Well, i just ended up with a straight razor it seems

Hello everybody,

Fellow from Paris, France here (please forgive my mispelling or grammar mistakes :(). Just to introduce myself, i'm some kind of a blade collector, all kinds of blades, i like them. Especialy knives. So, when my birthday came, my best friend had some kind of a nice idea for a gift : a straight razor. Now, it's of course a fine item to see, but, I thought hey, why not try using it.

But of course, as many of you been there i guess, i'm kinda scare to open my throat wide open and die sadly, alone in my bathroom. But let's think of that while i'm rushed to the hospital.

As for now, i've tried watching a few youtube video and read some kind of guides over the internet. Still, some stuff seems obscure to me.

Here's what i have : a razor (that is a good start), a strop, and some blocks of oil for the strop.

About the razor first, i'm not sure it is of any good. As i saw around here, some brands are not that good or even worse, and i wanted to make sure i'm not going to just slice my face with a badly made kitchen knife after all. The scales are plastic, i don't know which metal is the blade made off (still can't tell from the sight and touch, i should train that, i know). It's written "Solingen" on the scales, and "Solingen - Made in Germany" on the blade. You can see it on this picture here : https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...30654036_o.jpg Any recognizable model ? Is it any good for use ?

Also, i'm not sure it's pre-honed or not. From what i read most of straight razor are not, but i tried the blade on a few materials, and damn it looks pretty sharp to me ! But apparently sharpened doesn't mean honed, and since french uses the same term for both (the english wikipedia article for "hone" doesn't lead to any french one ...) it kinda makes it a bit more complex to me. Already asked my friend where he bought the thing, might have some more informations over there.

I think i got the stroping part. It's just that no guide or video mention the oil. How am i supposed to use it ? Well, am i supposed to use it ?

Anyway, if any of you took the time to read all my interrogations or best, go through the task of answering it, you have my many thanks.

And a good and nice day to you all.

Solingen made razors are good and yours looks like it's in good condition so no worries there.

What did you try cutting with the razor? a razors edge is very delicate and the rule of thumb is to not cut anything but hair and stubble with it.

I don't what condition the edge is in but odds are that it wasn't shave-ready to begin with so it'd probably be best to send it away to someone who can hone razors, keep in mind that razor sharpening and knife sharpening are two different beasts, so trying it yourself before you know what a good edge feels like is probably not a good idea and sending it to a knife sharpener who's not experienced with razors would also not be a very good idea.

In the meanwhile, I would recommend reading up in the wiki and browse the forum for information, if you have any questions, the members are very knowledgable and always happy to help out.
Good luck.

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Originally Posted by Baxxer

What did you try cutting with the razor? a razors edge is very delicate and the rule of thumb is to not cut anything but hair and stubble with it.

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Only paper.

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I don't what condition the edge is in but odds are that it wasn't shave-ready to begin with so it'd probably be best to send it away to someone who can hone razors, keep in mind that razor sharpening and knife sharpening are two different beasts, so trying it yourself before you know what a good edge feels like is probably not a good idea and sending it to a knife sharpener who's not experienced with razors would also not be a very good idea.

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I have absolutely no intent of honing it myself, i'm still a beginner at this with knives, i'll see about the razors later.

What about the strop oil ? What is it used for ?

Anyway thanks for the reply.

Welcome,

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Originally Posted by KafkaDatura

... But of course, as many of you been there i guess, i'm kinda scare to open my throat wide open and die sadly, alone in my bathroom. But let's think of that while i'm rushed to the hospital.

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Just take Your time and just start with the sideburns to get a feeling. From there on You can continue to explore Your face. You might try to shave a balloon first. It's different than shaving Your face but helps to get famliliar with the razor.

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Originally Posted by KafkaDatura

Here's what i have : a razor (that is a good start), a strop, and some blocks of oil for the strop.

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some blocks of oil for the strop? There are different pastes that can be used for touch ups etc, but for the normal stropping that should work without. If You have different pastes, You want to use, You will need a different stop (or side) for each of them. For the start I would not put anything on the strop. Just rubbing Your palm over the strop will warm it up and apply enough fat from Your skin.

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Originally Posted by KafkaDatura

Also, i'm not sure it's pre-honed or not. From what i read most of straight razor are not, but i tried the blade on a few materials, and damn it looks pretty sharp to me !...

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Then it's dull by now. No need to try shaving with it. Even, if You cut paper, the edge will be ruined for shaving. At least when it was shave ready before. If it was "just" factory sharp, the edge might be a bit stronger and survive paper. However if You cut "materials"....

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Originally Posted by Baxxer

Solingen made razors are good and yours looks like it's in good condition so no worries there.

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generally true, but there are some actually from china that are just being assembled in Germany (hearsay I picked up). That alone qualifies for "made in Solingen" be legal.

Is mine one of those ? There is no branding other than "Solingen", on both the scales AND the blade, plus "Made in Germany".

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Originally Posted by KafkaDatura

Is mine one of those ? There is no branding other than "Solingen", on both the scales AND the blade, plus "Made in Germany".

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I can't tell. I have seen those on ebay and the big "Solingen" causes funny feelings, but there is nothing more than a feeling I could say against it. There are so many companies in Solingen and it might well be, that one produces a razor with a big "Solingen" on it. Even if it were one of those, that would not mean it's necessarily a bad razor. Plastic scales are no evidence for a bad quality razor. Actually most scales are being made of some sort of plastic.

Then i guess i'll have to tell with my noobish knowledge of the stuff.

Anyway, is there any way to tell if the blade is pre-honed ? I would hate to have to carry or send it anywhere for nothing, and i kinda wanna try it out right now :D

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Originally Posted by KafkaDatura

Anyway, is there any way to tell if the blade is pre-honed ? I would hate to have to carry or send it anywhere for nothing, and i kinda wanna try it out right now :D

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Better safe than sorry. Even if the razor's sharp enough to cut right now, you want to be sure that for your first shave it's as shave-ready as it's ever going to be. I'd recommend sending it off for honing by a professional. While you wait for it to return, get your hands on a brush & some shaving soap and watch as many instructional videos as possible.

Bon courage!

I don't any professional about that ... i'll go see a razor shop in Paris, they might be able to tell me.

Is the shaving soap absolutely necessary ? No shaving foam possible ?

Depending on what you mean by "shaving foam", I'd say, yeah, shaving soap is necessary. In my own opinion, a brush & soap lather prep is essential to getting a good shave. I'd even suggest that you do this for a couple weeks before trying the straight razor. Start with a good foundation before you try to build the house, right?

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Originally Posted by KafkaDatura

Then i guess i'll have to tell with my noobish knowledge of the stuff.

Anyway, is there any way to tell if the blade is pre-honed ? I would hate to have to carry or send it anywhere for nothing, and i kinda wanna try it out right now :D

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Probably won't be great now you've cut paper etc with it.

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Originally Posted by KafkaDatura

I don't any professional about that ... i'll go see a razor shop in Paris, they might be able to tell me.

Is the shaving soap absolutely necessary ? No shaving foam possible ?

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Look in the classifieds here too.
Shaving soap and brush won't cost much, and will improve any shaving you do.