Thread: New shaver

Hello everyone,

I'm a new straight razor shaver with an undated, 2 3/4", 1/2 hollow ground Lansky razor. It arrived sharpened but unhoned and while I have a decent 800/1000 stone, it doesn't get quite the edge I need for shaving. I tried it for the first time this morning and it did the job, but not quite to the level I desired. I've done some research and practiced with my three finger, 30 degree hold so now all I need is to either find a company or someone to hone my blade for me or find a decent(inexpensive) stone to hone my razor on. I'm looking into barber's hones and checking a few local shops but does anyone know of a reputable company I could send my blade to for professional honing?

Thanks in advance and happy shaving!
Paul

Welcome to SRP! There are several guys here who hone, and there is a thread in the beginner's forum here that has a Members Map (that's the thread's name too) with several members marked in your area. Odds are good that one of the resident honemeisters are not too far away from you and would do a better job honing for you than any company. Not that I'm against "the man" or anything, but in the short time I've been here on SRP it's grown clear to me that the guys here are in it for the love of the art, and not the love of the greenback. I only wish I could do it for you, but I'm not confident enough in my own skills for me, let alone for some other guy's face.

Welcome, and good luck!

Thanks Jim! I've actually already got a hit on this topic within 15 minutes of registering! This is a great forum, I can tell, and the members do seem to both know their stuff and love it to boot. I'm looking forward to being an active member and hell, maybe I can steer some young buck in the right direction myself one day.

It may be difficult to get a good shaving edge with just an 800/1000 grit stone. I think if you integrated a 4k/8K stone into your honing process on top of your 800/1000 session, you will likely get a much better shaving edge.

Welcome to SRP and Straight Shaving!

Pabster

You might have a better time of it if you add one stone, a Norton or similar 4k/8k this will give you a finishing stone. Yes not a fancy 12k expensive stone but you will get a much more polished edge with it and one that makes a shave ready razor. Welcome and keep at it.

Hello and welcome to SRP. You've basically allready been given the info you need so...

Those little blades can be tough to shave with.

Originally Posted by Pabster

It may be difficult to get a good shaving edge with just an 800/1000 grit stone. I think if you integrated a 4k/8K stone into your honing process on top of your 800/1000 session, you will likely get a much better shaving edge.

Welcome to SRP and Straight Shaving!

Pabster

I couldn't agree more.