Hi Gents,
I've been checking out SRP for some time and decided to get involved today, due in no small part to the fact that I've been sucked into the vortex and purchased a small number of second hand straights in the last few months. Come to think of it, I've been visiting SRP for the last few months... Hmm. Chicken and egg?

I'm a mid 30's engineer and father of two little ones. My daughter likes to watch daddy having a shave, but then she's only two and likes to be involved with anything daddy is doing anything really! My little boy is only five months old and I'm already looking forward to teaching him how to use and maintain straights when he's old enough.

Anyway, my straight razor journey started out around 5 or so years ago when my sister (bless her cotton socks!) bought me a really nice Dovo silver steel razor, the one with the Ebony scales and gold detailing on the blade and spine. Just lovely.

Being clueless and somewhat heavy handed, I dulled the edge immediately and gave up when the first shave felt like I was using a belt sander with 40-grit paper.

About a year later, I bought a shavette and learned a half decent technique with that. I did find though that a new blade ALWAYS resulted in a lot of nicks. It usually took a few shaves before the blade felt comfy. I still use the shavette when travelling to cut down on baggage. I picked up a new strop around the same time but didn't learn how to use it properly.

I purchased a basic Dovo razor from SRD a few months back and that's when things really kicked off for me. I've since purchased another three "vintage" razors off ebay and so far I've been fairly lucky in not having bought a total dud. Currently, my best shave is an old King Cutter. Also bought a cheapie Gold Dollar to practice honing, stropping etc on without screwing up the good ones.

Anyway, I'm having a bit of trouble with the heel end of a Bockla 4/8 razor. It's a pretty nice little unit but it looks like someone has had a go at cleaning up some pitting and there is a fair amount of micro chipping in that area. I'll get some pics and post them when I can. Hopefully I'll be able to fix it up when my Norton 220/1k + 4/8k set arrives next week

One quick question - as an engineer, I like to give a number to things. I noticed everyone bangs on about a light touch when honing / stropping but does anyone on SRP have a figure for the amount of pressure to apply during these processes? Just curious.