Thread: newbie introduction

Hi my name is Greg, and I just wanted to introduce my self. I recently picked up straight razor shaving by purchasing a changeable blade straight razor. I enjoyed a lot. Ever since I have purchased a 4000/8000 Norton water stone, two chipped razors and began restoring them. I have took out the cheeps by a butterknifing and polished the blades with a dremel. I have spent a lot of time on a lower grit stone, purchased from a local hardware store and then on a 600 grit sand paper following by 4000/8000. Now, the razor is sharp enough to cut hair of the hand but won’t pass the hanging hair test. I have ordered a 1000/6000 grit stone and gonna drop it down to a 1000 and work my way up to 8000.

-Just was wondering if it is the way to go about it?

-I have found a strop in my budget on Amazon, and need some one to advise me.
http://www.amazon.com/Fromm-300003-Razor-Strop-23/dp/B001DYM5TG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1269408592&sr=1-1[/URL][/URL]

Welcome to SRP. I can't advise you on the strop as I don't know the brand and have no personal experience with it. As for the honing, it sounds like you've done some reading on it. There is a wealth of information in the SRP Wiki here on all things related to straight razors including honing. I have found this video here of Lynn honing at an SRP get together very helpful.

In general I try to avoid breadknifing because of the amount of work to get an edge back. Circles and back and forth strokes are a better way to go IME. Hard to say without seeing the blades what the deal is but don't worry about the HHT for now. The TNT is the next step and once that is passed go on to the TPT. You can get a feel for the TPT usng a new DE blade if you have one. The 1k to set the bevel and the 4/8 to sharpen should do the job if the steel in the blades you have is decent.

+1 on Jimmy's advice. My first strop was similar from Amazon. It's serviceable and I now have it pasted, but if you haven't made the purchase yet then I'd also like to point you to RupRazor where you can get a nice starter strop for $20 to nick up without worry and practice technique.

It'd also be wise to get a normal razor sharpened by one of our honemeisters just as a basis for comparison. I've never used the changeable blades but I recall reading that there is a difference in how they feel (correct me if that's wrong). Remember that the most important and consistent test is the shave test.

Also be careful with that Dremel, and feel free to post some images of your progress. We love the razor pics.

Thank you guys for your suggestions. I definitely will take it in to an account. I will try to get some pictures of both my babies up as soon as possible. Once again I want to thank you for your help.