1949 Gillette Super Speed

So about two years ago, I quit shaving with multi-blade razors. I found a spiffy '49 Gillette Super Speed on Ebay, found a Tweezerman brush at Harris Teeter, ordered some Feather blades, procured a cake of Col. Conk's amber shave soap, and grabbed a bottle of Kiss My Face mint shave cream. Ever since that first shave I have been a true convert. About a year ago I started thinking about making the leap from my DE razor to a straight razor. Upon starting my research I was to be perfectly honest, in awe of the vast array of razors, strops, hones, etc. A cornucopia of half hollow, full hollow, 6/8, 4/8, 9/12, 34/67, whetstone, sandstone, felt strop, leather, canvas.....HELP! I took a step back, kept on reading, and stumbled upon this forum.

Today I made the first step. I bought a strop from a surplus store, really cool vintage leather strop stamped INDENTED RUSSIA, with a beautiful metal (somewhat rusted) clasp at the top with wonderful scroll work. Cost me 30 bucks, figured this was a steal at the 50 dollar strops I've seen online. I went out and bought some leather conditioner/cleaner and made this puppy look really good!

I also order a waterstone from Amazon, a Woodstock D1130 1000 Grit and 6000 Grit Japanese Waterstone. I saw on your forums after the fact that you recommend a 4/8 setup...nevertheless, I don't expect that this particular waterstone WON'T sharpen a razor. So we'll see. Any feedback on this would be appreciated!

However exciting this is...I made the mistake of purchasing a MasterUSA razor, which after a bit of browsing through this forum, I found on the DO NOT BUY LIST. Paid 10 bucks for it, so whoops. Lesson learned. Took it to my face and nothing really came of it but a lot of frustration.

My next step is to check out the classifieds for a razor. I saw that your forum recommends a 6/8 razor for beginners...so we'll see what happens!

Thanks for reading! I'm glad to be here!

Robert

Hey, good to have you! I am in Charlotte, so if there is anything I can do to help just let me know.

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Originally Posted by jedibapst

I also order a waterstone from Amazon, a Woodstock D1130 1000 Grit and 6000 Grit Japanese Waterstone. I saw on your forums after the fact that you recommend a 4/8 setup...nevertheless, I don't expect that this particular waterstone WON'T sharpen a razor.

It should sharpen it if the stone is good, but it will probably not get it "shave ready." the 6k edge can be very sharp, but not really as smooth as you'll need it to be. Most go at least to 8k, many go higher

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This links to our wiki that has the best and most complete info on all things straight razor. This will help you have the best SR experience possible.

The Wiki

Cheers
Dave

Robert,

Welcome to SRP...

A word of advice...Hold off on the waterstone/honing. The first str8 razor you get, even from the SRP classifieds, ought to be professionally honed when you get it. Concentrate on learning proper stropping technique before you get involved with honing your razor. Even then, you may want to go to consult the SRP wiki as well as the forum on honing to acquire the equipment you need to restore your razor's sharpness after 6-12 months of use.

Again, welcome aboard and happy shaving.

So would you recommend just sending the 1k/6k hone I ordered back?

If so, the strop is sufficient maintenance for at least 6 months of shaving?

Thanks!

Hey thanks for the advice! I'm a huge Pink Floyd fan myself! I guess I will just send the 1k/6k hone back to Amazon...?

I just sent a pm so we can talk about this directly w/o playing post tag back and forth. Did you get a chance to read some of the wiki stuff on basic gear, technique, etc?

Welcome to SRP. I don't know the waterstone you bought and my suspicion is that not many here would be familiar with it either. The Norton 4/8 is the old standby and workhorse that many, many members are familiar with and can give feedback on. Also the Shaptons and the Naniwas. Than there are the naturals but that is another story.

Take that Master you have and use it to practice manipulating the razor on your face when your not actually shaving but maybe watching TV or what have you. I think it really helps to do that.

Here is a 1961 barber manual excerpt that will give you some good stuff to go with on learning to strop correctly from the get go. Good info on honing as well. :gl:

that will be a fine razor, welcome to srp and congrats

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jedibapst

So would you recommend just sending the 1k/6k hone I ordered back?

If so, the strop is sufficient maintenance for at least 6 months of shaving?

Thanks!

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Robert,

Yes to both of your questions...

Go slow at first when stropping. Learn the proper back and forth motion by reading the wiki and watching the stropping videos (turn the blade on its spine, NEVER on the blade) so that you develop muscle memory. Two more pieces of advice...Make sure that your strop is taut. Don't let it sag when stropping. Finally, there is no need to apply a lot of pressure to the blade when stropping. Very light pressure to keep the blade on the strop is sufficient. The weight of the blade will do the work for you.

BTW...Your selection of the Dovo 5/8" Blond "Best Quality" is an excellent choice for an entry level str8 razor. The blade quality is equal to that of more expensive str8 razors.

Take care...