Thread: Greetings from Belgium

Yep. Uou got to try them all. So buy the first dozen now and by the time you have learned those you will know what ya like. Lol.

Hi and welcome aboard.

Welcome to the Forum! I suggest you get a 5/8 round nose to begin with. It would be a great middle of the road starter, easy to learn on, compared to say, a 7/8 or a spike (square point). Stropping is vital to maintaining a razor's function. One step at a time, take it slow. Shaving with a straight razor takes time even for advanced shavers. Everyone on the Forum will tell you the same thing, "No one here is in a hurry".

You mean a 6/8 round nose, Freddie. A 5/8 blade seems a bit small for a guy with large hands.

On a more serious note, the 6/8 sized razor is dead center within the range of "typical" widths which explains why my favorite size is 13/16.

YMMV as the saying goes.

Originally Posted by MisterClean

Welcome to the Forum! I suggest you get a 5/8 round nose to begin with. It would be a great middle of the road starter, easy to learn on, compared to say, a 7/8 or a spike (square point). Stropping is vital to maintaining a razor's function. One step at a time, take it slow. Shaving with a straight razor takes time even for advanced shavers. Everyone on the Forum will tell you the same thing, "No one here is in a hurry".

Over a year ago, when I first started wanting a straight razor, I did my research and people recommended either a 5/8" or 6/8" with preferably a round point. My plan back then was to get a DOVO 5/8" round point. However, I have actually drawn the sizes on paper and 5/8" is about the size of the typical butter knife which doesn't appeal to me at all (way too small). The size combined with a round point reminds me too much of a butter knife which is a major turnoff.

My DOVO shavette is just a little bit smaller than a 5/8" and I find it a bit unbalanced at times because of the small size and low weight. So it's going to be at least a 6/8", probably a 7/8" and there's a tiny chance it'll be an 8/8". Thing is, if I happen to like straight razor shaving, it might be months before I can buy a second straight razor since I have some other expenses coming up, so I don't want to buy a straight razor that's too small. I already know what small feels like thanks to my DOVO shavette and I want (substantially) bigger.

Another thing that makes it a bit more difficult for me is that I have to find a balance between looks and ease of use. I'm not shaving with something that doesn't look good to me. If I do pick a gorgeous Spanish point, I might go for a rounded toe and heel. And no worries, I'm taking my time for straight razor shaving. My shavette has learned me that if I don't, then I'll be punished.

My Strop-It Supex 77 paddle strop should be here next week, so I'll use my shavette (without a blade in it) to practice stropping beforehand. As for ordering my first straight razor, I'm taking my time until I've reached the point where I feel like my research is done and have completely made up my mind on every part whether that'd take days, weeks or even a month. Time is on my side.

Originally Posted by Speedster

You mean a 6/8 round nose, Freddie. A 5/8 blade seems a bit small for a guy with large hands.

On a more serious note, the 6/8 sized razor is dead center within the range of "typical" widths which explains why my favorite size is 13/16.

YMMV as the saying goes.

6/8" is still an option here, although it still looks a bit small on paper to be honest. I did read though that Koraat razors are a bit bigger than their official size. I know that Ulrik uses ball bearing steel (DIN 1.3505) for his 5/8" and 6/8" razors and silver steel (DIN 1.2210) for his 7/8" and 8/8" razors. According to him there is no big difference between the two, but the ball bearing steel is also used for high quality kitchen knives and it seems to be a bit smoother and more gentle.

Since you mentioned balance, most quality SRs have much better balance than a shaavette, so whatever you get, you won't likely have an issue with that.

Since you mentioned butter knives, they can be a good way to practice stropping, since they can't slice up your strop like a razor can if you make an error.

Originally Posted by Haroldg48

Since you mentioned balance, most quality SRs have much better balance than a shaavette, so whatever you get, you won't likely have an issue with that.

Since you mentioned butter knives, they can be a good way to practice stropping, since they can't slice up your strop like a razor can if you make an error.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll use a butter knife too for practicing stropping.

Hello and welcome aboard.
Indre, de après some Belgians here. As Belgium is quite small, it's easy to meet each other. I live between Spa and Verviers.
If you need information about shops, honing, restauration of flea market straights, do not hesitate to send me à pm.