New to the forum!

[SRNewb]

Hi, just joined the forum! I didn't even know places like this existed, lol. I have a straight razor that was given to me by a friend, and was looking for information about it when I found this forum in the search engine results.
I shaved with the old double edged safety razor for years, but lost it in a move. I recently acquired another, but after a fruitless search finding good blades for it locally, I went back to the disposables. I know I could get blades easily through the 'net, but just don't like the idea of having to order them and wait for the shipment to arrive.
So, not being real happy with the disposables, earlier this morning I remembered the straight razor I had put away.
I dug it out, took a bit of time with some 800 grit wet or dry, and some polishing compound, all by hand, and cleaned as much rust and tarnish as I could from the blade.

As you can see, it's a Boker, and well used. I used it to shave with for the first (and second) time today.
When I got it, it was not very sharp. So I broke out my sharpening stones and got to work. The most amazing thing IMO is how very sharp I had to get it. I am not a stranger to sharp edges. As a guitar builder who uses planes and chisels that need to be scarey sharp, I thought I knew what sharp was. I found I had to revise my opinion on that today as well.
After getting it sharp enough that when I laid the edge on my thumbnail it dug in a bit, and to where it handily shaved the hair off my arm, I tried shaving with it. Got a lot of hair pulling, a few scratches and some nicks, and a not very good shave.
Back to the hone and strop until the next go around I could not even feel the blade cutting as it shaved my face very neatly. Smoothest shave I've had in years. I definitely won't be going back to disposables.
It's not shiny and new, but it is very sharp and a pleasure to use, and I'm glad it found it's way to me.

[Leatherstockiings]

Welcome to SRP.

[Walterbowens]

hi, and welcome to SRP, ask questions, and visit the forums Library, it is full of information.

[Redcane]

Welcome to SRP.

[EisenFaust]

Welcome to the forum! glad you've discovered that 'shiny and new' have very little to do with 'very sharp' ;-). BTW, your screen name will be mighty confusing a few years and a few thousand posts down the track....

[syslight]

Welcome to SRP!

Bokers are simply great shavers, and patina just adds character quite a few of my razors look like that... even some new ones that the maker acid etched for the effect. the nice thing about patina is that it tends to inhibit ugly rust. the only thing more I would do to it is use some MAAS of similar metal polish and some 0000 steel wool to clean it a little more especially the tail area and be sure to work a lot in around the pivot there is a good chance you have some rust in there based on the photo.
what sort of hones did you use?

also you could provide a region for your location and it might help you connect with others who can help you speed your learning curve.

enjoy,
jim

[eddy79]

Hi and welcome. Well done on the restoration and good luck with your future shaves.

[SRNewb]

Thanks for the warm welcome, all of you.
To answer some of the questions, yes, there is some tarnish around the pivot point, but I can't see any rust, even under magnification, so I think I'm good there. Besides, unless I remove the scales there's always going to be a bit of tarnish or rust around that pivot point that I cannot get to. Nature of the beast, so to speak. I have already hit the blade with polishing compound (automotive), but as soon as I can get to the store I'll pick up a good metal polish and go over it for good measure.
As for the hones I used, I have no idea. I've had them both for 15 or 20 years. They are well used.

They are both natural stones, I believe. The small one is a hard Arkansas stone. The larger one is a bit softer, and it actually needs flattening, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I started with the larger one, and when I got a good edge I refined it on the small Arkansas stone.

[SRNewb]

Welcome to the forum! glad you've discovered that 'shiny and new' have very little to do with 'very sharp' ;-). BTW, your screen name will be mighty confusing a few years and a few thousand posts down the track....

Thanks. I learned the difference between shiny and sharp with hand planes. Give me a good '30s Stanley over anything new any day of the week.
LOL, yeah, I thought about the username before I chose it, but it pretty much describes me, and I think it'll remain pretty descriptive for a long time to come. I've got a lot to learn, and one more thing to keep an eye out for at flea markets, yard sales, pawn and antique shops, etc. My wife is already shaking her head. Probably thinking, "there goes another hobby completely out of control", lol.

[rodb]

Most of us use a finishing stone at 8k+ grit, I can't tell what the bigger stone is from the picture, but if it is really smooth, try very light pressure (weight of the razor or less) and see if you can get a better edge. Otherwise you probably need a finer grit finishing hone. A Norton 4k/8k combo is a very good place to start