Thread: A bit to learn

Had a friend who recently started using a straight razor, so my interest was piqued when I saw a cabinet full of them in an antique store. Went ahead and bought the shiniest, heftiest looking one, along with a strop that seems to be in fair condition. Didn't have time to use them this morning, though, and am rather glad for that, since it allowed me time to read through this forum a bit. Looks like it may behoove me to look into honing my newly-acquired old blade. I look forward to reviving it and the strop, though, and giving it a go sometime soon. Any advice on locating local supplies (I'm in a pretty small town right now, but have ready-access to Wichita, KS).

Oh...and hi.

--Ryan

Hello, Nepsis:

Welcome to Straight Razor Place. Yes, that razor needs to be honed before you shave with it.

We have several members here from the Kansas City area, who might know of some places for products and I am sure will help you out.

Regards,
Obie

Hello Ryan and welcome to SRP! It would be smart to have the blade checked and honed. It doesnt matter wether you are from small town USA or the city, most of us order what we truly want from online vendors. I can tell you this much though, Walmart as well as some of the chain drugstores still carry inexpensive soaps and brushes that are just fine for straight shavers. Try some Pinaud Clubman After Shave for that old time barbershop smell.

Its good to have you here, please check out the forums, the wiki, and always feel free to ask questions, we are here for you!

he welcome to srp! you made me smile when i read that you picked the most hefty razor of the lot.. you should do some reading up on which blades are good ones to buy and go back..

either way.. get that thing honed and do some reading of the wiki before attempting a shave..

again.. welcome.

Thanks for the input! I did find a brush and some shaving soap at the local Walgreens...should be enough to get me going (will experiment with varieties later). From the bit of reading I've done here, looks like I need to have the razor honed, and make sure the strop is conditioned. Strop conditioning looks easy enough, but any advice on finding someone to hone the razor? Just a matter of popping by the local barber shop, or should I search the yellow pages for someone who sharpens knives? Any way to evaluate whether they'll do a good job prior to them actually doing it?

Thanks,
--R

Originally Posted by Nepsis

Thanks for the input! I did find a brush and some shaving soap at the local Walgreens...should be enough to get me going (will experiment with varieties later).

Straight razor shaving is the most demanding of a shaving soap/cream's quality. Please tell us the brand you are using, especially due to inexperience. Also prudent to make sure you've got the right ratio of water to soap, even a good beginner brand like Van der Hagen can be sub-par without proper hydration.

Originally Posted by Nepsis

From the bit of reading I've done here, looks like I need to have the razor honed, and make sure the strop is conditioned. Strop conditioning looks easy enough, but any advice on finding someone to hone the razor? Just a matter of popping by the local barber shop, or should I search the yellow pages for someone who sharpens knives? Any way to evaluate whether they'll do a good job prior to them actually doing it?

Uhhhh. It really depends on the barber/knife sharpener. Reading through posts on this site has led me to believe that straight razors have become something of a lost "art", including the profession that were the foremost authorities on the subject. Same goes for knife sharpeners. Reading through culinary forums has shown me that many knife sharpening places can't even sharpen regular knives to a good cook's requirements. A lot of hardware stores are more suited to garden tools and standard workshop equipment, not higher end knives. They can butcher the steel of good knives and may rip off way more steel than appropriate. If they can't bring a quality knife up to the steel's level of fineness, what would they do to a tool designed to be fine enough to safely cut your facial hair?

Originally Posted by Nepsis

Thanks,
--R

You're welcome!

Originally Posted by Nepsis

should I search the yellow pages for someone who sharpens knives?

Thanks,
--R

Welcome SRP.
Please forget about above statement.
we do have member services on classified.

Member Services - Straight Razor Place Classifieds
Check it out and choose 1 person get your blade shave ready. good luck