Thread: Hello from Idaho

Hello!
My story is a classic...
I switched to a safety razor a couple years ago from the standard 30-blade disposable cartridges and loved it! The shaves were so much better! So I've been biding my time and building some disposable income for the time when I decided to move up to a straight razor. Well, time came and I made a rash decision and bought an old razor out of an antique store and a strop online. Terrible decision. I have no idea what I'm doing. Soooo...... a little more thought and consideration is going to go into my next move! And that's why I'm here, to figure out what the heck I'm doing!
Thank you for all being here with such great information!

just because the razor is old doesn't mean it's not good. photos would be nice. I have several razors I bought in and antique store and they shave great. if your not comfortable honing the razor there are some great hone masters in the classifieds on the SRP and there are fine videos on the subject on u-tube. welcome and enjoy.

It's a Clark Brother's Cutlery Blade and it is a somewhat pretty razor. I might look into having someone far more experienced than myself hone it. Here are some pictures...

Rhensley is right on the money: the razors I use most often are between 140-170 years old, so old definitely doesn't mean bad!

*However* there are a bunch of things you need to consider with used blades of all ages. Some of the things that can be issues with used blades include cracks in the blade, chips on the edge, corrosion/pitting/rust (most seriously an issue when on the cutting edge), and the most insidious of them all: cell rot (when old cellulose scales break down chemically they release a very corrosive gas that just eats blades).

So without pics, it's really impossible to guess at whether you have a dud or a blade with great potential, or what you'll need to do to turn it into a usable blade, but don't give up hope: some of the best razors are old razors.

Now, that having been said, one thing you WILL want to do is to send that blade out for honing. As rhensley said there are lots of pro honers offering their services in the classifieds. It isn't that expensive at all, and worth EVERY penny! Trust me - learning to shave with a straight that is not shave-ready is no fun at all. So step one should be to eliminate that variable. Here is a link to the member services section of the classifieds:

Member Services - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

BTW just so you know, one of the best in the business lives in the other end of your home state: gssixgun

While you wait for your razor to return, here is some links to get you started:

Beginner's guide to straight razor shaving - Straight Razor Place Wiki

First straight razor shave - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Good luck!

You beat me with the pics...

First the bad news: that was either a very narrow blade to begin with or it has seen an awful lot of use/honing.

If it was originally designed to be that narrow, you could still be OK. Looks like there is some corrosion on the edge and some small chips near the toe that will definitely have to be dealt with before you use it.

Second the good news: the geometry of the heel looks to me like it might have been designed as a narrow blade all along. The curve at the heel looks smooth and natural, not like it has been cut into from over-honing. In other words, it was meant to be, say, 3/8" wide all along and has not been worn down from 5/8". If the latter is the case then the geometry of the edge will be pretty wonky and it may never work well. But if it was meant to be 3/8" wide all along, you should be OK. A honemeister will be able to tell you more once it is in hand. The other good news is that in terms of overall condition, I'm not seeing a lot of rust/pitting/etc there.

I'd say it's definitely worth sending out to be checked out and honed.

Thank you! I've learned a lot from you already! I am actually in the process of contacting a honemeister right now to see what it's going to take. Hopefully all goes well...

Hi and welcome. Good luck with your blade and any questions feel free to ask. Ed

Welcome, like yourself I am a newbie on here and from Idaho, where in Southern ID are you from? I'm up in Sugar City (Rexburg).

Originally Posted by Bdnield

Welcome, like yourself I am a newbie on here and from Idaho, where in Southern ID are you from? I'm up in Sugar City (Rexburg).

My brother goes to school there! I, however, am just a poor student living in bear lake for the moment. Southern Idaho for the win!

Originally Posted by Carperoad

My brother goes to school there! I, however, am just a poor student living in bear lake for the moment. Southern Idaho for the win!

I hear you on the poor student thing, I'm hoping to graduate in July and finally have a "grown up" job.

What is your brother studying up here?