Thread: Advice Needed on razor choice + other things

Originally Posted by markevens

Welcome to SRP!

Invisibleedge is a very reputable site, and any razor you get from them will be shave ready. If you are going to get a starter set from them, you can't go wrong. I'd just suggest not spending a lot on your first razor and strop.

Forget about sharpening for now. It will take a few months of shaving before you need to hone your razor, and you can cross that bridge when you come to it. For now, just focus on getting a good shave (which will take a lot of focus in the beginning).

I do like the idea of a cheep razor to practice on, but don't expect much out of a 10 dollar ebay special, as there are a variety of issues vintage razors can have that make getting a shave ready edge difficult. If all you want something to develop your coordination with the razor and hone so you don't bung up your real shaver in some newbish way, than that's fine.

Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

YES !!!

Don't risk damaging the edge of a "known-good" (especially a new) razor when learning to hone.

That's the time to visit a local antique shop, or eBay, and get a _really cheap_ vintage blade to practice on.

Charles

thanks for the message guys, that was what i was interested in really, ive very little experience in sharpening anything. Ive only ever done a knife or two but that was never incredidbly sharp.

I figured i would get myself a cheap razor and a recomended set of hones, then start practicing and working on the cheapy so i hopefully develop some ability to use hones etc, that way if i trash a $10 razor no one is going to loose any sleep over it, but in the process i hopefully learnt a few new skills.

What do you think?

im happy to pay to have mine sharpened for the time being but would rather be able to-do it later on myself if possible.

My first razor was bought at an antique shop. I had quite a time getting it so it would shave -- I decided to use sandpaper, rather than spending $$$ on stones. It took a while to bring it back from the dead.

I was never sure whether it was "right" or not -- no standards to judge by.

My second razor (should have been my first razor) was a Dovo "Best Quality" from Straight Razor Designs. I knew _that_ was sharp, and it gave me a goal to work toward.

I've done a bunch of razors since then; the work gets faster, and the edges get better. And I have a Norton 4K/8K, as well as the sandpaper and pasted strops.

That original antique-store blade (a Wade & Butcher) is a very nice shaver, now.

So:

. . . Yes, you can take an old blade, sharpen it, and use it.

Having a set of stones will help. And you'll learn a lot in the process.

Charles

Originally Posted by Krisdavie

thanks for the message guys, that was what i was interested in really, ive very little experience in sharpening anything. Ive only ever done a knife or two but that was never incredidbly sharp.

I figured i would get myself a cheap razor and a recomended set of hones, then start practicing and working on the cheapy so i hopefully develop some ability to use hones etc, that way if i trash a $10 razor no one is going to loose any sleep over it, but in the process i hopefully learnt a few new skills.

What do you think?

im happy to pay to have mine sharpened for the time being but would rather be able to-do it later on myself if possible.

Sounds perfect. Just don't get your hopes high on getting the cheepy in shave ready condition, as there can be many issues that get in the way. It will get you comfortable with honing razors, so when you do put your daily razor on the stone, you will be a lot more comfortable.