equipment advice

Hi,
I know similar questions have been answered in other threads, but it seems to me that the gear you need depends largely on how deep you wanna get into the straight razor universe.

I own a nice Thiers Issard 6/8 Red stamina from classic shaving. I pretty much blunted it through bad stropping (I was putting too much pressure I think, then I used green strop paste on my nice Dovo leather strop and that screwed that up).

Anyway, from reading what I've read, it seems that I could hone the blade back into shape, and I would rather do it myself because I live in Finland, and sending my razor to and from the US is a pain.

So, what I gather is I need a hone, the one that seems appropriate is the Norton 4/8k, and a new strop, perhaps one of the 4 sided ones from Tony.

Is that all I need to get the blade up to scratch again?

I know classic shaving sell diamond paste for the hones, do I need that?

Basically I want the minimum amount of equipment, for example only one hone one strop etc, to cover all my basic needs, as I dont intend taking this up professionally.

If you could suggest a sort of pack of what I need (excluding brush and razor) i would really appreciate it.

Thanks a lot for your remarkable patience in answering all these naive questions, I never dreamed that straight razor shaving would be soooo complex.

Gavin.

I did the exact same thing with a brand new shave ready Revisor. Check out the Honing and Stropping threads. You will find most of your answers there and also the help files. While you are waiting for answers to your thread
And these guys will help you out!!

Gavin,

I started out with an 8000 Japanese waterstone, plus a hanging strop and 4-sided pasted strop with 3 micron, 1 micron .5 micron and .25 micron, both strops from Tony. This was all I needed. If you get a Norton, you'll need to check with Tony about which pastes to use after the Norton.

For example, I've since gotten a Belgian Coticule from www.theperfectedge.com and now I only use the .5 and .25 after the coticule.

After an evening with these, all my razors 'pop' arm hairs.

Tom

so in that case, I could start with the belgian whetstone, a 4 sided pasted strop, and a hanging strop? Would that be sufficient?

just for the sake of a dissenting, if less experienced, opinion, i'd like to say that, as i understand it and hope to do myself, the only absolutely necessary items for maintenance are a hanging strop with no sharpening pastes and a good hone (mine is a norton 4k/8k).

Check this out and see what you think?

I only started using a stright recently, so for me, the pasted strop puts the needed sharpness on the razor. I'm sure the more experienced honers on the list can get a great edge with just the hone, but for those of us starting out, the pasted strop does what we can't do with just a hone.

I have a 100x microscope (from Radio Shack) that I use to check to edge. It seems to me that using the pasted strop puts a polish on the edge that I'm not getting with the coticule.

Tom

Also, if you are trying to restore a dull razor, you'll probably need a coarser hone to reset the edge. A coticule, by itself, won't do it, ro at least, won't do it before your arm falls off.

you can most likely save that strop. I believe you can remove any trace of the pastes with certain cleansers. I can't recall what they are, but I'm sure Tony would know. I think he's on vacation, but if you can wait a week or so, you can buy some seconds strops from him for pastes (if desired) and keep your other strop for regular use. Just a thought.

While I've been using a straight for years, the use of pastes has helped to take my edge from good to very smooth. I'm sure technique and time will allow me to get the same edge from a norton4/8, but the pastes help in the mean time.

Matt

For the minimum equipment you can just get a hone and a 4-sided paddle strop. (you don't need a separate hanging strop - you can use one side of the paddle strop, instead)

The hone can be either either a norton or a belgian coticule.

On the 4-sided paddle strop, put paste on three sides and leave one side in red latigo for final stropping. Tony can recommend the best combination of the three pastes.

Tom

I've been watching this thread and I know you guys are trying to help but here's the real poop! A norton 4000/8000 stone is a great way to hone your razors...you need a nigura stone or old razor to create a slurry on the stone...then you can use a belgian yellow coticule to finish off the edge if you like...its much finer than the 8000 side of norton... the belgium is not a substitute for the norton...then many members use a 2 or four sided paddle with paste .5 -.2.5 to finish and touch up the blade...you would be well advised to purchase a hanging strop 3" wide and use for daily stroping instead of using one side of paddle plain...paste is only used to touchup or finish the edge put the paddle in a dry place until you need it for sharpening...hope this helps ...charlie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clarman

I've been watching this thread and I know you guys are trying to help but here's the real poop! A norton 4000/8000 stone is a great way to hone your razors...you need a nigura stone or old razor to create a slurry on the stone...

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Absolutely not true. The Norton works fine without a slurry of any kind for me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clarman

... the belgium is not a substitute for the norton...

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Absolutely true, unless you're also using the blue stone and even then you might occasionally need something coarser.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clarman

... then many members use a 2 or four sided paddle with paste .5 -.2.5 to finish and touch up the blade...you would be well advised to purchase a hanging strop 3" wide and use for daily stroping instead of using one side of paddle plain...paste is only used to touchup or finish the edge put the paddle in a dry place until you need it for sharpening...

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Although I am using my paddle strop clean for daily shaving, I still prefer the hanging strop for that purpose.

X

I guess I stand corrected by xman...anyone with 1900 posts has got to know more than the rest of us! goodluck

Guys,

Don't forget, we all have to find what works best for us individually! There will be times when we just have to disagree. Some prefer barber hones, others prefer pasted strops, etc. But at the end of the day, it's what puts the best edge on a razor, regardless of how we get there. I've yet to actually hone a razor to "perfection", maybe because I have purchased a number of shave ready razors and just have to maintain them. I do know one thing. If Lynn sharpens a razor for you, use it correctly or loose the outer epidermal layer!

RT

I agree with you rtaylor many methods work to hone razors, but if one chooses to use a norton, its common practice to create a slurry to effectively use a norton stone... if xman uses his norton, and examines his stone after honing he will have noticed his razor created a small slurry...using a stone to create a initial slurry speeds up the honing process by creating a better honing surface ...with proper tools, a razor in good condition should be able to be honed in 30-45 min from start to finish if not quicker with practice...further a yellow coticule is not a subst for a cutting stone...the coticule is a polishing stone ment to finish the hone and is optional like using paste... I recomended a 3" strop for daily use but one could use a paddle without paste...using a pasted paddle with one side plain works but can be messy and a pain to travel with...unless you wrap the paddle the paste can get on every thing...finally while many methods work to hone... barber hones, etc... the norton seems to be generally accepted as an easy tool to use ...finally everyone has their own idea of sharp...I know I did for years until I spent about 8 hours with lynn learning from him...what I thought was sharp was DULL even though it passed the hanging hair test...as you say there are different methods to achieve the proper results...I was commenting on the newbies posts to each other...they chose to discuss the norton...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clarman

but if one chooses to use a norton, its common practice to create a slurry to effectively use a norton stone...

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?? Norton stone does not need slurry. It is fast cutting stone, where the particles are replaced quickly.

Nenad

I think you will find that simple honing on the Norton will create a slurry all by itself and that contributes to it's effectiveness. What Charlie is suggesting is to speed up the process and start the slurry with another stone or old razor. Once my Norton is wet I only splash a little water on it if it appears to dry during my honing. I don't want to wash off the slurry that has formed. I myself though have not used anything yet to "pre-slurry" the stone though but then agin I don't use a Norton as much as other do.

The yellow side of a Belgian is really for finishing. The blue is more coarse but painfully slow I find. The Norton is really the tool if you are only goiung to have one stone.

For daily stropping, as Charlie says, wider is better. I loved a 2 1/2" strop until I tried a 3". I do sell paddles with a finish side but wider is the way to go for everyday use. On the paddles it is setup that way to provide a single tool to do everything but eventually guys add a hanging strop to.

Tony

thx for your input tony...I like my paddle...charlie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clarman

I guess I stand corrected by xman...anyone with 1900 posts has got to know more than the rest of us!

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Not in the least Mr. Larman, sir. I happily concede that your wisdom easily excedes mine. With the greatest humility ... I simply meant to offer an alternative to what sounded like an absolute -

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clarman

...you need a nigura stone or old razor to create a slurry on the stone...

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I agree that a slurry of metal has been created after honing and that it seems to make the hone respond more aggressively, but it is not solely successful when that slurry is present as you have subsequently pointed out -

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clarman

...using a stone to create a initial slurry speeds up the honing process by creating a better honing surface ...

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Just so.

Charles, please accept my apology for any offence. None was intended and, if I may offer my own "real poop" notwithstanding how bad THAT sounds, ...anyone with 1900 posts is merely a bigger blabbermouth than most!!!

X

thx xman Im not any smarter than anyone else here...my way is not the only way and I am still constantly learning...I suggested the stone to create bigger slurry to speed up process...I hone to sharpen...I strop and shave because I enjoy it...anything I can do to speedup honing I do because honing is a necessity a means to an end...when I read the newbies thread and posts, they seemed confused, I merely tried to point them in the direction they were talking about....charlie

i feel like i should step in here, since i started the thread, to bring a little perspective back to the discussion:

there are all kinds of ways to skin a cat, so everybody take it easy. it's all good advice i'm hearing and, just for the record, i got my norton stone in the mail today, used it fresh out of the box and brought the razor whose edge i had knocked down back to prime cutting condition. of course, all this was only made possible by all the advice in this and other threads, and with the help of the pyramid scheme given to me by an esteemed member of this forum. i didn't build a slurry first, which is probably a good thing since the nortons cut plenty fast for someone with as little experience honing as i have.

so again, thanks for everyone's chiming in, please continue. John Locke and Plato both agreed that the more people whose ideas are expressed, the better to arrive at truth.

let me give you another topic to think about:
i do a little bit of traveling, and often, i only take a backpack. now, i've alread got a travel razor and i know i can put my strop in my bag without too much room lost, but there's no way i'm carrying that norton boulder around with me for a month in costa rica or nicaragua or wherever the hell i'm going next. can anyone suggest a smaller, easiest-to-care-for hone that will do the trick on the road? i'd hate to have to look like a savage just because i accidentally dulled my razor doing something stupid.

A small, short, abrasive pasted paddle strop should work just fine.
Or a Swaty Barber hone is recommended by a bunch of guys for touching up an edge. A Begian Coticule or an Escher should also work but they are expensive.

Hope this helps,:)

I will take my Swaty. Leave the rest a home. I think there is another one on ebay.