Greetings. Advice requested

Hello everyone. I have been reading the posts on this site for some time now and I have found them very helpful. Nonetheless I have am having a few problems which have persisted and I would like to have all of your considerable expertise brought to bear on it. First, a few particulars: My name is Mike and I would love to be able to shave with a straight razor. I'm sick of using the same razors that women and actors from "The Jersey Shore" use. 'Nuff said.
Here's the story: a few years ago I purchased a Fromm straight razor from a barber supply shop in California. The blade and box say "72R" on it and that is all. I was told it was "shave ready"...it wasn't. I've been trying to get the blade into a "shave ready" status since then. I began by getting a local knife/straight razor shop to hone the blade into what they assured me was a "hair cutting sharpness". I stropped the blade and tried shaving with it the next day. It was torture! I became curious and tried the hanging hair test on the blade: nothing. The hair just bent over the blade. I don't know much, but I can't consider that sharp enough to shave with.
Thinking that maybe it was my technique that was the problem, I purchased a Dovo Shavette disposable straight razor and tried shaving with that. The razor cut hair just fine. My technique was not perfect so my shave was not that great, but the Shavette definitely worked. I tried the hanging hair test on the Shavette and that worked. I feel it safe in assuming that although my technique is less than perfect, that isn't the greatest problem I'm having with the Fromm.
After reading about honing on SRP, I purchased a Norton 1000/8000 water stone and have tried to hone the blade into use as a comfortable shave. I have not had much luck. I have made progress, though. Before I began the honing/stropping process the razor wouldn't cut hair at all. I used the pyramid method with the Norton stone: 25 strokes on 1000 followed by 25 on 8000, 15 on 1000 and then 15 on 8000, 10 on each, 5 on each, 3 on each, then 1 on 1000 followed by 5 on 8000. At the end of this process the blade was definitely sharper, it now cuts the hair on my arm and leg (but requires more pressure than I feel comfortable with) and comes close to passing the hanging hair test (instead of cutting the hanging hair in two, it splits it down the middle). However, when comparing it to the disposable razor on the Dovo Shavette, the Fromm is still obviously inferior and not as sharp.
I'm wondering if I need to get a finer grit stone to polish the edge of the Fromm more. Or maybe I need to strop it with a paste of some sort. I read that 8000 grit is enough to sharpen a blade to shaving standard, but who knows? Anyways, if anyone has any input on this for me I would be very appreciative. I've been at this for over two years now and have yet to get a good shave out of my straight razor. Enough is enough.
Much appreciation and apologies for the long post.
Mike

Hi Mike

Welcome, IMHO your best bet is to hold on getting more stones and send it out to one of the members to get it is shave ready condition. Build on the skills from there, stropping and then on to the stones (when the time comes and is needed).

at welcome srp. Second you have problem with your blade. It is not easy to get fromm shave ready. I would say you dont have quality blade. Can someone make it shave ready ? Yes but that edge wouldnt last long enough. Lets say you send blade to x and paid for honing at leas20.00 including shipping. After 1 month you are in trouble again. My advice go head check classified if you are in tight budget and make sure you get shave ready condition. Last time i checked you get get very good blade around 40.00 or lower. This is the best option.if you are ok finicially then please visit srd. Lastly if you are still in trouble come back let us know.i am sure 1 of srp member step up and help you out.gl

Thanks for the advice. I am actually glad to hear that Fromm straight razors are problematic and difficult to work with. That must mean that the problem is more than likely my razor and not me (although I'm sure I contribute to the problem). I was starting to think that maybe I just lacked the skill to shave with a straight razor and that I was doomed to disposables for the rest of my life.
That being said, I recently purchased a 6/8 hollow grind Focus razor from an SRP senior member who goes by the handle "HNSB". The ad said that the razor is shave tested and ready and would make a good starter razor. Did I do good?
I am anxiously awaiting delivery and hope that the Focus razor turns out to be better than the Fromm I have now.
One more question: I purchased what must be a POS strop off of eBay a while ago. Is it worth my time to get a new strop? If so, what brands are recommended and what should I look for? Leather and linen, just leather, etc?
Thanks so much for all your help.
Mike

Besides the Fromm blades being hard to hone, which they are, but yes they can be made shave ready...

You are to wide apart with the 1k-8k most of us go 1-4-8 on the Norton's
What you are trying can be done, but it takes a very experienced hand on those two hones to pull it off...

The newer Fromm blades are a bear to hone and rarely hold an edge in my experience. I usually don't hone them and send them back to the owners along with any of the new Timor's that might arrive. I would agree with the Classified approach.

Have fun,

Lynn

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Originally Posted by NinjaMike20

Thanks for the advice. I am actually glad to hear that Fromm straight razors are problematic and difficult to work with. That must mean that the problem is more than likely my razor and not me (although I'm sure I contribute to the problem). I was starting to think that maybe I just lacked the skill to shave with a straight razor and that I was doomed to disposables for the rest of my life.
That being said, I recently purchased a 6/8 hollow grind Focus razor from an SRP senior member who goes by the handle "HNSB". The ad said that the razor is shave tested and ready and would make a good starter razor. Did I do good?
I am anxiously awaiting delivery and hope that the Focus razor turns out to be better than the Fromm I have now.
One more question: I purchased what must be a POS strop off of eBay a while ago. Is it worth my time to get a new strop? If so, what brands are recommended and what should I look for? Leather and linen, just leather, etc?
Thanks so much for all your help.
Mike

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without knowing what kind of strop you have or what condition its in I would ask what makes it a POS. second I would almost definately hang on to it to perfect your stroping technique with because you apparently don't have a strong attachment to it, and if you nick it while stroping as a beginner it won't completely break your heart.

as far as the razor goes I'm not familiar with that brand, but I haven't seen a bad razor on the classifieds yet.

Thanks, everyone, I appreciate your input and your timely responses. You're all very helpful. To respond to the question about the strop I have; I assumed it was garbage because I bought it off ebay and I believe it was a Zeepk or something like that. I read the beginners guide on what to avoid after I bought it and found that brand listed there, so I just assumed that it was trash. I suppose the fact that I could never get my razor in good shaving order despite honing and stropping until the cows came home made me feel as if all of my equipment was faulty. I don't know if there is much of a visible difference between a "bad" strop and a "good" one, but I assumed that even though the physical difference might be small, the effect it has on a razor (and by extension, my face) could be great just like a "bad" razor is visibly similar to a "good" one, but incapable of a good shave. I'm in the market to get quality shaving equipment now, so I'll just chalk that strop up as a training loss and consider myself lucky to have gained the expertise. I got confirmation that the razor should arrive today so I'll let you all know how it goes with the first shave.
To Lynn: thank you so much for starting up this fantastic website and forum. I have spent years searching google and other engines for advice on straight razor shaving and have been largely disappointed until now. I look forward to visiting this site frequently to improve my skill and expand my collection. Thanks again.
Mike

Ok, I'm back to report on my progress with my straight razor. I bought a nice 6/8 hollow ground round point Focus razor from HNSB from the SRP classifieds section. At the same time I ordered a Philly strop from RupRazor.com. Both arrived around the same time, but the razor arrived a few days earlier. I waited until the strop arrived before my first shave. I was very careful with this razor and checked it meticulously for sharpness. The member I bought it from, HNSB, did an excellent job getting it shave ready and the sharpness of the blade was very close to that of a razor blade. It passed the HHT fairly well. I'm finding that the HHT is a good judge of sharpness for razors that end up providing a good shave for me. Anyways, I stropped my new razor on my new strop, careful to apply almost no pressure, and started my shave. I'll say that I didn't do poorly, but not well either. I started slowly, as recommended in the beginners wiki: one pass WTG on each cheek and on the upper lip. I stopped there, satisfied that razor did, in fact, cut my whiskers, and finished with my Mach 3. I came back the next day, using the same process, but added the chin using WTG strokes. Again, not bad, but not great. The roundness of the chin is problematic for me. I kept slowly adding areas until a few days ago when I am now shaving my entire face WTG, XTC, and ATG. I'm still not doing a fantastic job, but I'm doing alright. I hope to keep improving as I like straight razor shaving much more than cartridge razor shaving. I want to solicit some advice on a few issues that I'm having:

1) I'm using a shave soap from The Art of Shaving called "Sandalwood" in conjunction with a badger hair brush from the same place. I find that the brush works fine but I'm worried about the soap. Does anyone have any experience with this soap? I find that it dries out quickly on my face and I'm concerned that it is not providing the proper slickness, just not sure.

2) Because of problem 1, I am thinking of switching to a soap called Ogallala Bay Rum based on reviews from SRP. I prefer solid "puck" style soaps rather than creams or liquids. Any suggestions/recommendations?

3) I am finding it very hard to adequately shave my neck, especially the area just below the jaw line. The hair here grows laterally, towards the sides of my neck, rather than straight up or down. I can't find a way to attack these hairs. Any ideas?

4) I think it is a good idea to invest in a styptic pencil, but can't find a place to buy one or which ones are suggested. Any ideas?

Many thanks to all of the members who have provided advice, it has been a great help and I'm making progress now. I'll keep you all posted and appreciate your advice!
Mike

when I had the problem with soap drying out I found that I just needed to add a little more water and spend more time building a lather. I'm not familiar with either of those brands though, my main soap is Van Der Hagen glycerin based soap. before giveing up on a soap you might try picking up a puck of VDH and practice your technique with it. I've seen a lot of good things said about VDH and its fairly cheap to learn/practice with.