Thread: Not even my arm hair

Hey guys I know there are a lot of questions on this but most of them are getting further than I have.
I revently got myself everything I felt I needed to begin straight razor shaving. When I got my shaver it seemed quite blunt so I figured I would try honing it on my 3/8K whetstone. After reading and watching many tutorials I still cant even get it sharp enough to cut my arm hair let alone anything else. Any and all advice would be GREATLY appreciated!
Thanks in advance

Sounds familiar

Honing is a learned skill, and will take a little bit of practice to get right.
Read in our library, check out the JaNorton thread and watch some of the senior honers videos on Youtube.
Gssixgun and Lynn amongst others have some great vids out there.

Other than that, the best tip I can give you is to try to get together with someone who lives around you for a hands on tutorial.
I know there are quite a few honers over there in the UK, I have visited them myself

Oh, a little bit of info on what stones and razor you have would help us further in assisting you.

Good luck!

Thanks Birnando I'll check out the library for more info. The stone I'm using is a Kasumi Japanese combination whetstone its 3/8k grit. My razor is an Empire blade, made in the UK worth about £20 or so... hope that's helpful in some way

Originally Posted by lorangi

Hey guys I know there are a lot of questions on this but most of them are getting further than I have.
I revently got myself everything I felt I needed to begin straight razor shaving. When I got my shaver it seemed quite blunt so I figured I would try honing it on my 3/8K whetstone. After reading and watching many tutorials I still cant even get it sharp enough to cut my arm hair let alone anything else. Any and all advice would be GREATLY appreciated!
Thanks in advance

The short answer is that you're bevel likely needs to be set.

I was just like you; I began straight shaving & bought a Norton 4/8k to hone by dull razor. But I could not for the life of me figure out why the stone was not getting my razor sharp! As it turns out, I found that my bevel had to be set on a 1k stone. Bevel-setting is definitely THE KEY to having a sharp, shave-ready razor.

I would either recommend getting a hold of a 1k stone, or even better, send your razor out to be honed by someone who does have a 1k. That way you'll know for certain that the razor is shave-ready, and you'll have a "benchmark" to compare your subsequent honing jobs to (that's what I ended up doing)..

I had seen that this bevel thing was mentioned in other members posts. I wasn't sure if I needed to start with a 1k first. I think I will try that. Failing that ill send it off to be honed. Gonna give it a try first.
Thanks.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...zors-fake.html


Do you have a link to the razor or a Pic ????

Is it Vintage or New ???

lorangi.
I hate to be the one telling you this but have a look at this thread: Empire Razor

Sounds like that razor shaped object won't ever get to where you want it to sharp-wise.


Edit:
The G-man is a quick draw

Just working on getting a pic up, read your post, seems like that could be the problem then. Is there anything you would all recommend instead as obviously I don't want to end up with something else that doesn't work.

This is the Razor I have bought

Ok ill have a look... turns out that three weeks from now it turns out to be me :P