Thread: New to Str8 Shaving

I was recently given a Straight Razor from the art of shaving, a strope and a brush, all the items are new, so im not sure if the razor is shave ready. Im a little confused on when i need to hone the razor or if i can just take it every few months to get done, or if its better to do at home. Also does anyone have any information on the Straight razors they sell there if they are good razors or not. I really want to start the straight razor shave just confused on the steps i need to take.

Most of the products i have seen or used from AOS have been good quality. Most of the razors they sell of the straight variety are Theirs Issard, good razor, needs to be honed.

Also being a newb like myself, I highly recommend reading through the Wiki, the FAQ, and the oh so many posts on stropping, honing, face prep, and everything else. As far as stropping goes, before and after every shave seems to be the running standard here. It really seems to help. If you still have a lot of questions after doing some reading, there are a lot of great people on here to pass on information.

Good luck.

There razors should be good(they only sell TI right?)
Not sure if they hone the razors or not(was the box opened when you got it?)

You should look here to have it honed Member Services - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

Or you could contact someone close to you here http://straightrazorpalace.com/vbgooglemapme.php

If you're confident enough, then you can hone the razor yourself. I honed my first straight-razor (and all my razor) by myself. You need water and a dual-grit sharpening-stone of the 4,000/8,000 grit variety. There are a bazillion honing videos on YouTube, so you should be able to watch them and get a good idea of how to do the job yourself.

First off...welcome to SRP.

You have a good razor, as the other responders have already pointed out. It is probably not shave ready, although by non-straight razor standards it undoubtedly seems very sharp. The problem is that as a new shaver you won't be able to tell if it is sufficiently sharp enough to provide a good shave. For that reason you are best off to send it out for honing by a pro. That will eliminate one variable from the process of learning to use your new straight.

This is something that comes up almost daily and the advice is consistently in favor of using a good honing service before shaving with a razor that is not known to be shave ready. If you need a recommendation for where to send it shoot me a pm.

You may wish to hone your own razor(s) in the future, but for now you need a baseline reference for what a shave ready razor feels like.

rusty,

Bill gave you some sound advice that you should take to heart. I've been sharpening edged tools for 50 years or so, and decided that I knew how to sharpen razors when I returned to shaving after many years of sporting a beard. Fortunately I had a razor sharpened by a pro, Lynn in this case, so I could compare my efforts with those of someone who knew what he was doing.

Surprise, suprise, my early honing efforts were not terribly razor effective. It does take some practice or some unusual good luck to get a nice edge on a razor. It is different from sharpening chisels, plane irons, and even kitchen knives which I get sharp enough to shave hair from my forearm. Razor-sharp razors are a different matter entirely.

Get yours pro honed so you have a reference point and get an inexpensive razor from the classifieds here to experiment with. By the time your pro-honed razor needs a touch up, you may be ready for that yourself.

good luck, good shaving

Get a hone and learn honing it yourself.

Yes, learning how to shave and hone at the same is a challenge.

But I guess you are a real man and like challenges?

If you idolize Justin Bieber, however, you might be better off using a Gillette Fusion ;-)

Seriously though, you will need to learn how to hone eventually. Better sooner than later.

Sending your razor to a honing pro for your first shaving attempts certainly isn't a bad idea. Then again, it won't kill you if you don't.

Rusty8829,

The C135 TI razors (your AOS razor) are excellent shavers when dialled in.

I would recommend sending it out for a professional honing; that way you will know the bevel is set correctly (there have been posts about the un-eveness of TI factory bevels).

I have found that the edge on these razors is remarkably long-lasting; not sure if this is tied into the fact that the steel on the C135s is quite hard (ca 62 -65 Rockwell C)

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Send it off to a pro to be honed. Here is why:

Straight shaving is very reliant on technique. Therefore, a beginner will always have sub par shaves even with the sharpest of razors. Even if you've memorized all there is to know about straight shaving technique, you've yet to develop the coordination and muscle memory to execute the technique. This issue is so prevelant that many beginners will get a razor honed by some of the best, get a poor shave out of it, then come complain that the razor wasn't sharpened properly. Give that beginner a dull razor, and the face it going to have it rough.

Honing is also a skill that takes time to develop. You aren't going to be getting shave ready sharpness your first try. Put the two together, and you are asking for frustrating experience.

Do some learn to hone and shave at the same time? A few, yes. IMO they make it a lot harder on themselves than need be. Start with a shave ready razor and learn to shave first, and learn what sharp really is. By the time your first razor needs its first honing, you will likely be ready to purchase your first set of hones.