1934 German Sword

Gentlemen,

This is my first post on this forum. I'm completely green to straight razor shaving, and would like to learn the ropes. My major drawback at the moment is lack of funding. So far, I believe I've acquired the essentials, but please correct me if i'm wrong.

After searching Perth for cutthroat razors, the only distributer i could find stocked Dovos, but nothing under $150. For me, that's quite a lot, I'm into this to save money! With hones being $125, strops also over $100 (I didn't even look at brushes), i find it difficult to get into the art.

That being said, on a whim I went to an antique store, and found a 1934 German Sword razor which appears to be in good condition. With no experience however, I can't say for sure, but it certainly felt sharp to the thumb, and there were no nicks or anything on the bevel. I bought the razor for $30, the woman gave me an antique brush, and a $30 strop, and I went home to give it a go.

Unfortunately, the razor wasn't near sharp enough to shave with (felt like such a n00b!) so I went on a quest for a cheap hone. Store after store, I couldnt' find anything near fine enough, except for a $200 stone from the knife store, so I went online, and read that one could get an acceptable shave with 1000 grit. Finally, at the army surplus store, I was able to find a 1000 grit stone, so I came home, watched all the instructional videos i could, and gave it ago. Unfortunately, it's STILL nowhere near sharp enough to shave with!

What can I do? Did I just waste my money? I really want to get into the art of shaving, but I can't afford to spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars getting set up.

Thanks for your help,
Duane

Hi,
Don't despair! The stone is far too coarse for anything but setting the initial bevel. Send the razor out to a honemiester from the classifieds. When you get it back it'll be shave ready & you'll be able to maintain that for a long time with a pasted strop, or chinese 12k stone, & just your plain leather strop.
You won't want to shave with a finish of less than about 8k i'm afraid, & most guys go beyond that.

Greetings, and welcome to SRP.

No need to panic right now. I suggest that you read this article first: What Every Beginner Should Know - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Apart from that: I do not know exactly where you got your price quotations from, but you can get all you need to start straight razor shaving under USD 100. Have a look at the Classifieds here. It also lists a number of people who will hone your razor for you at a very reasonable price. You will also find truly shave ready razors for around USD 50 there. I have bought a few here, and they were all exactly as advertised, usually even better.

The 1k hone is nice to have, but will get you nowhere if you want to establish shave readiness. What hone(s) do I need? - Straight Razor Place Wiki has the full story.

So, good luck. Take a good luck at the Wiki, and feel free to turn for help here, too.

There are people in here who would tell you that you must use a pasted strop to maintain your razor properly. It sounds like it could be expensive for you to buy a second strop to use with paste. You might get lucky by searching the antique stores. But I would suggest building yourself a balsa wood strop to use with pastes. You should be able to find plenty of info on how to make your own on this site.
Its a fun little project and very cheap too.

Thanks guys for your advice. How much does it cost to get a razor rehoned? I really think this one's salvagable, at least until I start my new job and can afford a dovo :)

Ok, I guess that was a stupid question, since I just found the answer in the classifieds. Anyone happen know a honing expert in western australia?

I'm not aware of any, but there are a few members over there. Maybe Jimbo can advise if you pm him explaining?

Probably the cheapest way to get into straight razor honing is with lapping films. Wildtim's thread on using them is a good place to start.

They're not as durable as waterstones, but I've hone about 20 vintage razors on my initial set and they are still serviceable.

:gl:

One way to try to save some cash is to look through the classifieds. You will find some really great values there. I kind of figure that customs and mailing expenses will not be cheap. But how expensive is it to buy all new stuff?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dward

One way to try to save some cash is to look through the classifieds. You will find some really great values there. I kind of figure that customs and mailing expenses will not be cheap. But how expensive is it to buy all new stuff?

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Don't imports duties have personal gift exemptions? The seller could add some verisimilitude by gift wrapping it and including a birthday card.;)

I was in the same position you were a little while ago. I bought a Zeepk POS set off of ebay... I was afraid I totally wasted my money, and in many ways I did when it comes to actually shaving. The brush is fine for travel when I don't want to risk losing a good one, the razors work as every day pocket knives, and I actually use the strop almost daily on my current razor.

I waited on the classified here until I found a cheap shave-ready straight razor and snatched it up. I got a $38 razor in great condition and use the cheap Zeepk strop I bought. After shaving with it for a few months, it was time for a hone. I decided against buying a hone right now, as I am afraid of doing more harm than good to my razor and sent it out. $15 for a hone isn't too bad. Next I'm going to invest $75 in a Norton 4k/8K which should make me happy for a long time to come.

So basically for about ~$60 I got a razor, strop, soap, brush and mug that are great. Add another $75 and I'll have a full set up.

Another option is to start with a shavette and disposable blades which is what I did while waiting for a "real" straight razor. I bought the razor in Kosovo for $3 (though they can be found online for $5+) and some blades for 50 cents a pack. Bought a cheap brush and soap and for about $10 i was started straight razor shaving. Cheap and efficient.

This is how I learned to SRS and I think it has taught me well.

Hope this helps and I realize a lot of people will get on my back for using the Zeepk strop....