Thread: New member, from North Georgia-USA

Shaved with a straight razor, 49+ years ago in the Corps. Found my old razors several months ago. Started with you tube videos...several Lynn Abrams. They led me to your store.
Purchased seven stones, 220/1000 Norton, 4K/8K Norton, Naniwa 12K, Atoma #400 and Shapton 16K. Strop, paste etc. Started honing, and whew! It is not like honing a pocket knife!
Found the PDF file by Prof. Dr. John D. Verhoeven. Between Abrams videos and less strokes are better, I finally got it right. Shaved three days ago and only cut myself five times...did not count nicks. Kept going after the first two cuts and got a little better, but not much. Have not seen that much blood in a long time. Only shave every few days, so a few more won't hurt. The experience really hooked me on my razors again.
Still have lots of questions. Hope ya'll don't mind if I start with one? Just ordered the three or four small Coticule stones. Thinking the 4K/8K stones would hone better with slurry? Is that true? Thanks Semper Fi!

Welcome to SRP Billy. There are a lot of useful post and info here. Yes slurry will help. Sounds like your on the right course. Take it slow and don't rush. You will get there in do time. Enjoy the journey and don't get discouraged.

Thanks. Agreed, slow is better. Had to tape the spine, and ease up on the pressure.
I am enjoying the process.

Welcome aboard Billy. I always tape the spine on ant straight I hone. It keeps from getting hone wear which I'm sure you know but I bought something like 22 rolls of 3M electrical tape on eBay for around $18 free shipping so that's less than $1 per roll. I have enough to last a long time. Slurry is good but dilute gradually it as you get closer to the finish. It makes a smoother finish. Ask away, you'll find there is a warm, friendly atmosphere here.
Good luck my friend!

Welcome to SRP from the other side of the mountains.
If you have several razors, then you might want to send one out for professional honing so that you will know the sharpness that you are aiming for.
And definitely take it slow.

Thanks for the welcome comments. I would presume that 3M tape has a lower friction rating than other tape brands?
Purchased two razors from SR Designs...and used one along with my honed razor to shave. The Aust did shave better than my honed razor. So I have to continue on a slow path to improve my honing skills. Worked my way thru the forum last night, and enjoyed the many topics. Lots of good experience from many members.

Billy, you might already know this but the Ralf Aust you bought from SRD was honed & stropped by Lynn, the forum owner since he is part owner of SRD. He hones & strops each one before they go to their new owner, that way you have a guaranteed shave ready straight razor when you get it. Then when it needs honing again you know this but you also have a free honing for when it needs it which makes buying from SRD a great choice. If you want to improve your honing skills, look at Lynn's YouTube video's since they show honing plus a lot of other important things plus gsssixgun's honing video's. Here are the links to them:

https://www.youtube.com/user/LynnSAbrams/videos

https://www.youtube.com/user/gssixgun/videos

On the second link, gssixgun, just scroll down where it says load more & you will see them.
Good luck!

Thanks Engine46...I did not know that! Along with learning honing skills, I have come to realize my shaving angle and lathering my face are wrong. I look forward to practice multiple skills. Will use your links! Practice, and patience!

Originally Posted by BillyByars

Thanks Engine46...I did not know that! Along with learning honing skills, I have come to realize my shaving angle and lathering my face are wrong. I look forward to practice multiple skills. Will use your links! Practice, and patience!

You're so welcome anytime Billy!

Hi and welcome. Any questions feel free to ask and good luck with your honing and shaving skills