I expressed interest in straight razors to my father last week, because I'm tired of the uncomfortable shave produced by modern safety razors. To my surprise, he went to the safe in the living room and pulled out two straight razors! A Diamond Steel razor, only sharp enough to shave my arm hair, and a Dorko 1151 (a gorgeous blade), but even less sharp than the DS.

I read through the wiki and read up on a couple threads...
http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...ton-4-8-a.html
http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...-up-hones.html
http://straightrazorpalace.com/hones...pick-hone.html

I'm leaning toward a Norton 4k/8k for the price and a decent edge, but I don't want to be turned off to straight razors by a dull blade. Some argue that a 8K is not face-friendly...

I also don't want to be into hones and a strop for 2-300 and discover that I don't like straight razors.

Could the edges be brought back by a strop and some paste?


I found a deal on a Norton (Gray & Red, Course & Fine) Size 8 x 2 x 3 with a lapping stone and a ceramic fine grit stone for $40, but he doesn't know the grits...