Thread: evening all.

Hello, i'm a englishman who's been gifted a straight razor and thought it was the coolest thing i've seen for a long time. I got my self a cheap strop and a chinese 12k stone and basicaly jumped right in. Probably not the best idea, but things didnt turn out too bad- no ambulance needed anyway.
Sometimes though, its best to do some research, especially when dealing with something that can damage you, but I'm an impulsive sort of fella. the razor I have can be described as cheap and/or fake. It has a poorly printed, lop-sided gold design on the blade that says "best brand" Its sharp enough to just about shave the hairs on my arm. I've shaved with it a few times, and whilst not cutting myself, it was none too comfortable. It just about does the job I suppose but nowhere near the shave I was expecting.
I know that this could be down to my lack of skill but after finding this place and having a look round I think I have a crap razor. (it came shave ready supposedly) I'm keen to keep on shaving with a straight (in fact I cant bloody stop myself, blunt razor or not)
Is there any point continuing with this razor or should I buy a genuine shave ready/honed one?

Nice to be here, glad I found this place, albeit a bit late!

you might be better off with a razor from the classifieds here that is shave ready. good luck.
here is a list of razors to avoid
Brands of Straight Razors to avoid - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Well, I've got myself a shave rady razor from the classifieds and have started to trawl through the information in this place. My cheapo razor is now gonna be used to practice my honing as soon as I can stretch for a norton 4k/8k hone. Hopefully its not completely useless!

Welcome!

It will be much better with the shave ready razor. Just remember there is a learning curve. Be sure to check out the Straight Razor Place Wiki, if you have not already done so.

Enjoy the journey!



Lu

Originally Posted by solar

Well, I've got myself a shave rady razor from the classifieds and have started to trawl through the information in this place. My cheapo razor is now gonna be used to practice my honing as soon as I can stretch for a norton 4k/8k hone. Hopefully its not completely useless!

solar,

If the str8 razor you purchase from the SRP Classifieds is professionally honed, you shouldn't need to purchase a Norton hone or any other hone for that matter. It ought to stay sharp enough to shave with for sometime.

If you are new to str8 razor shaving, I would recommend against honing as a first resort to maintain the sharpness of your blade. Focus instead on proper/correct stropping technique to maintain the professionally honed, shave-ready blade that you already have. When that doesn't do the job anymore, consider getting a second cheaper strop that you paste to restore/maintain the sharpness of the blade before investing in a hone. You can even use your cheap razor to practice stropping with pastes on your second strop before moving on to honing.

In my estimation, honing is a last resort to restore/maintain the sharpness of a str8 razor's blade. It removes more material from the blade than either regular stropping or stropping with pastes. As such, it should be done as little as possible.

cheers for the replies fellas.
cyclelu, Yup I'm browsing the wiki. Plenty of good, interesting stuff in there.

Jhenry. Dont worry, my shave ready razor wont be going anywhere near a hone! I was thinking of practising honing with the razor I already have which is pretty dull. Thanks for the info about the stropping/paste. that sounds a good idea man.

Thanks.

Welcome! Have fun.

Welcome aboard!!