Hello from beirut Lebanon

Hey guys my name is Michel i'm from beirut lebanon.

I got 2 old razors about two months ago, searched the forum and on youtube and found good tutorials about restoration so I tried to restore those two. I don't have any honing stones or strop so i asked local barbers if they have or know someone who have, they told me about a guy who hones scissors so i gave it a try and gave him one of my blades.

he honed it first on a machine which left deep marks on the spine of the blade and changed it's form. he got me a strop which i bought for 15$.

I tried to shave with it without any stropping and felt it was a bit rough so i tried to strop it but did not get any results. I went to my barber to see if he knows better, it turned out that he knew shit about stropping and straight razors and started to strop my blade with awful technique which made the blade even duller, now i can't get it to shave properly and i spent about an hour stropping (i read this guide http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...ng_your_senses ) but no results :/ any suggestions would be appreciated :D

thanks in advance guys you rock :D

Welcome to SRP, Michel. I'm guessing it's warmer for you today than it is for me :)

It sounds like your razor has been blunted by two separate people and will need to be honed from scratch. If there is no one local that can do it for you (please, no more knife sharpening guys!) we do have members that are somewhat geographically close to you that may be able to hone your razor: Turkey, Greece, Romania and Hungary. I have no idea what the mail service in Lebanon is like, but that is one option.

Hi,

And welcome to the site. There's lot of information available here.

I do not know how it's these days. I've spent some times in Lebanon back in mid nineties (not in Beirut) and at least then there were traditional barbers. If such profeessionals still exists these days, they might easily hone the edge for you.
You have very beautiful country. I still have few old friends who live and work there for the UN.

regards,
Sailor

Ahlanwasahlan Michel,

If you really want a good start with staight razors I would suggest you look into buying one that is shave ready from a reputable vendor who can ship to Lebanon.

You can of coarse send out your razors to be honed, but you should post some Pictures of them first. Some vintage razors can be in a pitiful state and the money you spend on getting them sharpened may be more than what the actual razor is worth.

Welcome to SRP, I have never been to Lebanon but I really like Lebanese food :)

Welcome Michel. My (now deceased) Uncle by marriage was Lebanese. And if he was anything to go by, Lebanon is full of great people, with great food and great pride. I've never been there myself, but perhaps one day. I wish you luck with finding a member close by, and I think that will be one avenue to look into, who can help with getting your razors shave worthy. Otherwise don't be afraid to send them off to one of the members here who offer honing services.


Mick

Thank u guys your replies are appreciated :D

From what i understand i need to ship my razors to get them shrapened because this "professional" clearly does not know how to sharpen razors coz he finished my razor in like 15 min!!! noway he could hone a razor in 15 mins but i did not object thinking that this guy has been doing this all his life (he's like 70 years old) and I thought i might be wrong...

i will try to search for members offering honing services because I am not willing to sacrifice my other beautiful blade made in solingen that i spent weeks restoring.

P.S: yup lebanon is a beautiful country :)

Hi and welcome. Unfortunately razor honing is one of those this things best left to razor honers. Others just tend to cause more problems. Good luck with your razors.

Hi Michel,

a warm welcome from me, too.
And kind regards from Munich, Bavaria :)