London Calling!

Hi everyone,

Lovely to join you here.
It's been a month since I converted to straights from many years of DE usage and I'm delighted I finally took the plunge.
The learning curve hasn't been nearly as steep as I feared and beyond a couple of nicks my first time putting blade to skin, my face remains intact :)
Just as my shaving and stropping techniques are starting to come together and feel more natural, I'm noticing the edge on my TI 5/8 is considerably dulled.
I've tried touching it up on CrOx and a 12k Naniwa which have helped somewhat, but I'm now itching to know what a really fine edge feels like (the razor came to me with only a factory edge on it).
Is there anyone in London or the UK who could do some light work on it with a reasonable turn-around time? I'm happy to pay, of course.
Many thanks,
Leon.

Welcome to SRP Leon. I cant help you with your honning but i think you can look up members under "community" at the top of the page. Not sure if it encludes other countries but its a good place to start. Be sure to see when they last posted to be sure they are still around. Otherwise, someone will come in shortly and give you some names.

Using the DE for years does make a big difference in learning the straight. Good luck and when you get a real hand honed razor be careful. Its going to be much sharper than a factory edge!

You have some very experienced honers and restorers in the UK. Check the local help link on the left of the home page.

I’m sure there are others who will respond to your post.

Welcome to SRP.

Gasman, DZEC - thanks so much for your replies, welcomes, and words of caution!
I'll check out the local help link now.
-Leon.

Welcome to the forum. Factory edges have had the reputation of not being the greatest so having it honed by a competent person should provided you with a real treat. I would PM "celticcrusader" who is in Wales for his honing service.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

Welcome to the forum. Factory edges have had the reputation of not being the greatest so having it honed by a competent person should provided you with a real treat. I would PM "celticcrusader" who is in Wales for his honing service.

Bob

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�� Thanks, Bob.
I see celticcrusader listed on the 'Local Help' page and will ping him a PM.

Hello Leon.
Welcome to the forum!
I'm sure there are forum members from the UK who will be both able and willing to help you.
Another option I can recommend is "The Invisible Edge" - a shaving and SR-related shoppe in Blandford Forum offering honing service.
Good luck!

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Originally Posted by dimab

Hello Leon.
Welcome to the forum!
I'm sure there are forum members from the UK who will be both able and willing to help you.
Another option I can recommend is "The Invisible Edge" - a shaving and SR-related shoppe in Blandford Forum offering honing service.
Good luck!

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Hi dimab,
Thanks for the welcome and suggestion. I actually ordered some products (12k stone etc) from The Invisible Edge a few weeks ago and had great service. I got the impression from their website that, although they offer a honing service, it wasn't really a priority for the business. I've just PM'ed CelticCrusader so I'll wait for his reply but I'll certainly keep The Invisible Edge in mind, too. Cheers!

**Update**

My razor will be winging its way to the gent known as celticcrusader tomorrow; can't wait to feel the difference in edge!

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction.

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Originally Posted by LeonG

**Update**

My razor will be winging its way to the gent known as celticcrusader tomorrow; can't wait to feel the difference in edge!

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction.

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I’m pretty sure you will be very pleased with the edge you will receive. Celticcrusader is a well respected restorer and an accomplished honemeister on this forum.

Welcome fellow Londoner :)

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Originally Posted by JOB15

Welcome fellow Londoner :)

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Hi JOB15,
Thanks for the kind welcome. Just checking out your website now!

Hi Leon, welcome I will get your TI sorted finished on an SG 20K, in fact, I hone a lot of razors for Adam Perkins of the Invisible edge, I will be interested to hear what you think of the edge compared to the original factory edge.

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Originally Posted by celticcrusader

Hi Leon, welcome I will get your TI sorted finished on an SG 20K, in fact, I hone a lot of razors for Adam Perkins of the Invisible edge, I will be interested to hear what you think of the edge compared to the original factory edge.

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Hi celticcrusader,

Thanks for your message. I just put the razor in the post this morning so all being well it should be with you in sunny Wales tomorrow. For what they're worth, I'll be sure to post my thoughts on the new edge once I've shaved with it.

As I mentioned above, I've found the transition to a straight razor smoother than I had expected and only wish I had made the change years ago.

Paradoxically though, as my technique has been improving this past month, I found my shaves getting progressively worse as the dulled edge caused me to apply more pressure. Poor habits that I definitely don't want to fall into.

So, back to my ol' faithful Merkur for a short while, accompanied by plenty of reading here.

Cheers!

Hi and welcome aboard. Just be sure to keep the pressure light after getting it back from Jamie.

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Originally Posted by eddy79

Hi and welcome aboard. Just be sure to keep the pressure light after getting it back from Jamie.

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Thanks for the welcome and advice, eddy; it's something I'm definitely mindful of.

I was gonna tell you to send it to me if you had no luck. A honemeister I wouldn't label myself, but I get a good enough edge to make myself happy lol. But sounds like you have yourself sorted.

Welcome to tge deally and good luck.

Geek

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Originally Posted by TheGeek

I was gonna tell you to send it to me if you had no luck. A honemeister I wouldn't label myself, but I get a good enough edge to make myself happy lol. But sounds like you have yourself sorted.

Welcome to tge deally and good luck.

Geek

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Very kind of you! Yes, I seem to be sorted for now.
Lovely community here - thanks again to everyone who has replied.

Welcome to the forum, Leon! I'm certain you will be amazed with the edge Jamie puts on your T-I razor. :)

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Originally Posted by Speedster

Welcome to the forum, Leon! I'm certain you will be amazed with the edge Jamie puts on your T-I razor. :)

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I fear my skills aren't sufficiently developed yet to properly appreciate an expertly honed edge.
Still, I'm greatly looking forward to my next straight shave.
Thanks for the welcome!

Hello Leon and welcome to SRP.
You certainly picked the right man for honing.
Enjoy your time here on the forum and have fun.

Pete <:-}

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Originally Posted by petercp4e

Hello Leon and welcome to SRP.
You certainly picked the right man for honing.
Enjoy your time here on the forum and have fun.

Pete <:-}

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Thanks very much, Pete. :tu

Welcome. :)

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Originally Posted by celestino

Welcome. :)

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Thanks, Celestino :)

Welcome aboard. Shaving with a straight is one thing. Honing a razor and maintaining the edge is another. I can’t emphasize enough how important proper stroping is. You absolutely must be proficient in stropping your razor. You can send it away to be honed but ya gotta strop. Lynn Abrams YouTube videos on Shaving, stropping, and honing are very good. Lots of knowledgeable folks on the forum and always willing to help.

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Originally Posted by Legman

Welcome aboard. Shaving with a straight is one thing. Honing a razor and maintaining the edge is another. I can’t emphasize enough how important proper stroping is. You absolutely must be proficient in stropping your razor. You can send it away to be honed but ya gotta strop. Lynn Abrams YouTube videos on Shaving, stropping, and honing are very good. Lots of knowledgeable folks on the forum and always willing to help.

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Thanks, Legman.
Yes; Lynn Abrams' videos have been very instructive. It's taken a few weeks but I've finally developed some good muscle memory for rolling the tang between thumb and forefinger and (touch wood) am no longer nicking up my strop on the flip.
I started with a latigo strop but just this past weekend picked up a russian leather which I much prefer the draw on.
Slowly, slowly...

Update #2

I've now had a chance to shave with my newly honed razor and wanted to post a few thanks and thoughts:

Firstly, a huge thank you goes to Celticcrusader: I posted my razor to him on Monday; on Tuesday he called me to say he had received it and explained his honing process; on Wednesday I had it back in my hands. Amazing service and kindness from a real gent.

Celtriccrusader promised me that the edge he had put on it was like 'night and day' to the one he'd received; he wasn't wrong!

Doing a HHT, I only had to show the blade to a hair for it to split.

Of course, what really matters is the shave itself and the experience was superlative. With an edge so keen I needed so little pressure I could barely feel it move across my cheeks: 2 1/2 days growth simply melted away.

They say one is more likely to cut one's self with a dull knife than a sharp one and I assume the same goes for razors. Two passes, clean as you like. No weepers, no irritation.

Honestly, I couldn't be happier with the razor.

Thanks everyone!

Hello Leon, welcome aboard.

Very welcome Leon!
Exciting transition aye?! This is a great place, I know you will enjoy it.
As far down the rabbit hole as you wish to go this place will take you!
Cheers

Hi YoWan, hi MikeT

Thanks for welcomes.

I don't have much to contribute around these parts, but I'm enjoying reading everyone's posts.
My shaves are continuing to improve as I:

1. Loosened the death-grip and learnt it's all in the wrist (lessons for life, really);
2. Learnt my preferred way of holding the razor for an ear-to-nose XTG pass is with the toe pointing down;
3. Learnt puffing my cheeks is far more important than it was for DE shaving;
4. Learnt I need a slicker lather than I do for DE shaving.

I swapped my latigo strop for a russian leather one thinking I preferred a much faster draw. I do, but it put me back almost to square one. For now, the only thing I really feel comfortable stropping on is polywebbing but I'm a pretty patient guy and know it will all come good one day.
Till then, I think CelticCrusader will be seeing my razor a few more times.

Welcome to the forum! We've got a few members in the UK so most of the antique shops around London are probably picked clean of straight razors. ;)

Hi Joshua.

I've been down the vintage rabbit hole with other interests and oh, boy! does it run deep...

Thankfully, I'm pretty minimalist in my shaving habits and for now I'm content with just the one straight. Just as well, by the sounds of it.

Welcome to this extraordinary group of men. Jamie is one of the nicest!

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Originally Posted by BanjoTom

Welcome to this extraordinary group of men. Jamie is one of the nicest!

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Aye, that he is.

Thanks for the welcome, BanjoTom.