Thread: Good Evening

Hey folks,

I'm Zac, coming to you live from Afghanistan. I figured that I while I'm out here for a year, I would be fairly bored, and wanted something novel and new to learn, so straight razor shaving it was.

I bought a cheap little kit and a beginner's blade from Vintage Straight Razor - about which I've learned more recently, none of it good - and I'm looking to make the best of a seemingly poor purchase. I've got nothing to spend money on out here so it's all good.

So my first question is this. There are two blades I have. One is completely dulled, a practice blade for learning how to hone and strop. The other is a beginner's blade, out of which I got exactly one shave. They're both cheap looking - one is Chinese and one is not marked at all. So, I bought a stone to practice honing the blades, and hopefully get a good edge on the beginner's blade to get a decent shave - I have a Norton 4000/8000 for that. How much work am I looking at to get a decent edge on these, so I can actually get a shave, instead of just take off some dry skin and irritate the rest?

Thanks for your service.
I'm not going to be a lot of help on this subject, but others more proficient than I will be along shortly.

I don't know if you got a poor excuse for a razor, or one that wasn't honed properly. If it is a good piece of metal, then you should be able to hone it up for use (check the library on this site for videos and texts for this). If it is simply a bad excuse for a razor, then not much can be done.

Regardless, check the classifieds in the forum for some good deals. Also, the forum sponsors are a good shopping area (I think -- my browser is currently blocking all ads due to a firewall).
Also, if you do decide to get a new blade, Straight Razor Designs will send you a perfectly honed one.

Good luck on your learning journey.

Hi Zac
Thank you for serving our country.

There are 10 or so SR guys in country that might help if you can find them.

In the meantime, hit the beginners section. There are a lot of vids and how-to threads.

If possible post some pics of your blades. The hone guys will give the advice needed.

to find other hobbyist:

Click Community/member list/search members/advanced search and put Afghanistan in location

Thank you for your service to us!
~Richard

Hi and welcome. Without knowing exactly what you have it is hard to give advice. From memory the vintage blades gear is pretty much useless and not much point trying. Can't remember that I have heard of anyone getting decent edges with them. If the Chinese one is a gold dollar that may be a better bet but they can have issues as well making them hard to hone. The strop from the cheap kit might be alright so maybe all that you need is a decent pro honed razor to get started. If you can post pics or a link to what you brought we will be able to help more. Good luck