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I am new to straight razor shaving and recently picked up a pair at gun show and would like to get them sharpened up correctly before i damage them if there is anyone in the aria who has some experience and would be willing to give me a lesson it would be greatly appreciated
I am also in Charlotte. If you have found someone please let me know I have just purchased a straight and would like help also
i met a guy named Gary Gordon he runs a mobile sharpening business but if you go to him he will teach you what to do and what to look for. he seems to be a nice guy but a bit odd, then again who isn't.
A FINER EDGE Pricing
Gary Gordon
A Finer Edge, LLC
12332 Homestead Place
Charlotte, NC 28277
(980) 229-1149
gary@afineredge.com
Thanks. odd is my speciality.
I am visiting from out of town and after this post I took two razors to Gary. One of them was brand new and purchased from The Art of Shaving. After two attempts I am still not able to shave with the razor he sharpened. Neither one. I am now wondering if he destroyed a brand new razor.
He is a very likable guy and is very knowledgeable about sharpening but I really think his expertise is more in the area of Kitchen knives and scissors. Did you have a better experience with him?
Did you ever take a razor to Gary Gordon? If so were you satisfied?
Norman
Did you ever take your razor to Gary Gordon to sharpen it? If so were you satisfied?
i did once with my first razor that was in no condition to shave with when i got it. after i brought it to him it worked but now i feel it wasn't sharp enough for shaving against the grain where as i thought it was my inexperience preventing me before. i have sense started sharpening myself. im sorry that this didn't work out for you not even the art of shaving could help me find a sharpener in the area. and he was all i could find. maybe ill do some more looking and talk to some people to find an alternative in the aria.
I will give you new guys a big heads up. Sharpening a razor is a different animal all together then sharpening tools. The folks that sharpen tools will tell you otherwise and think they can put an edge on anything, sadly they are NOT knowledgeable enough to know the difference. Save your money and your straight till you find a guy that knows what he is doing with a razor. Plenty of guys have gotten discouraged and given up on straights because of bad experiences with poor honing. Nothing beats a shave with a straight, but it has to be honed properly, if not a disposable is better.:nono:
mr gordog did put the effort in to make me helieve he could sharpon a razor he invested in a razor to learn how to sharpon one and said a lot of the same things i hear on all of the tutorials and he offers it as one of his services on his site its not just something i asked of hime and he said that he could do
How did it work out for you?Quote:
Originally Posted by phcullen
Those that hone razors do just that. They are not lawn mower blades or hedge clippers, they are razors. Like I said , a different animal altogether. As you learn here you will see that this comes up often enough and for the most times, doesn't work out.
I sharpened my knives to a wicked edge before I started with straights. Thought, how hard or different could it really be? Well. it took mr a bit of time before i could hone a razor to any type of quality edge. I sent razors out to some of the guys here and always got a great edge from them. Practice and time was the only thing that got me there and I'm still no where near as good at it as the guys that do it for money. I'm sure they guy had nothing but good intentions doing your razor. It's just different plain and simple from any other edge.
The problem is learning how to hone a razor for others takes more than practice on one razor. If you hone for you a few razors is fine, you will learn how to hone them to your satisfaction. Honing for others is not the same thing. There all kinds of "surprises" one can expect when honing for others. Blades are not quite straight a lot of hone wear, pitting on the bevels, frowns. Those kinds of things take some practice to learn how to correct. Also honing razors is acquired skill that one can forget, so to keep in shape one has to hone razors on a fairly constant basis to keep some kind of form.Quote:
Originally Posted by phcullen
I am just giving you some perspective in general, I know guys that hone razors and sharpen knives and are good at both.
I live in Durham, NC and have been using straights for 3 months. I sent my first straights to Glen Mercurio in Sandpoint, Idaho of http://www/gemstarcustoms.com to hone and 2 heavy wedges to restore. I've been using lapping film on the last full hollows and extra hollows and that works fine and easy and cheap. I would send out my first straight to be honed by someone who specializes in straight razor honing. Plenty of people on this forum that do so. Also, you need a good strop.
I am willing to help anyone here in Charlotte with honing. I have about 80 razors under my belt. And no, there is not a charge, I am here to be helpful... That's why you have to be local. You have to come to me... :) I hope this helps.
I have met and had razors honed by Gary, they were both sharpened well. I also had others that he said could not be sharpened. They are now some of my favorites.
Gary does what he can but he is a master sharpener of most blades, but not a honemeister as we know them! So, YMMV.
If you can, I do highly recommend that you send Glen your business as a blade sharpened by him was one of my paradigms when I began honing, yes, he is that good.
But if you are local and have a blade, I will see what I can do for you. Btw. I do shave test all blades that I let out and will do it with you there on a Saturday so you can see with your own eyes. I won't let someone else shave with a razor that I wouldn't shave with personally.
Cool-There seems to be a whole Queen City contingent on this board! I wonder if there are any just down I-85 in Sparkle City, where I live.
Anyway, what others have said: send your first few blades out to Glenn, Lynn, Sham, or some other honemeister, and you will know what a REAL shave-ready edge feels like; it will shave like a dream if you do your part and keep it well-stropped, I promise you!
Then, like so many of us on SRP have done, you can learn honing sort of 'backwards.' In other words, start by touching up razors in need on a barber's hone or similar. Then, as you commit the strokes and techniques to muscle memory, maybe add a Norton 4/8k to your arsenal. It's kind of the little black dress or classic blue blazer of honing-many learn on them, with good, consistent results. And you don't have to spend hundreds on finishers, as so many of our HAD sufferers do in the never-ending quest for the ultimate edge. I got my C12k on our classifieds for $15, and it works like a champ! Good luck, and let me know if you're ever down the road in Spartanburg, and want to have a honing session. Aaron
Honestly, Local help is the best help :) being able to sit down and watch and get a real feel for what is going on as the blade is honed will give you a huge advatage in your own honing...
If there is a meet up or a guy like Yochatman near by that is willing to help take the time to go...
two sources of help besides what you were just graciously offered
Local Help - Straight Razor Place Wiki
and
Get Togethers and Meetings