Thread: Newbie from Perth, Australia

Hey all, just thought ild say hello.
Decided to restore my old grandfather's straight razor and give it a go, as buying replaceable cartridges was costing me a fortune it felt.

Pulled the scales apart, cleaned them up and re pinned them.
Honed 1000, 4000, 8000 and gave it a strop. Seemed to work ok!

After one shave I decided I wanted to change the scales a bit, give it a bit of fresh life.

Came out ok I think! I left some of the pitting on there, as I felt it gave the blade character, being around 100 years old haha. Who knows, i may change my mind and clean it up further later.

Got some cream, a paddle strop and some preshave oil to try and protect my face (rather unsuccessfully sigh haha)

Bit of initial cost, but hopefully recouped later.

Anyho! Enough talk and onto some photos. I could do this thanks to the information onto this site, so a big thanks to you all.

This is original condition

After a clean up

Then a couple with the new scales I knocked up from some off cuts


No idea what shave ready feels like, but this certainly is sharp haha.

If you spot any obvious mistakes let me know

Welcome, Cobber! looks like you did grandfather proud.

Lots from your area here. Sounds like you are doing fine!

Welcome Mrwater. I'm in and out of Perth regularly, so if you need any help or advice send me a pm and we can organise something

Welcome to the "Place'

Pins & washers seem a bit oversize but looks like a good start.

Thanks for the welcome guys

Yep! They are a bit larger than the norm.
Half necessity half design.

Old ones were a bit worn, so I went up a size. Made some shims and washers to suit. I actually like the larger size.. seems more.. industrial hah

Proof is in the shave! If it's your first straight shave, I wouldn't rely on it too much. Your technique is going to take many weeks to perfect so well done on an awesome start. You may want to consider sending it for a pro hone, 1) so you can get feed back on your hone, 2) you'll know what a great edge feels like and so have something to aim for and 3) you can rule out a poor edge if you are having dramas (rash/irritation etc) with results. Not very expensive (cheaper than a pack of carts!) and really worth considering.

Anyway Welcome!!

Originally Posted by Mrwater

Thanks for the welcome guys

Yep! They are a bit larger than the norm.
Half necessity half design.

Old ones were a bit worn, so I went up a size. Made some shims and washers to suit. I actually like the larger size.. seems more.. industrial hah

Ya, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, but yeah, your mate is correct.
However, it looks quite solid and THAT is what matters. Esp as with wooden scales.
I am impressed you have the shape and size done proper.

Hi and welcome. Not many of us active here from Perth. Been a few come and go but only bout a half dozen regulars. If you want any help, honing advice etc feel free to PM me. Always happy to have another straight shaver to talk with. Definitely recommend having your blade checked out to make sure its shave ready. There is a big difference between able to shave and shave ready and starting out we all tend to bat a bit below average for a while till we have enough blades under our belt to get better. What area are you in there are a few of us spread all over. Anyways good luck

Thanks all! I like the idea of a pro hone, but not so keen on sending it away if possible.. is there someone perth based who is reccomended?

I'm from the kalamunda/maida vale area, at the base of the hills. Anyone else this side of Dodge?

Once my face heals after my last 5am attempt ill give it another go haha. Good plan for the weekend I think!

G'Day and welcome from the correct side of the country .... hehehehe