to snuff, but the paste was easy to use, and I liked the results.

I've been told that newspaper+graphite from a pencil works nicely. I haven't try it yet myself, but maybe you would like to try it?

Also, for your drying lather, don't worry about it. I have to reapply lather too.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

Oddly, when your lather dries quickly, it's more likely that you've got too much water in it already. You want thick lather, not soapy bubbles.

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My lather i believe is pretty thick.... i wait till i get peakes on my brush which i have read is a good way to tell if you are ready to go to the face.

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Originally Posted by gull

Also, for your drying lather, don't worry about it. I have to reapply lather too.

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well i guess it is what it is hahahaha

I have to reapply lather, too. It's not something I ever had to do when I shaved with a cartridge (I started wet shaving a looong time ago) but shaving with a straight still takes me 35-45 minutes. I read in one of the posts here (don't remember which thread) that a good lather should look like whipped cream (the real whipped cream, not the stuff out of a can), not like meringue. Uptopian's comment about your lather probably being too wet is getting at the same thing. Thing I can't figure out is, mine looks like whipped cream and STILL dries out!:shrug:

Several threads have cautioned against over-stropping w/ crox - said no more than 8-10 passes or the edge will be great, but only for a few shaves before breaking down. It may be that there is one approach for just coming off the stones and another for touch-up maintenance. Is there a rule of thumb here for using crox for those two conditions?

I just received a barbers hone from Glen,GSSixGun, and its fantastic! Haven't used it but I can't wait.:mace:

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Originally Posted by jmreeves

I just received a barbers hone from Glen,GSSixGun, and its fantastic! Haven't used it but I can't wait.:mace:

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i just bought one from Glen,GSSixGun too!! looking forward to getting it in the mail!! :D

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Originally Posted by fred8785

i just bought one from Glen,GSSixGun too!! looking forward to getting it in the mail!! :D

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He sold it twice? clever little devil :roflmao

I also received one from Glen. Haven't used it yet but it sure feels good. I think I am going to give my Dovo 5 passes on it tonight and see how it works.

Well as a beginner, its nice getting a barber hone lapped already much in the same way as getting a blade honed from a pro. All the variables of me sucking go straight to technique in the actual honing rather than prep. I still plan on getting something to set bevel and a 4/8k then down the road some other finisher.