Thread: Hello from Texas

Hi. Mark here.

I've been wet shaving for many years now. My Dad used to do it and I thought I would give it a try. I tried to convince my son to quit using a can and he refused. So I just bought a mug, soap, and brush and placed it on his sink. He tried it once and was a convert.

I discovered what a scuttle was last week, so I have one on the way.

About a month ago I got a wild thought and wondered if the old farts had the other end of the shave right too? I remember getting trims from the barber my Dad took me to. So I dived in and started researching it. My wife calls this my latest obsession. I quickly discovered this site and Lynn's videos. I also discovered quickly that like with any other hobby, you ask 5 people a question, you will get 5 different opinions. So I took what little knowledge I gained and started surfing Ebay. I bought a couple of razors. One that was Shave ready and a nicer one that was not.

I've always been good at sharpening knifes so I started buying some waterstones and decided to hone the old Boker I bought myself with as you probably guess, mixed results. When I stopped with the 8K I was doing as well as the shave ready one I bought. Then I bought a 12K and have not been as pleased, lots of nicks.

I do a little gunsmithing for my wife who does gun engraving and gold inlaying, so polishing metal is a snap. I watched Lynn restore a razor and I thought "hell, I've already got the equipment." I bought a couple of junkers and cleaned them up.

I'm already getting better results than I did with a cartridge, but I know I still have a lot to learn. Even so I am having a lot of fun. I will send my Boker and Engels to Whipped Dog, have him critique the sharpening and fix my mistakes. He's only about 5 miles from me and wow does he ship fast.

So as you can tell, I've jumped in with both feet and have one co-worker and my brother-in-law wanting to try also.

In closing, let me say that I'm impressed with the good manners and demeanor of the people here. I don't see any of the slamming or trolling I've seen on other blogs. Some people are actually as funny as they think they are.

Hi Mark,

I'm another FNG and from the Ft Worth area. Did gunsmithing off and on for a lot years. Wish my wife could could engrave and inlay, she's a great artist but no interest in working with steel. I just made a trade for a bunch of razors and several of them look to be prime candidates for rework and learning on.

Take care,
Willie

Well, that's close alright. I'm in Irving.

My wife's father sent her to Engraving School in Alpine to learn from Johnny Wyert. I have an idea that I could get her to do some engraving on Razors. It looks like an area that is largely ignored.

Scrimshaw on scales is another idea.

C J Allen is the only "cutter" I know. He's 70 now. Crazy as he ever was. Irving ain't too far. Got another gent on the board lives about a mile from me. We've yet to get together but will before long.

Take care,
W

If you're only 5 miles from Larry Andreassen, you ought to call him up and go meet him. I've not had the pleasure, being all the way over here in NC, but I've done business with him on a number of occasions, and he's a prince. Very approachable and really dedicated to helping fellow staight shavers get off to a good start. Our late fellow member Bluegill was from the DFW metroplex also and I think really enjoyed getting to know Larry.

I plan on doing that. I've had great service from Larry even during the Holidays.

My results teaching myself to hone have been hit or miss and I'm hoping he can to teach me. I bought the Norton 220/1k 4k/8K set.

I have one (Emil Jansen Wald) that I bought "shave ready". I have a Boker that I honed myself, and one "shave ready" that I bought from Larry as a gift. I've looked at all 3 under a microscope. Mine looks very similar to Larry's. I see some very small grooves in the bevel perpendicular to the edge. Obviously these are from the hone. The Wald looks completely different. There are a few scratches on the bevel, but they run parallel to the edge, not perpendicular.

I was pleased with my sharpening on the Boker until I bought a cheap Chinese 12K water stone on Amazon. Things went downhill and I'm not sure why. Maybe the 12k was just too cheap.

Originally Posted by Crotalus

Hi. Mark here.
About a month ago I got a wild thought and wondered if the old farts had the other end of the shave right too?

In closing, let me say that I'm impressed with the good manners and demeanor of the people here. I don't see any of the slamming or trolling I've seen on other blogs. Some people are actually as funny as they think they are.

Us old farts thought the same thing about the older farts, and here we are "old straight shaving farts"!! LOL!!!

It made me happy to hear your thoughts on the demeanor of the forum! I'm one with you on that sentiment. It's a pleasure to participate on a friendly and caring, and very knowledgeable forum like SRP! Good Luck in your new shaving enterprise!!

Regards,

Howard

Originally Posted by Durhampiper

If you're only 5 miles from Larry Andreassen, you ought to call him up and go meet him. I've not had the pleasure, being all the way over here in NC, but I've done business with him on a number of occasions, and he's a prince. Very approachable and really dedicated to helping fellow staight shavers get off to a good start. Our late fellow member Bluegill was from the DFW metroplex also and I think really enjoyed getting to know Larry.

I took your advice and I called him today. We plan to get together this weekend.

Originally Posted by Crotalus

I took your advice and I called him today. We plan to get together this weekend.

Durhampiper - I met Larry yesterday. He's more than 5 miles from me but it was worth the trip. I brought him a few razors to work on. He honed one for me while I waited and evaluated one that I had honed myself. I had not used a "shave ready" razor up till now so I really was in the dark on what to expect.

I was very pleased to know that my honing passed. He told me it didn't need any more work. He also said that I got a very good deal on the Boker. It was an Ebay purchase. I'll post a picture later to see if anyone can tell me how old it is.

While he was honing we talked about my shaving technique and he has a slightly different slant on things. I modified my shave this morning with good results.

I now have a "reference" razor to compare my honing to.

You were right, Larry is a very nice guy.

Mark