Thread: Greetings from an Aussie straight razor noob

Hi all,

I've been considering swapping to straight razors for a while now. My brother has been using them for a number of years, and it's easy to tell that they give a superior shave.

So, I've just purchased my first razor, it's a bengall, not in fantastic 'shave ready' condition just yet, a bit of rust on the spine and front face. I'm hoping this will be the start of an enjoyable learning curve.

One thing I am curious about, which I am struggling to find answers on, is the use of different grinds. The majority of straight razors I've seen are full hollow, with only a few wedges or microtomes to be found. I was under the impression that ideally, a thicker blade like a wedge should be used for the first pass, then a second pass with a 'finishing razor' such as a full hollow?

Thanks for reading.

It never ceases to bother me that Aussies use American vernacular...We call them 'Cut-Throats' here. Our American brothers on this forum know what you mean when you call them that, so you don't need to revert to another countries terminology. Be a proud Aussie. Right, now that my rant is over...Sorry about that...I recommend that you get that Bengall checked out by someone like Onimaru55 (Oz lives in Sydney) he did a fantastic job with mine. Alternatively, Jimbo, might be able to help, depending on how much free time he has. He lives just north of us. There are a few of us in Brisbane, but I'm not sure of the skill levels, and how good they are at assessing razors, not having personal experience with any others apart fom Jimbo and Oz. I could give you the basics of honing, but that is about it.
As to the different grinds, they were more to suit different tastes and beard types than anything else I believe. In Australia we have a higher level of hollow grinds than anything else (not to say you won't find anything else, because you will). I shave exclusively with full hollows personally, and the shave is always good. I would be happy to try other grinds, but as I'm not an avid collector, I haven't actually come across too many. I've always been able to find hollows in my few rambles into the second hand market though.

Hope that is of some help mate.

Regards,


Mick

But Australian is the only other language I can speak. When sober.
MIke

Originally Posted by MODINE

But Australian is the only other language I can speak. When sober.
MIke

Mike, with minimal training you may be able to pick up on British Canadian as well as New Zealandese. It has been my experience that after a few drinks we all sound the same. Sobriety may be an impediment.

Welcome to SRP Shane. As far as grind goes on a "cut-throat" it is really personal preference..no need to start with one razor and then switch to another..unless you want to for funzies

Hi Shane and welcome to SRP.
Good to see another Brisbanite on the forum.
If you would like to PM me I'll hone your razor for you, gratis.
You'll just have to bring it over.
Have a look in the international forums too as we are trying to get another catch-up happening on the 20th.
You'll be most welcome.
Hang on and enjoy the ride.
Geoff
BTW I can speak left handed braille after a 40oz Bundy

Thanks for the warm welcome folks.

My apologies, I didn't know I was speaking another language :s but then again, us Aussies call everything by a nickname so i'm not surprised we call it a cut throat.

Thanks for the pointers Mick.

Wow, good to see there is a decent community in Brissie. Thanks for the offer Geoff, I'm not sure what needs to be done to it yet, or in what order things need doing. I guess I'll have a better idea once the bengall is delivered.

Welcome from Chicago. I was in Sydney last year and loved the visit to Oz.

Welcome to SRP!

Lots of good advice already. Different grinds are just that. They don't generally serve different purposes from a shaving point of view, and as a general rule there are no "finishing" or "initial" razors, although there's nothing wrong with that idea I suppose.

The Bengalls are excellent shavers, as long as there is nothing structurally wrong with them. You will find them everywhere in Aus., and they are a stand-up razor by any standard.

Looks like you have plenty of excellent offers of help already, so I will just close off by saying welcome again and good luck. If we can do anything, help is just a PM away!

James.

Yeah, so it's more about personal preference.. that means I'm going to have to try a few different grinds in different widths etc..

I think the idea behind a 'starting' and 'finishing' blade was for wear of the blade itself, with the thicker wedge not getting blunt as quick as a full hollow. Regardless I'm pretty keen to get this down to a fine art