Thread: Bonjour from Ottawa

Dear members,

I've been lurking around these past weeks, after receiving 2 straight razors from my mother, previously owned by my grand-parents.

One is a Bethlehem (Solingen), the other is a Hamilton - Canada, circa 1930 - 1940.

I've always been curious to try the straight, so this was my cue.

I found a local knife shop that could hone straights, so paid them a visit.

They put an edge back on the Hamilton, but the Bethlehem kept chipping because of rust issues.

I've been experimenting with the Hamilton and enjoy the shave, although it doesn't keep it's edge that great.

So I've decided to invest in a new razor soon.

Thanks for the wealth of information found here!

Merci!

Hey and welcome Steph

I think there are a few members in the Ottawa area and hopefully they will contact you when they see this post. It would be good if you could meet up with them and let them assess your razors in person. I say that because I am leery of a knife shop that also does razors. Always good to get a second opinion on things.

Bob

Hi Bob,

You bring a valid point and I will certainly have the opportunity to have a second opinion.

I must say that the honemeister appeared to know his stuff, since I sat beside him when he honed the first of my two razors.

I recognized the same lingo and techniques used by Lynn Abrams, in his videos.

Since it needed more work, I left it with him and got the call the next day that he couldn't get it honed. With every progression, a chip would be fixed, but another would appear. I offered to pay for his time, but they didn't charge for that one.

So we'll see!

Cheers,

I was going to say much the same as bob about knife sharpeners. And there certainly seem to be a few otowans around at the mo. And even if the sharpenist is right about the second razor, you will still have 50% of something, which is definatly better than 100% of nothing.
It would be interesting to see if someone who speciffically hones raxors could make any improvement to the edge of the servicable one.
Sorry I should have started with welcome to the forum.
All the best, ed.

Hi and welcome. It would be interesting to see what a razor honer could do for your razor. All honers are not equal. Good luck with the shaves.

PS. you beat him this time Ed

I know, secretly I think I like coming to the party late, if I get here too soon I have no one to duel wits with anyway it's past my bedtime, we are not all on holiday you know.

You just discovered my secret. Im up when everyone sane is sleeping

Steph

It is quite possible that with corrosion near the edge you get a Swiss cheese effect when you try to hone. It may just be a matter of persistence and honing the edge back far enough to get passed that if you are lucky. It is also pretty normal to dull and edge faster than normal when you are just a beginner with poor technique in stropping and shaving. That may be a reason that the other one does not seem to hold an edge long. Anyway just a couple of thoughts besides a new razor is always nice too.

Bob

Originally Posted by eddy79

You just discovered my secret. Im up when everyone sane is sleeping

Mrs 79 must think you are bonkers, sitting up at midnight nearly on your holiday talking to strange men about shaving

did you get your razors honed at knifewear on bank street?
I cannot comment on the quality of their honing. There is a similar shop in Montreal that offers razor honing, and from what folks have told me, the quality of the honing leaves much to be desired.

Your best bet is to get your razor honed by someone who can be vouched for and who actually shaves with one.