first almost bbs shave

[hurricane]

Im new to straight razor shaving and I have always enjoyed sharpening knives. I found an old tarnished straight from an antique shop for $20. Its a S.R. Droescher Classic (also has made in New York stamped on it) and it looked to be usable so i took some time cleaning off the tarnish then honed it on my 1000/5000 japanese superstone. It seems to be sharp and my shave today turned out VERY smooth minus a nick or two. i would love to try a professionally honed razor one day but will stick with my own handy work for now. I actually look forward to shaving for once.

great website, lots of helpfull tips

[SpicyJem]

Congrats on the good antique find, and for getting it somewhat shave ready! I would think for an extra smooth feel, you may want to finish up on an 8,000 or 12,000 stone, but I'm still a beginner myself. I just know (from reading) that sharpening razors is a little different than knives because the bevel is one that is going against your face, and should be extra smooth.

As for professionally honing, you can always click the Classified button at the top of this website and send it off to be professionally honed by one of the guys here! Then use that to compare against.