Thread: New From Bloomington IL

Hey guys!

Just wanted to introduce myself and say that I'm glad to be part of the forums.

A brief history of my razor induction would go like this: About 2 weeks ago I bought a couple cheap Straight Razors and a leather/linen strop off ebay (Brand Name: Beauty and Barber). They didn't even cut a hair, no matter how much pressure you put on the blade.

Never the less, I liked the feel of the blade and felt that I could handle shaving, given I had a proper blade. So I took a trip to Chicago and went to Truefitt and Hill. I bought a Solingen "Best Quality" razor, with a ruby handle and a very nice leather/linen strop. I could tell the huge difference in quality straight off the bat. I also invested in some Scotland Forbes Shaving cream (the lime scented one).

Unfortunately the razor, as sharp as it was, wasn't able to give a solid shave and left my neck in pretty bad shape the past 3 times I've tried shaving. After a little research I found out that I really should hone it since it probably wasn't "shave ready".

Today I bought a Nortons 200/1000 and 4000/8000 kit with flattener. I'm going on a trip over the weekend, so hopefully it will be here once I get back on Monday.

Anyways, that's about it for now. Hopefully once I get the honer and shape up my razor I'll finally be able to get a solid shave out of it.

Welcome to the forum neighbor!
You will be amazed at the amount of information for beginners that you can find in the getting started section of the Wiki and the Sticky's at the top of the Beginner's section of the forum. The more reading you do there, the easier your getting started will be.

Often first time honing doesn't go well but it's worth having a go at it. However, it does help for you to have a standard for comparison, so you may want to have one razor honed by someone who knows what they are doing. That way you will know what you should aim for in your own honing.

Good luck!

Yeah actually since I already have those 2 cheap razors that I started out with, I was going to do my first hone on them. I figure I should at least be able to get them decently sharp, or at least sharp enough to actually cut hair. At least then I'll know if I'm headed in the right direction.

Then once I think I've got the hang of honing I'll actually switch to sharpening the Dovo Solingen.

Also, it says "Solingen Best Quality" and then on the tang has Col. Ichabod Conk stamped.

What exactly does the Col. Ichabod Conk mean? Just a special edition? Like the "Eddie Bauer" Cherokee's on cars?

I believe the Col. Conks are made by Dovo and as such are perfectly fine. I think it's just a sub-brand.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...harpening.html
For Utopian or anyone else that may be interested in my situation.