Originally Posted by
JohnG10
Several of the knive shops in my area sell straight razors, strops, and stones. They also offer knife and kitchen cutlery sharpening services (and do a lot of it). However, the stores are small, and none of the couple of people that work at the shops actually shave with a straight razor (I asked).
Also, I have been an "expert-level" sharpener of kitchen knives, woodworking tools, and fine carving tools for about 2 decades. I was suprised by the subtle differences in technique required to get a good edge on a razor. Freshening up the blade was relatively easy, but it took me several sessions to actually get it shaving well when I finally had to take it back to the bevel and start from scratch. Knife sharpeners typically raise a burr, and purposely don't form a fin at the edge. Razors are all about the having a fin, and no burr.
As a result, I'd also recommend only dealing with honers who actually shave with a straight razor on a daily basis. Most decent knife honers will proudly show how their pocket knives will easily shave the hair off their arm, sometimes a 1/8" above the skin. But getting a blade sharp enough to cut chin wiskers, and be "smooth" enough that shaving the same spot every day doesn't cause razor rash is an entirely different matter altogether.