Thread: Bare Bones Minimum

Back in the day barbers were not buying the equivalent of an ebay special either.

Coticules were not uncommon... I believe the barbers manual mentions some synthetic hones and other naturals like eschers

yes I am also a newb and have been DE shaving for a couple years due to being irritated at the lack of choice and seemingly railroading by the major companies and decided to go retro. I am having to go slow and learn as I go. Hang in there, there is more to shaving than "scraping your face". Thanks for your input.

Yep! I'm getting less scraping and more shaving. I can still remember when I started shaving when I was a teenager all the nicks, cuts, burn ,same things I am conquering now. Except that was a cartridge razor that wouldn't cause an arterial spurt! LOL

Originally Posted by Cfarland

yes I am also a newb and have been DE shaving for a couple years due to being irritated at the lack of choice and seemingly railroading by the major companies and decided to go retro. I am having to go slow and learn as I go. Hang in there, there is more to shaving than "scraping your face". Thanks for your input.

Welcome to the land of obsessives! Enjoy the view!

I've been straight shaving for 1 year and 3 months. I guess I am a bit more than a noobie, but not much. I bought my first razor as a restored razor along with a strop -- cost $45.00. I used that quite a while and started collecting antique store razors to practice my honing on. Along the way, I have collected nearly a dozen such razors all in various states of 'old'. Some had rust some did not and all were dull enough they would not shave arm hair. None of them cost over $20.00 and most were less than $15.00. I also picked up an old 'boss barber hone' -- $10.00 and just 6 months ago a 3 line swaty - $2.00 from the same antique stores.

It takes time with these type of rocks/stones/hones but bringing a razor back from dull to shaving can be done. I notice many of them pull before they shave, but if you keep at it they can be brought to a very smooth shave with just the barbers hones. I have never sent one out yet. I may, some day, just to compare my work with a pro, but I can shave from each of them now and do so in rotation (use a different one every day).

I had one that had a nice chip in the middle of the blade and used a knife hone to trim it out then went to the barber's hone to clean and sharpen. It took time as I said and much more than most, but this one is one of my sharpest and smoothest so far.

Good luck and Happy shaving,
Sgt Scott

I have been straight shaving for years... For years I used nothing but an arkansas and Enders hone. I found this site and bought a razor that was pro honed and found out what i was missing all these years... That is why I now use better stone.. I didn't know, what i did't know about a good shave.

I basically get by with an old two sided barbers' hone. I have a bunch of other hones, but the old bugger gets the job done just fine. It's a funny thing, I was thinking, how much better a shave could I ever possibly want? I just can't imagine getting a better one off a $1000 hone - if such a thing even exists. When I learned to shave with the straight, the gentleman tht taught me, he shaved with one razor (it had belonged to his grandfather and he was my parent's age), had one barber's hone and had one leather strop. I don't think he's even heard of chrox or any of the other things routinely discussed here. Someties we forget what it is exactly we are trying to accomplish here, and how, if we aren't careful, we can over-think it.

I am not a SR expert but I figure I would just throw my cents in haha. My opinion is that "back in the day" those barbers werent spending the hundreds of dollars on product NOT because they wouldnt want/need it as much as it just didnt cost that much back then(again I am not even sure if they had XXXXX grit stones back then just saying) The way the dollar has gone to the crapper what we call a $100 blade they prolly spent $10 on? Maybe less? Things were "cheaper" back then, but not really since most people weren't making as "much" money as we are. Back then people would work for $20-40 a day and be pretty comfortable, where as today getting $20 a day would force you to get food stamps or other aid.

All that is said to add to what everyone else is saying. One doesn't always need that extra bit of tech, its more of a kicks and giggles/hair splitting(pun intended) kinda deal haha. "Do I NEED that $5000 camera?" ... "Nah but some of those new upgrades would get me another half a stop of light so I wouldnt have to steady my hands as much..." Thats my... few hundred cents

Originally Posted by stevenbrandt

I am not a SR expert but I figure I would just throw my cents in haha. My opinion is that "back in the day" those barbers werent spending the hundreds of dollars on product NOT because they wouldnt want/need it as much as it just didnt cost that much back then(again I am not even sure if they had XXXXX grit stones back then just saying) The way the dollar has gone to the crapper what we call a $100 blade they prolly spent $10 on? Maybe less? Things were "cheaper" back then, but not really since most people weren't making as "much" money as we are. Back then people would work for $20-40 a day and be pretty comfortable, where as today getting $20 a day would force you to get food stamps or other aid.

All that is said to add to what everyone else is saying. One doesn't always need that extra bit of tech, its more of a kicks and giggles/hair splitting(pun intended) kinda deal haha. "Do I NEED that $5000 camera?" ... "Nah but some of those new upgrades would get me another half a stop of light so I wouldnt have to steady my hands as much..." Thats my... few hundred cents

well as we all know from our old razor boxes most of were sold for $4 or less most of mine say $2.50 or $3 and i have an old "shilling razor" it is a 7/8 chunk of old Sheffield. back when razors were popular they were just tools not collectors items.

that said i have shaptons, coticules, dmt plates, barbers hones and thuringens. most common used hone: 6x2 combination coticule. it stays on the sink.

Originally Posted by 1sgtscot

I've been straight shaving for 1 year and 3 months. I guess I am a bit more than a noobie, but not much. I bought my first razor as a restored razor along with a strop -- cost $45.00. I used that quite a while and started collecting antique store razors to practice my honing on. Along the way, I have collected nearly a dozen such razors all in various states of 'old'. Some had rust some did not and all were dull enough they would not shave arm hair. None of them cost over $20.00 and most were less than $15.00. I also picked up an old 'boss barber hone' -- $10.00 and just 6 months ago a 3 line swaty - $2.00 from the same antique stores.


It takes time with these type of rocks/stones/hones but bringing a razor back from dull to shaving can be done. I notice many of them pull before they shave, but if you keep at it they can be brought to a very smooth shave with just the barbers hones. I have never sent one out yet. I may, some day, just to compare my work with a pro, but I can shave from each of them now and do so in rotation (use a different one every day).

I had one that had a nice chip in the middle of the blade and used a knife hone to trim it out then went to the barber's hone to clean and sharpen. It took time as I said and much more than most, but this one is one of my sharpest and smoothest so far.

Good luck and Happy shaving,
Sgt Scott

Cool,
I was born and raised in Knoxville, we now live in Michigan for the past 4 years. I sure miss east Tn. and I still bleed a little orange when i nick myself.
Jamie