Thread: Taping böker waldorf gold

Hello,
I would like to buy a böker waldorf gold, but when I would have to hone it, the gold plating would scratch up. Do you guys recommend to tape the spine, not tape the spine or just buy the carbon steel one? What is your experience with plated blades?

Thank you!

I have a Boker Edelweiss Limited Edition with gold plated spine and tang.



I use tape when I hone it. Gold plating does not like to be abraded or even looked at funny. Plain Jane or plated one is strickly a personal choice.

Bob

I should add welcome to the forum. I don't think learning to hone on a brand new razor is such a good idea either.

So you would buy an old razor and practice? I have been honing chisels and knives for a long time so I hope that gives me some kind of advantage?

Originally Posted by Lennyvh

So you would buy an old razor and practice? I have been honing chisels and knives for a long time so I hope that gives me some kind of advantage?

Actually not really. The stones are finer than needed for a knife or chisel as is the pressure and precision. It is a good idea to find a good vintage razor (some people recommend a inexpensive Chinese Gold Dollar though they often have issues of their own) to learn to hone. Welcome to the forum! We are here to make your journey a pleasant one. There's lot of good information here to help you learn.

If you can give your location there might be someone close who is willing to help you learn or look for a meet up which is the best and easiest way.

Originally Posted by Lennyvh

So you would buy an old razor and practice? I have been honing chisels and knives for a long time so I hope that gives me some kind of advantage?

That statement provokes a lot of discussion here. Honing knives, scissors, chisels etc. often involves creating a burr on the edge then breaking it off to form a toothed edge - perfect for slicing. We want as smooth an edge as possible on a razor - no teeth because we really do not want to slice our skin. There are folks at SRP who insist that the differences in honing technique are significant and others who argue not so much. Personally, I find I can get a very nice edge on my razors and don’t have the same success with knives.

If you add you geographic location to your personal info on your avatar, you might find there is an experienced SRP member near you who can offer some advice and assistance.

I use tape when I hone to minimize the amount of hone wear and to compensate for irregularities in the tang or grind on the razor. Electrical tape is cheap, so why not use it?

Welcome to SRP. Have fun with your new hobby and prepare to fall down any one of many possible acquisition disorder rabbit holes. We have a lot of facilitators and enablers here.

Thank you all for the replies.
Unfortunately I am from Belgium, so I doubt there is anyone living nearby :-)
Worst case, I can always let the barbershop store resharpen it when it is needed, and look how he does it and learn a thing or two.
I'll take the advice from tintin and buy a cheap blade an practice :-)

Actually there are a few members in Belgium so you might get lucky!

Welcome,

I would recommend if you want to learn to hone and maintain your first razor that you buy one that you won't be mad if or when you destroy it or at best wear it out early.

Maybe destroy is a harsh term.

You might beat the odds but you don't buy a new driver a Ferrari.

Originally Posted by Lennyvh

So you would buy an old razor and practice? I have been honing chisels and knives for a long time so I hope that gives me some kind of advantage?

Yes, I would buy an old razor in good condition to learn. The key here is "good" condition which means has a blade that is not problematic with chips, cracks, lots of rust, a frown and geometry issues. No sense taking on additional challenges to learning to hone a straight razor. A good inexpensive razor that you won't mind too much if you mess it up should that happen.

There are similarities to honing knives and chisels but there are also differences because straight razors serves a different function and needs a different kind if edge. It just may be best to approach learning to hone a straight razor as if you know nothing about honing and are learning something new. How you approach it is strictly up to you.

Bob

Gold wash razors are beautiful to look at, but a pain to shave and maintain. The gold is super thin and easily scratches or comes off just with hand contact. It is not a daily driver.

Once the gold starts to come off it does not look good, most folks ask for the rest of the gold to be removed completely.

So, if this is your first razor, buy a daily driver, especially if it is one you intend to learn to hone on.

Everybody thinks honing is just honing. Read some of the new honer threads in the honing forum and see the kind of issues new guys have, those are all issues you will probably have. The skill comes in diagnosing a problem, before you ruin the razor trying to “fix it”.

As said, everything is magnified because in addition to sharp, a razor must be comfortable so you are not scraping a patch of skin with your beard. And that is the trick. Just when you think you got it, you realize you can get a little more out if it.

Buy a good inexpensive razor, there are tons out there, great vintage razors. There are a bunch of great vintage razors for sale in the BST under a hundred dollars right now, most honed and ready to shave. Probably half of what you would pay for gold Boker. Heck if that is your budget, buy two.

Then learn to maintain it with a finish hone, ease your way into honing, or buy a couple beaters and learn by trial and error, worst case you mess up a $10 razor. Everybody here learned to hone, most of us were knife or tool guys who made the transition. Nobody says it was just like honing an Axe, just easier, and nobody say you can’t learn the same way.

We do get torqued when new guys thrash a beautiful vintage razor needlessly. The good news is once you master honing razors, your knives and tools will have smoking edges.

And yes, use tape, gold or not. Once you master honing, then decide if you want to continue to use tape, there is no downside to using tape.