Thread: New from Vernon, British Columbia. I need some assistance.

Hi, I'm Alex, and I've recently invested a few bucks and hours into learning how to straight razor.

I purchased a 2 vintage straight razors off of ebay, and long story short, ended up with four vintage razors needing to be restored. Their edges for the most part are in great condition, with the exception of a very small chip near the toe of one of them.

I'm a cook by trade so I'm used to sharpening edges, but getting these edges razor sharp has been a bit of a challenge. I was able to obtain an EDGELOGIX ceramic whetstone (3000/1000) from the House of Knives in a nearby town, and have been trying to hone these edges. It's clear that they are getting sharper, but they are not shave-ready.

I'm wondering if I will require the Norton 4000/8000 whetstone that all the videos on the internet suggest I need, or can I just condition these edges with a strop, which I do not yet have? Or possibly neither?

Thanks for the read,
Alex

Hi Alex, welcome to SRP!

good to see that the RAD (razor acquisition disorder) has kicked in.

unfortunately the edgelogix 1k/3 hone is way too coarse for a comfortable shave. there are many paths you can take to get the rest of the way there nortons, shaptons, barber's hones, natural honing stones and even pasted paddles. each method has it's own learning curve and it is best to stay with that method for at least 6 months before trying something else. the nortons are so often recommended because they are widely available in the US and are the simplest to learn on (IMO).

however, you should first consider having a honing expert hone some or all of your razors and then spend several month getting the shaving down before you invest in more hones. the one you have will be great for your knives though.

feel free to post pictures and ask questions.

enjoy,
jim

I think you are going to need at least an 8000 stone and better yet after that a 12000 or finer finisher stone to really put the zing in the edge. that is after bringing it up through the 1000 and 3000/4000 levels.

If you have never stropped before chances are you will degrade a good sharp edge while you are learning to strop properly. As me how I know. The trick is that once you have a known sharp edge, you should shave with it first without stropping it. That will give you a point of reference on what sharp feels like. If it gets duller feeling after you strop it on the next shave then you know your stropping is going poorly. Stropping will not bring back a badly degraded edge, it will only help maintain and already good edge for a while.

Bob

Originally Posted by syslight

Hi Alex, welcome to SRP!

good to see that the RAD (razor acquisition disorder) has kicked in.

unfortunately the edgelogix 1k/3 hone is way too coarse for a comfortable shave. there are many paths you can take to get the rest of the way there nortons, shaptons, barber's hones, natural honing stones and even pasted paddles. each method has it's own learning curve and it is best to stay with that method for at least 6 months before trying something else. the nortons are so often recommended because they are widely available in the US and are the simplest to learn on (IMO).

however, you should first consider having a honing expert hone some or all of your razors and then spend several month getting the shaving down before you invest in more hones. the one you have will be great for your knives though.

feel free to post pictures and ask questions.

enjoy,
jim

Thanks for the swift reply, Jim. I'm not sure where I might find a honing expert, any suggestions?

Here's what I got:

Hello Alex, and welcome to SRP!

You are going to need a strop, it is used for daily maintenance of the edge. Some also use strops with pastes, in which case they also can sharpen a knife. Be ware that there is a huge difference in sharpening a straight razor and sharpening a kitchen knife. There are several exellent honing videos out there, check Lynn's or gssixgun's.
Finally, check the classifieds here for someone to hone your blades, or possibly even to do a restoration. There might be someone close by.

Best of luck.

My bad a strop, a shaving brush some shaving soap or cream as well as the well honed razor are needed.

a quick look for members in BC did not reveal any vendors or mentors but there is a growing membership of canadiens. for ease of shipping you might want to find an in country vendor, but gssixgun is relatively nearby (idaho) and he does great on restoration and honing.

lee valley has the norton stones even though there are none near you they do ship.

enjoy,
jim

I'm in the Vernon area frequently enough to perhaps be of some help, if we could coordinate a time and place. It sounds as if you are well on the path of study and that is very helpful. You've started moving toward a goal and that is much easier to help correct than jump starting the whole process.

Keep in mind that razors are not knives. Once that difference is understood the kitchen and shaving tools will work much better for their purposes.

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

I'm in the Vernon area frequently enough to perhaps be of some help, if we could coordinate a time and place. It sounds as if you are well on the path of study and that is very helpful. You've started moving toward a goal and that is much easier to help correct than jump starting the whole process.

Keep in mind that razors are not knives. Once that difference is understood the kitchen and shaving tools will work much better for their purposes.

Hi Mike, let me know when you are heading to vernon next and if you would be able to hone my blades, perhaps show me a thing or two.

Thanks,
Alex