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hello everyone, new to here, and I am looking forward to getting advice and getting to know you all...I have recently bought myself 2 straight razors and I have made a strop from veg tan leather...but I think my razors may need honing with a stone first as after stropping I just dont think they shave close enough...any advice??..... and thanks
Hello, Robbie:
Welcome to Straight Razor Place. To begin with, please float through the Wiki and enjoy the information and the tutorials on the world of straight razor shaving. Beyond that, please ask questions.
We have a number of members in the UK. I am sure soon they will join the conversation and suggest places to have your razors professionally honed. And, yes, they do need to be honed by a professional.
From there, take your time honing your skill with the straight razor, stropping and making lather. Everyone here look forward to helping you out.
Regards,
Obie
thanks Obie..I'm gonna enjoy browsing..
Welcome to SRP Robbbie, Liverpool? Is that near Manchester?
Mike:)
Hi Modine..thanks for the reply.......yes Liverpool is about 35 miles away from manchester...
...on the wrong side of the East Lancs Road. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Robbbie
Welcome Robbie.
*Capital 'M' in Manchester :argue:
Robbbie,
Welcome and hello from Hastings :)
If you would like your razors honed, we have two (2) very, very fine chaps in the UK:
Mr Steve Dempster (www.theinvisibleedge.co.uk)
Mr Neil Miller (www.strop-shop.co.uk)
They both do a superb job of honing.
Mr Millers strops are world class, and he does excellent restoration work. Highly recommended :)
Have fun !
Best regards
Russ
brilliant news...thanks very much Russ...I'm thinking now of getting a few decent razors with a bit of quality and keeping the 2 I have to learn honing on..
Quote:
Originally Posted by RicTic
Haha I left the M small on purpose Rictic...just a little rivalry thing we have going on here...lol not that this is a football thing mind..
Welcome, I must be getting old, because when I see Liverpool, I think of the Beatles, Manchester, I think of Footbal or Soccer here in the U.S....
By all means, get your razors honed, professionally, You can try Steve at the invisible edge in the UK Introduction to razors or Neil Miller's place here:
www.strop-shop.co.uk for Hone Stones & Abrasives for Sale
Hope this helps, have fun browsing....
Apologies, I see this had been previously posted....
Hi Robbie,
Welcome to SRP. There are many members here from the UK. You might be able to possibly solicit one as a mentor.
Or, as others have stated, there are some fine places there to get your razors honed. If you have read much here, you know not to try your first shave until those razors are shave ready.
By the way - what kind of razors do you have, and how did you acquire them? Just curious.
David
Hi Robbie
I'll add another name to the Neil Miller appreciation society, I have one of his strops and he's honed 2 of my razors.
Unless I've missed it you don't say what razors you've bought? There are some about on Ebay which are poor quality and don't take an edge well.
Assuming that you've got a good razor very few are shave ready as soon as you get them so sending them to a honemeister is a good idea that way you know what a sharp edge should feel like.
As a relative newcomer I also know that technique is very different to any shaving I'd previously done. Blade angle etc are all important or even a sharp blade can pull and feel bad. My 1st few shaves were not good, but after about 20 shaves things were much better and now I'm 5 months in (albeit only using a straight a couple of times a week) I get a great shave.
Its a bit of a learning curve but very rewarding.
Well, I'm prepared to put all hostilities to one side and observe a ceasefire if you are Robbie?Quote:
Originally Posted by Robbbie
After all, we share a common interest and we're all brothers here. :beer1:
Hello and welcome, Robbie, from another member of the British contingent. There's a pattern emerging here concerning Mr Miller, and with good reason. On top of everything else, he's a very helpful chap indeed, and a mine of information.
Welcome from the Scottish Borders. Liverpool..my favourite city, studied there in the '60s, visited The Cavern, Jacaranda Club etc. Memories flooding back. What a place!
Very cool.....Quote:
Originally Posted by lordjohn
Quote:
Originally Posted by RicTic
Rictic..no hostilities at all from me here,,,I agree with you, we have common interest here and I'll be happy to call you brother too..:beer2:on me..
Thanks to everyone for all of your positive messages..I'm currently trying to acquire some decent razors as the ones I had bought were really poor ebay rubbish... I'm looking forward to learning all aspects of straight razors, honing, stropping etc...long learning curve I understand..but I have a lot of willing and patience...with your advice and friendship I'll get there in the end
Quote:
Originally Posted by lordjohn
Glad you like it here LordJohn, as you can probably tell I'm a very proud Liverpuddlian..look forward to chatting soon
Sorry to hear that the straights you bought were no good, were you fortunate enough to buy from one of those people that state 100% money back guarantee?
The Invisible Edge has some nice ones as does The Strop Shop. My best razor is a vintage Kropp bought for less than £5 on Ebay then buffed and honed by Neil Miller from The Strop Shop.
Hiya Jeltz..suppose it was the luck of the draw..and I lost...I'm looking at vintage razors now, and with the knowledge that Neil can get them back in shape I feel a lot happier...only trouble is getting one before someone else gets their hands on it..lol
Thats it now Robbie youv'e got the bug now no escaping.It certainly be well worth trawling through the wiki for information,thats where i started and now maintain my own razors ,including honing.
I'm just a stones throw away on the wirral.
hiya Reggyboy...nice to know there's a fellow scouser here....I've just got myself a few stones...still need more though...lol and I've managed to get hold of a few decent vintage razors now..including a bismarck and a nice kropp along with a few others...looking forward to getting to grips with them
Must admit them new Bismarcks look good and they are suppose to shave well.Got myself two Kropps of ebay for £12 the other week which i'm in the middle of restoring.I have a coticule for keeping the blades sweet.
Yep fellow scouser born in Liverpool but now live in Neston.
I've just got a Kropp off ebay too..just sent it to ralfy for him to hone it for me..sent it this morning..he's gonna use a coti on it for me...I'm still looking for one that wont break my bank...lol
I'm thinking of trying to make some scales and have a go at doing some restoration work on a couple of the older razors I have...might have to pick your brains sometime..
I like Neston..lovely place...much nicer than Anfield thats for sure..
well if you need any help just give us a shout .
excellent..I'll hold you to that..lol
Here is a tower brand razor i done replacing the old scales with mahogany.
wow thats really nice...what size wood do you start out with..would
135mm x 12.5mm x 12.5 mm be sufficient enough to make a pair of scales.. look for "pen blanks for woodturning" on ebay...some gorgeous woods and acrylics there, just wondering if they'd be worth a look
Not long enough i'm afraid just measured mine and the shortest is 138 mm x 18mm so you got no room for shaping .But measure your old scales before dismissing them.
there are some longer and wider ones in the same category..so I'll trawl through and see what I can find....the restorations you have done look fabulous..cant wait to have a go myself..but I'll still need your help..lol
I'll let you know if I find some suitable (and different) types of wood etc...thanks again
Just trying to help mate,give us a shout if you want any info.i'll try and help you the best i can and thanks for the compliments.
Ta La