Thread: Ruined my straight razor in Vancouver

Hello
Im not sure if this is the right forum or not but I desperately need help. I have been reading a lot and have decided to start using a Straightrazor. I bought a cheap starter razor from ebay for now however it was not sharp enough. Basically I got confused, lost focus, and screwed up big time in using all kinds of stones, 180, 320, 600, 1000, 6000 and leather belt, 0.5 micron paper, cardboard, antique black and white newspaper etc..
My straight razor is so dull that it wont even cut anything and I really need help in how to resharpen it back. Is there anyone in Vancouver Canada area who can help me set it up so that I can understand how a sharp straight razor is suppose to be.
I would be very grateful if someone can help me get started and point in the right direction.

First of all, what brand of razor is it? There are super cheap brands out there, basically straight razor imitations that are made of bad steel that don't take edges at all. If you could give us the brand name, then your headed in the right direction.

Originally Posted by Skippy

First of all, what brand of razor is it? There are super cheap brands out there, basically straight razor imitations that are made of bad steel that don't take edges at all. If you could give us the brand name, then your headed in the right direction.

Sorry feel ashamed to answer.. I bought a gold dollar straight razor from ebay. I thought before I invest a lot in a good razor I should first learn how to shave and keep it sharp.. I put more investment in those stones :-(
Sorry i know i screwed up

You can't start shaving with a straight razor without screwing up. It's part of the learning curve. If it wasn't, it probably wouldn't be worth doing. Someone will comment on Gold Dollar razors, but I'm afraid that might be the problem. Being new at shaving, honing, and stropping all at the same time is a recipe for disaster. Find a way, which you are seeking here, to get a sharp razor, then gradually learn the other stuff in sequence. You've bitten off a lot here, but this forum and its helpful members will get you straightened out quickly.

Originally Posted by ace

You can't start shaving with a straight razor without screwing up. It's part of the learning curve. If it wasn't, it probably wouldn't be worth doing. Someone will comment on Gold Dollar razors, but I'm afraid that might be the problem. Being new at shaving, honing, and stropping all at the same time is a recipe for disaster. Find a way, which you are seeking here, to get a sharp razor, then gradually learn the other stuff in sequence. You've bitten off a lot here, but this forum and its helpful members will get you straightened out quickly.

I know, this forum is great and people always step up to help. The razor was not sharp at all from the very first, thats why I tried to strop it with plain leather belt and abrasive 0.5 micron paper from lee valley, also used old black and white newspaper but had no go, so I thought of using stones to put and edge but I really dont see any edge at all - its wierd and funny cuz I dont know where am I doing wrong.

Originally Posted by chattersking

Sorry feel ashamed to answer.. I bought a gold dollar straight razor from ebay. I thought before I invest a lot in a good razor I should first learn how to shave and keep it sharp.. I put more investment in those stones :-(
Sorry i know i screwed up

While I'm not that familiar with Gold Dollars, I think that is a good starter razor. Don't be ashamed. Now that we got that out of the way, let's move on to honing. Send your razor to an experienced honer so they can put a good edge on it again. Read articles on here about how to strop. Once you get your razor back, it will be sharp. Just focus on stropping and think about honing later. Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by chattersking

I know, this forum is great and people always step up to help. The razor was not sharp at all from the very first, thats why I tried to strop it with plain leather belt and abrasive 0.5 micron paper from lee valley, also used old black and white newspaper but had no go, so I thought of using stones to put and edge but I really dont see any edge at all - its wierd and funny cuz I dont know where am I doing wrong.

Like I said, you've bitten off a lot here. As Skippy said, job one is to find someone to make the blade sharp for you. Step two will be to get a proper strop and learn (it does take time and practice) how to use it. Honing should probably come later. Trying to do all of this at the start is extremely difficult. Try to do it in steps.

Originally Posted by Skippy

While I'm not that familiar with Gold Dollars, I think that is a good starter razor. Don't be ashamed. Now that we got that out of the way, let's move on to honing. Send your razor to an experienced honer so they can put a good edge on it again. Read articles on here about how to strop. Once you get your razor back, it will be sharp. Just focus on stropping and think about honing later. Hope this helps.

Do you know if there are anyone in Vancouver canada area? It would save me on shipping if I could do it locally.
If im out of luck then I guess I have to ship it to a honemeister. Do you know how much does it generally cost to get it sharpen again? Im tight on a budget so sending this for sharpening, or buying a new and better quality razor is what iam pondering.

Originally Posted by ace

Like I said, you've bitten off a lot here. As Skippy said, job one is to find someone to make the blade sharp for you. Step two will be to get a proper strop and learn (it does take time and practice) how to use it. Honing should probably come later. Trying to do all of this at the start is extremely difficult. Try to do it in steps.

Yeah I dont mind stroping it before and after use to maintain an edge, however at this point I need to have an edge first. The reason I bought this gold dollar was because it had some decent reviews to be used as an starter on this forum and many people said it should be good to go but mine wasnt sharp at all, I tried to shave so many ways it wont shave, it wont even cut a paper properly.

Anyways appreciate your help if you can point me to a good honemeister, preferably in my local Vancouver area.

The Gold Dollar might be fine, but it likely did not arrive "shave ready". You can search the forum here for honemeisters near you, and they'll put it in fine tune for you. Also remember that there is stropping and then there is "stropping". Nobody starts out good at stropping right away. That's why you see so many threads here on "nicked strops". I haven't nicked one yet, but I suspect my stropping form is sub-par and I've been working on it for weeks.