Where to get honed in Europe
Gents,
a short introduction - I have always been a fan of an interested in the art of shaving. After a few great shaves at Geo F Trumper in London, I recently took the plunge and purchased a beautiful Thiers Issard full hollow 5/8th with wooden scales and french point - shave ready...
The first shave was a bit nerve wracking, but I made it out alive without sacrificing any important parts of my face. That was about 5 months ago. I strop my blade before shaves on a paddle strop, coated with the green stuff on one side and the yellow/diamond stuff on the other.
I believe my technique is improving as I can do a two pass shave (with the grain and across the grain) without any nicks and my beard only grows back after more than 24hours.
So, after that very long winded introduction, here is the question: before buying the straight, I used to shave with Gillette multi blade razors. I never suffered from skin irritation or razor bumps, only from ingrown hairs. Using the straight has inverted the issue - no more ingrown hairs, but I do get razor bumps (in the neck area) and skin irritation (neck and upper lip).
So I believe, folllowing what I have read on this site, that my technique probably requires improvement, but that my blade may also need to be honed after beloning to a rookie for 5 months.
I live in Luxembourg and I cannot find anyone that knows how to hone. It is unlikely that I will find a local as the country is so small, but can anyone suggest an experienced hone meister in France/Belgium/Netherlands/Germany?
Thanks for listening.
Orange Duke.