First eBay finds, First straight shave, First restoration...

[MadsL]

Hope I'm not lumping too much in here.

I've been lurking and reading for sometime, and finally took the plunge. I'm planning to get into honing and restoring as well so my first straights are from eBay. I also have a coticule on the way...

Exciting opening up my first arrivals...and I dont think I did too badly...I had planned on a lot of sanding before getting these onto my face, and probably wrecking them with my learning curve..

3 Sheffield razors plus a paddle strop for €41. Kropp, Collins Deluxe, Wm Rodgers Express.





All nice shiny blades, (one has slight rust on the toe top face!!) and all have some spine/tang rust. Whilst none of them would pass HHT, I can shave arm hair at the base with all of them! In fact I managed to give the Collins a strop on this...



and get a really rough shave from it. (I wanted to know what a dull edge felt like!)

Now I have next steps...could the newbie ask some questions??

1. Which blade should I have professionally honed as a reference blade? The Kropp is probably my choice and it's about the best condition of the three (or should I wait on my Wade & Butcher to arrive - eBay is addictive!!)

2. The strop (Biber) is plastered with red oxide, should I lap the balsa side and clean it off? Or is it better to replace with a clean strip of balsa and fresh CrOx paste or diamond paste?? The leather is also pasted (I think from the box as it fits both ways into the box) The (Russian) leather is in good flat condition with no nicks (yet!!)

3. When my coticle arrives - anything I should be wary of ? The Express looks a bit worn on the heel. Any other things to watch out for?

4. Any tips for cleaning spine and tang rust - do I need to sand the entire blade or can I just hit tang and spine with the wet and dry?

Thanks!!


More pics below...sorry for the iPhone quality..