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I have just bought myself a new Boker Silver Steel and a very old Crown and Castle vintage razor from eBay. I have got the hones and strops needed to start straight shaving, just haven't worked up the nerve to put down my ATT S2 Slant and give one of the two razors a try!! Hoping to do a first run this weekend!!
Wish me luck!! LOL!!
Welcome to the forum. If you have not read this Beginner's guide to straight razor shaving - Straight Razor Place Library from the forum's library it might be a good primer.
Bob
Thanks Bob, appreciated!!Quote:
Originally Posted by BobH
Welcome to the forum. I hope you start with shave ready edges and learn the technique of straight razor shaving before you start honing. It is tough to try and figure both out at the same time. If you need help getting someone to put an edge on your razors send me a PM. I bet you have the lather system figured out well already. It is certainly part of the process. There is a ton of information here to go through. If you have any specific questions let us know.
Welcome to the forum, lots of fun here and enjoy the journey.....
Welcome to an older but better way of shaving. :tu
As has been said, please start out with a Shave Ready Razor! If you look in the Classifieds here at SRP you should find some very reasonably priced razors that will be shave ready.
Please remember that this age old art takes patience and practice.
I'm sure that you haven't seen this since it's a little old but if you take the time to read it. I think it will help you.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ry-2016-a.html
And This Recent One:
Straight Razor Place - Beginners' Tips: March 2016
If you will take your time, be patient and learn the basics before trying to put the horse before the cart then you will succeed. :y
Welcome to SRP!!!
:chapeau
Welcome, fellow Vancouverite! :chapeau
Hi and welcome. Hope you brought that boker from a vendor that hones as most shave ready razors on the bay aren't shave ready. Unless you are looking to meet with someone I would skip honing at the moment. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask
Thanks for all the advice guys, appreciated.
I have no fear of honing, I've been doing my knives and woodworking tools forever, I could actually shave with my plane blade! LOL
I have read through all the recommended posts and advice and will proceed with caution and enthusiasm!! Looking forward to learning lots here as time goes on.
Welcome and have fun overhere
Welcome west coast canuk.
Take your time and hope you learn quickly
Welcome from CowTown Alberta.
if your razor tugs on the whiskers, the blade is not shave ready.
My advise would be to send it out to a pro honer so you will know what a professionaly honed razor feels like.
Thanks again for all the advice guy, I am going to try and do my own honing first, if I run into problems I will definitely look for a qualified honer to do the work for me, but as of now I think that being able to do your own upkeep on your gear is part of the fun!!
Ah yes, I think there have been a few posts from new members that have said there would be no problems honing a razor because they have shaving sharp knives etc sharpened by themselves. Quite a few came back wondering what they were doing wrong when honing a razor.Quote:
Originally Posted by moleng1
Sharpening knives and woodworking tools is akin to but not quite the same as honing a straight razor. Just do not be surprised if it turns out not to be as easy as it looks. The finishing hone for a straight razor is a much higher grit than most would use to put the final edge on a knife and the edge on a straight razor is much thinner also.
Bob
As a former meat cutter I knew that honing a razor would be no problem at all! Guess What? PROBLEM! Not only are the angles and pressure or should I say 'Lack of Pressure' entirely different so are the grits.Quote:
Originally Posted by moleng1
Most guys start setting the bevel at 1K hone. An 8K gives a nice shave but many finish on a 12K, 20K or even a 30K hone.
Yes maintaining your razors can be part of the fun. However I believe that you would be best off if you learn the basics of Stropping, Lathering and of course Shaving. Go with a Pro Honed Edge while you are learning. It will remove at least One of the Variables. Believe it or not, you can mess up a perfectly good shaving edge with just stropping. Taking a blade to a hone can do more damage in a single lap than you can imagine.
This age old art takes patience. If you take your time, learn the basics of shaving and then once you have those semi mastered, and THEN start to learn how to hone (It's an art all of it's own) you'll really enjoy this age Older but Better Way of Shaving .
Enjoy the Ride! It's a Long Strange Trip, but well worth the Journey :tu
Well, I guess everyone has to start to learn somewhere.
I find it funny that people on a board like this one would be so against someone wanting to try their hand at up-keeping their own equipment. Honing isn't rocket science, and there are LOTS of people out there who do it, so why all the post against trying it??
I have been a hands on guy my whole life and usually succeed at most things I put my mind to. I'm also very able to see what I can't do and go to the pros when that happens. If I find I can't hone a razor to shave readiness I'll be the first to take it to someone who can, but everyone here saying I can't gives me all the more incentive to learn!!
I Never said that you shouldn't learn to hone. I merely pointed out that I felt that you and everyone else who wants to succeed learn the basics of shaving before learning to hone.Quote:
Originally Posted by moleng1
I myself waited for well over a year before attempting my hand at honing and I'm Damn Glad that I did.
I encourage Everyone to try to learn to hone. It can be very rewarding. If you can have a pro or experienced member hone for you for awhile there is a Big Plus. And that is by having an experienced honer do your razors for you, you will have a guide to how your edges are doing when you start to learn. When I was learning I would send a razor off to a Pro and ask that he use Exactly what I had for hones. It was a Valuable Learning Tool.
This Age Old Art has a huge learning and eliminating every variable when you start out is to your advantage to succeed and I for one Want You To Succeed :tu
No everyone wNts you to be able to maintain them yourself, just past experience teaches us that unless you have used a shave ready edge you won't have a clue what one is, I can tell you that you can't sharpen a knife or plane blade better than I. But we don't shave our face with a knife edge, it's a chippy edge that cuts , but a shave ready edge that serrated would not be fun. We're all vehind you, but once you actually learn how to shave and use one hats ready you,ll never know he potential. By the way your knife hones and plane stones might not be the best idea for razors. Good luck. We got got plenty of woodworking guys here who have a lot of experience that will tell you the difference. Have so e fun, I know I thought I knew what a good shave edge is and I've been sharpening things for over 55+ years. Tc
Like the others have said, we want people to succeed. It is a pretty common scenario for a beginner that is competent at honing knives etc to be very confident that honing razors will therefore be not too difficult. Many have posted after asking what they are doing wrong because their edges won't do. Just be prepared for some disappointment at first.Quote:
Originally Posted by moleng1
It is a good idea to start with a truly "shave ready" edge and get your shaving and stropping technique working well first. OTH there is nothing stopping you from jumping right on to honing with the hones that you have right now which may or may not be suitable for straight razors.
Good luck to you whichever way you decide to go. If you have questions be sure to ask as you go.
Bob
Experience, plain and simple. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by moleng1
I'm very much like you: hands-on, love working with my hands, into woodworking, blacksmithing, now bladesmithing, had been sharpening my knives, etc., for as long as I could remember, etc., and so on... So I figured "no problem - I've got this!" and then proceeded to put up with months of miserable experience with sub-par edges.
The problem *for me* was that I didn't have any conception of what a truly shave-ready blade was like. So in effect with my own honing efforts, I was trying to hit a target I couldn't see. It wasn't until I dinged the edge on a faucet and sent it out to be repaired and honed by a pro that I really understood what the edge should be like. After that, I knew what I was trying to achieve, and my own honing improved no end.
So for me personally, I think from my own experience that having a professionally-honed blade early on can be really helpful. But at the same time I absolutely believe anyone with the inclination to do so should learn to hone his/her own razors. Not only because I just like doing things myself, but because it can become another enjoyable part of the process.
So please don't think we're trying to discourage you learning to hone. By all means do so, and enjoy the ride. But consider having it done by an experienced honer early on as it may help. And as Bob said, whatever you decide to do: best of luck with it! And when you have questions, ask away. :tu
Thanks for all the input and concern guys, definitely appreciated.
FYI the stones I have are 1000 grit, 4000/8000 grit Norton stones, a 10,000 Naniwa super stone and a 16,000 Shapton ceramic glass. Also have the Lynn Abrams designed modular paddle strop w/ .5 micron diamond spray and a Straight Razor Designs 3" Premium strop.
Those should all serve you well.Quote:
Originally Posted by moleng1
What do you ride TC? I've got a 2012 Road Glide Ultra, big bore, cams, pipes, breather w/ PCVQuote:
Originally Posted by tcrideshd
06 ultra , 10 triglide and a 72 shovel, all have been taken about as far as I want to go, 100-120 horses, the 72 is still in the basket stage, first bike I bought coming home from the army, wrecked a couple times , and now going to build her back old school easy rider 70, s chopper. Love the Road Glide, I see its back again. Tc
Yep, the shark is back this year, but I'm in no rush to upgrade, to much cash, blood, sweat, and tears in the current one!! LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by tcrideshd
My first Harley was a 72 Ironhead Sporty!! Wish I still had her as a bar hopper, the Glide can get a bit tiresome around town!