Thread: Hey Everybody

I'm new here and since I'm from Belgium Gssixgun suggested that I should introduce myself here aswel.

This is the introduction I posted in the beginners forum:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...tml#post530899

Any restorers nearby? Maybe some advice for supplies?
I found this site: De Messenwinkel / Oud huis De Koordenwinkel :: Aanbiedingen :: Beginnerssets - aanbiedingen but I'm not sure if they come honed or not?

Nice to meet you all.
Emile

Hi Emile, welcome to the club !!

Afaik there are no professional restorers in Belgium but there are some persons doing it for fun (including myself). Others: Bart, Jantjeuh, ...
Where do you live ??

Regarding supplies:
If you only want to shave with a straight you could buy all you need from the Koordenwinkel. I have bought stuff there and I was quite pleased with it (and with their service) although the razor I bought there was not 100% "shave ready". I can also recommend theinvisibleedge.co.uk for their restored razors and other stuff. Personally, before you start buying expensive new razors I would advise you to buy a restored shave ready one eg from theinvisibleedge.

If you want to go into restoring you will need, errr, more stuff (it never ends really). If you would like to restore your grandfather's razor I would be glad to offer some advice on what to do and some of the materials although there's loads to be found on the site. For honing help: see Bart (coticule.be).

Oh, and wait with buying hones.

Let me know if you have more questions !!

Wim

Well Wim,
I'm a student so I'm in my apartment in Gent most of the time, but 'home' is in Liedekerke.

I was seriously considering going to the koordenwinkel on thursday (exams first) and pick up a starter kit there because I would be able to see how I like the dimensions/weight of the blade before buying it. And a real life demonstration of how it's done would also be beneficial I thought.
Besides price, there is for instance this kit at 100euro: De Messenwinkel / Oud huis De Koordenwinkel :: Aanbiedingen :: Beginnerssets - aanbiedingen :: Complete scheerset DOVO cellidur zwart, what's the main reason for advising the refurbished ones?
I was thinking of having this one: De Messenwinkel / Oud huis De Koordenwinkel :: Klassieke open scheermessen :: DOVO scheermessen :: Ebbenhout zilverstaal 5/8 because it doesn't have plastic scales and doesn't seem to be that much more expensive than an old one? I could ask them to hone it no, they offer that as a free service they said, or is it their honing which is a bit off?

I asked about restoring it myself because I sort of thought the answer would be something along the lines of 'Grab some steel wool and put some silverware polish on it.' but in retrospect It will probably not be that easy and I contacted Glen / Max about it.

It's really hard to see the trees through the forest at the moment, having so many brands, sources, ... good news is that I tried shaving with the old blade (I'm 20 so you can't expect me to be patient ) and that went really well.


Emile

Originally Posted by TeHokioi

what's the main reason for advising the refurbished ones?

Mainly I think you can get a restored one cheaper (look eg at the SRP classifieds section). Of course they will not necessarily be cheaper though, depends on what you like. The dovo you mention is not too expensive. The less expensive the less pain if you f**k up (like I did with my first brand new Dovo).

Originally Posted by TeHokioi

I could ask them to hone it no, they offer that as a free service they said, or is it their honing which is a bit off?

I'm sure the guy that runs the place knows how to properly hone a razor (the shop even offers free courses I think). If you tell him in advance to make the razor shave ready you won't have any issues.

Originally Posted by TeHokioi

I asked about restoring it myself because I sort of thought the answer would be something along the lines of 'Grab some steel wool and put some silverware polish on it.' but in retrospect It will probably not be that easy and I contacted Glen / Max about it.

Substitute "steel wool" for sanding paper in different grits and you're more or less there ... Unless you would like to take off the scales and go for a more thourough overhaul.

Restoring razors is fun but requires a lot of spare time. A magnetic sanding block is useful and you need a range of sanding paper of e.g. 80, 120, 180, 240, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 depending on the state of your razor and how shiny you want it to get.

Creating custom scales is more complicated but also more rewarding imo.

Well, I've decided to have it done by Max since I wouldn't want to screw this one up . It sounds fun to do though but I think I'll wait a bit until I learn how a razor is supposed to be.

What did you do to **** it up then?

Dropped it on a stone floor.

Are you going to have it rescaled by Max? Custom scales are his specialty.

Some advice for a beginner, be aware that razors can rust quickly. Never put them away moist. I even clean my razors during shaving with a wet cleaning cloth I never rinse it under running water to protect my razor and wooden scales.

Originally Posted by Piet

Are you going to have it rescaled by Max? Custom scales are his specialty.

I second that. If you make use of his services, also ask for new scales. They're just gorgeous. Did you know he's from Antwerp originally ?

are there any other shops in belgium where they sell straight razors? because i live near brugge and antwerpen is quite far to gow to

grts stijn