New from south Mississippi

New member here from south MS. I originally got interested in straight razors from a knife making perspective after a fellow knife maker made one. I purchased a Gold Dollar razor to learn to shave with and to have some basic idea of the in's and out's of straight razors. Took me a while to figure out how to properly sharpen and strop it, but for the last few months has been all I've shaved with. If you had told me 6 months ago I'd be shaving with a straight razor I'd have said you were nuts, no way no how, but since I started I've found my face doesn't break out from shaving like it did and the stubble is not as course, not to mention with my stiff beard I only got two or three uses out of Mach 3 cartridges. Still have a lot to learn, but my first prototype is tempering rite now.

I was lucky enough to have a set of ceramic water stones I use for wood chisels, and I've found a cheap Radio Shack microscope works great for inspecting the edge during sharpening. Unfortunately the Gold Dollar, while it works, has a lot to be desired, one issue I have is I have to strop after the initial shave to make a second pass, and every 3-4 shave I have to lightly hone it again on the 8,000 grit stone. Might have something to do with only having an untreated strip of vegetable tanned leather for a strop, as I said, I've got a lot to learn.

My first prototype is in the oven tempering rite now, I can't wait to finish it and try it out. unfortunately there are quite a few mistakes, nothing hopefully will harm performance, but the fit and finish are not where I'd like it to be. Seems a straight razor is a bit more complex than first glance would suggest.

I look forward to learning more.

Will

Wow, Brother, you have certainly been busy these past few months. Definitely shows you have really been reading up here on this site... Most people have to troll pretty deep to gain the knowledge you have in such a short time. :)

Hope all your projects come out great!! Welcome to SRP!!

Hi and welcome aboard. Sounds like you are both feet in up to your neck. Post pics once you have it done

I don't know about the knowledge part, still scratching my head on a few things, but I'm hard headed enough to keep plodding along till I maybe figure it out.

I'll post pics when I get it done, it started out as a 1/4" with a 15/16" blade, but got a bit thinner than I wanted, so had to go narrower than I wanted. Rite now the blade is .665 wide instead of the intended .9375 to maintain the 15 deg sharpening bevel. I may or may not get a functional razor out of this one, but it's been a learning experience. Doesn't help that I don't hollow grind very often. May have to get a smaller wheel to get the full hollow grind I'm after. But part of it was to test my steel and heat treat, so even if it winds up in the junk bin I'll have learned a lot.

I have been reading a lot on here, but have lots more to learn. You are correct, I'm in it up to my neck and sinking fast. And I thought knife making was addictive.

You've been busy indeed, welcome to the group! I wouldn't sweat your troubles with the gold dollar that much. They don't exactly have the greatest track record.

No problem, I got the gold dollar as an entry level blade, and I quite like it, except the handle is a bit too flexible, and the tang of the razor too slick and over buffed. The edge holding seems to leave something to be desired as well. Overall I like the size and shape, and will go from there.

Yeah you'll definitely have a better idea what you want before spending on a really good razor. I've never handled one of them myself so I couldn't comment on whether the scales are more flexible than other razors. Shouldn't matter tho, they're only there to protect the edge when you put it away.

The scales look like carbon fiber, if you squint and have water in your eyes. They are flexible enough that if you don't handle the razor very gently when closing the edge will hit the edge of the handle scales. Not bad for what I paid for it, but I know there's better out there.

Ok yeah that's the look I saw last night when I looked one up to refresh my memory. I couldn't believe how many clichés were in the product description! That's a lot more flexible than I'd imagined too. You shouldn't have to be so careful closing it. I guess I'm spoiled & only having to make sure I don't slam my razors closed.

If you don't mind spending the extra effort on the gold dollar, and you're up for the challenge, you could try putting a different set of scales on it. There are some good articles on that here and it's a skill you'll want a little practice on before scaling your prototype, assuming you're happy with it after hardening & tempering.

Welcome...sometimes just jumping into the deep end is the way to go.

The best part of the description was "shave ready", now that was just funny, in hind sight anyway.

I'll probably leave them alone for now, got a show this weekend I'm getting ready for and it shouldn't be too difficult to make scales and a wedge. I understand natural material was and is used, but I'm thinking I'll stick with G10 and mycarta for now, maybe stabilized wood and antler later.

Natural materials are traditional, but synthetics are fairly common as well.

Check the classifieds here from time to time. There are some excellent values.

Thanks, I've been looking over some razors on Ebay as well, seems most are reasonably priced, but I don't know which is considered collectable or not.

Buyer beware on eBay. You have to really know what to look for & most sellers can't answer the important questions even if they wanted to. The classifieds here are a much safer bet.

This is true, but then I really don't know what to look for yet. Part of thinking of eBay is to study old designs, so even if there's cracks or deep pitting they are useful for what they can tell me. Provided I don't pay too much, that is.

Browsing classifieds here & the library can fill in most of the info you need, but yeah there will come a point where you really need to just step into the pool & try practicing what you've learned. I mean if it's something you want to do that's fine, I don't mean to discourage you, but it's a big gamble whether or not the razors can even be put into useful condition.

Good points, and if I did get something off eBay I would do so in the knowledge that I'd likely not be able to restore it to shaving condition. And I doubt I would get more than a couple just to see how they were made and the geometry and such without worrying about damaging a valuable razor. I try to do the same with old knives and axes, just never could afford most of them, but there are gems out there that tell a tale of how they were constructed and how the owners used them.