Thread: Suggestions needed

I started wet shaving for a long time ago. It was not until this year that I dived for the DE again after 12 years when I badly cut myself. With the progress I had, I decided to try str8. I was reading on and off for almost 2 months until a generous member offered his shave ready Wapi at a very reasonable price. That helped me to check whether str8 is for me or not. I got the razor and started shaving. I managed to do one pass shave on both my cheeks the first time and cleaned with DE afterward. The second shave (without stropping) went well although not as smooth. I then got a Tony Miller practice strop and stropped. I was not successful in the first place. I guess I lifted the spine of the razor and dulled the blade. The fellow member suggested to strop and practice on the newspaper and then strop on the leather. I did but was not successful, partly due to few strokes. I then tried to hone on a 1200grit and 0.5 um sand papers which I guess was not bad at all. The fellow member graciously offered to hone the razor again but I thought that I will not be able to learn unless I do it myself. Now, I am thinking to jump into the honing process. I have read the threads and watched Lynn Abrams’s videos. I have read good reviews on both Norton 4K/8K and also yellow Belgian coticule. I was in doubt which one I should go for or whether there is a more affordable way to hone without the hone stones. I would love to hear your experiences, suggestions or direction to the appropriate threads.
Thanks a lot in advance.

The Norton 4k/8k combo is the best tool for most jobs. The coticule is a finisher and you can get by with some newsprint for now if you need it. Another final option is a pasted strop or other ultra fine hone. A good shaving edge can be created for the Norton combo though. the rest is gravy, but boy do we ever like our gravy.

X

Originally Posted by xman

The Norton 4k/8k combo is the best tool for most jobs. The coticule is a finisher and you can get by with some newsprint for now if you need it. Another final option is a pasted strop or other ultra fine hone. A good shaving edge can be created for the Norton combo though. the rest is gravy, but boy do we ever like our gravy.

X

Thanks for the reply. I have been in polishing business before and I guessed that I could handle everything not knowing that there are lots accessories needed. It is getting challenging and fun. I like to keep it simple before I get lost in them. I guess I should find Norton and lap the stone with sandpaper (on glass) and then do a finer polish with newspaper and strop it with my leather TM strop. I still try to avoid buying the pastes and extra strop. I will build the rest as I go along.
Thanks.

Lee Valley has them. Lee Valley Tools - Woodworking Tools, Gardening Tools, Hardware

X

Originally Posted by xman

Lee Valley has them. Lee Valley Tools - Woodworking Tools, Gardening Tools, Hardware

X

Thanks. I have checked Lee Valley tools. I need to see whether I can find vendors in Canada before ordering across the border with the current exchange rate. Thanks again.

Lee Valley is in Canada. Try their store locator. I got mine in Toronto.

Originally Posted by xman

Lee Valley is in Canada. Try their store locator. I got mine in Toronto.

That's great. I should drop by their Burlington location. Thanks for the hint.

i got my norton 4/8k and 220/1000 there and it was the best price i could find and they keep them in stock regularly. that is an addictive store though, they have all these gadgets and cool tools. i got a set of eye loupes for checking out the blade (10x, 5x and 2.5x) for like $6.80. luckily my ocal one is about and hour away or i would be there way too much.

BTW i just got into Straight razor shaving about 6 months ago and was really impressed with it but didn't do enough research. i had a good kit from Tony Miller but had no hones or knowledge of them until i found SRP. from reading through these forums and posting noob threads and having members take me through things i can now say that within 2 weeks of buying my norton 4/8k i can hone a razor consistently and have it turn out very smooth and a great shaver. i got the 220/1000 norton for setting the bevel on some ebay buys i got cheap, and it works good. i will tell you it feels good to be able to sharpen my razor and i am now addicted to it. this is the only time that i have wished my beard grew faster so that i could test my razors more. i am totally satisfied with the norton, but i have never used anything else so i don't know if they work better, i just know nortons work good.

I've been practicing on 3M abrasive papers and now on my new DMT's, but am still unable to produce an edge good enough to allow me to go against the grain.

So I sent one of my straights off to GSSIXGUN (who happens to be a *very* nice guy) so I can have a honemeister-sharp blade to compare my edges to. Not to mention have a good comfortable shaving razor.

It seems like everytime I achieve a new level of sharpness, the edge still ends up failing the shaving test.

I would *highly* recommend to any noob: 1. Get two razors. 2. Send one off to a honemeister so you have a sharpness goal to shoot for and an example of how a straight really can shave.

Originally Posted by chee16

i got my norton 4/8k and 220/1000 there and it was the best price i could find and they keep them in stock regularly. that is an addictive store though, they have all these gadgets and cool tools. i got a set of eye loupes for checking out the blade (10x, 5x and 2.5x) for like $6.80. luckily my ocal one is about and hour away or i would be there way too much.

BTW i just got into Straight razor shaving about 6 months ago and was really impressed with it but didn't do enough research. i had a good kit from Tony Miller but had no hones or knowledge of them until i found SRP. from reading through these forums and posting noob threads and having members take me through things i can now say that within 2 weeks of buying my norton 4/8k i can hone a razor consistently and have it turn out very smooth and a great shaver. i got the 220/1000 norton for setting the bevel on some ebay buys i got cheap, and it works good. i will tell you it feels good to be able to sharpen my razor and i am now addicted to it. this is the only time that i have wished my beard grew faster so that i could test my razors more. i am totally satisfied with the norton, but i have never used anything else so i don't know if they work better, i just know nortons work good.

I am really wishing I had gotten your exact setup instead of mine, Chee. So far, the surfaces of my DMT's do not seem to be as consistent as I'd hoped. When doing a stroke, there are areas of varying resistance and the sound changes, too. That's telling me that the surface isn't consistent. And unfortunately, it isn't possible to lap dia-sharp plates. This is happening on both my 1.2k and 8k plates.

Lot's of guys do have good success with DMT's, though, so I'm still hoping to get the bugs worked out.