I just wanted to say thank you to Glen (gssixgun). I know this is not the traditional way of doing so and no He didn't talk to me directly, but here's why I wanted to thank him.
So for my last birthday (december) my wife took me to an antique store where there is always a good selection of straights to choose from and for the cheap. She said I could get any one I wanted. I was looking and saw a couple of nice one's that were in good condition and piqued my interest. Then I saw it. The one I would buy. It was a Fredrick Reynold's and a wedge that had and picture of George Washington and the phrase "The Champion of Liberty" etched into the blade. It had some decent but not too bad hone wear and some nasty devils spit on the spine and some pitting on the edge and bevel. I decided on this one because I didn't have a wedge and it would be the oldest razor I own. I figured the "patina" wouldn't be too bad after seeing the results of some of your guys' restores including Glen's. I also had some other razor that had some pitting on the edge and they turned out to be no problem so I figured I would take a gamble.
Well I immediately started to hone it on diamonds. I honed and honed and honed till my hands hurt. The edge was getting nowhere. I remembered Glen's post about getting over the hone wall. A great read if you haven't read it yet. I decided to take a break.
I picked it back up the next day and decided to add a layer of tape. Honed till my hands hurt and got frustrated because nothing was happening. The pits and chips in the edge were getting smaller and disappearing. However, as one chip would disappear another would show up. I got frustrated and figured it would just make a nice collectors piece or something. I didn't touch the razor for a while... like a month or two. I decided maybe I would give it another go. I remembered from the same thread mentioned above that when you start to get frustrated just stop honing, nothing good will come of it. So I would hone for a little bit everyday, maybe 30 minutes at most, for a while then I gave up again.
Recently I started to hone it again because I found it unacceptable that I could not shave with my birthday present. Plus I like the idea of being able to shave with every razor I own and having it in the rotation. Well I was getting frustrated again but then last night I was bored and just reading old threads in the honing forum (my favorite forum) and I came across this thread.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/advan...ged-blade.html
I was reading about the part where if there is deep chips just bread knife it till its smooth. I obviously had to change some things up because it is a smiler. Now I have a chip free smooth edge. Took all of 10 minutes to get it there. I don't know why I didn't think of this on my own but sometimes I just need a kick in the pants.
Well tomorrow I will hone it up and hopefully shave with it for the first time this week. Again just wanted to say thanks Glen for the mentorship you give us less knowledgable members on here, even if its indirectly. This of course goes to all the other mentors and administrators on here, I am just thanking Glen specifically because it was his directions and advice that got me past the hone wall.
Sorry for the long read.
