Thread: Hi from Brisbane, Australia

Well Nick, I'm not a paste user myself and for local advice regarding paste use and duration of maintenance, I would refer you over to Jimbo (James). However I will say, your theory is sound, in that you should be able to maintain your razor for some time like that. There will come a time when it won't be enough though, through not going back to the pasted strops at the right time or what have you, but the edge will eventually need to go to a coarser stone for re-honing. The time duration depends on a number of variables, like how often you shave and how strong a beard you have etc.
I have a basic set of hones here (1/6k - 3/8k - C12k), and your welcome to come to me for any basic honing needs. I hone my own, but I'm not as skilled as James. I've been at this for less time than him. My own razors meet my personal standards of comfort and sharpness though.
Also, take care not to cross contaminate your plain leather strop with pastes from your balsa.

Hope that is of some help to you mate, and don't be afraid to PM James for more help with regards to paste usage. He should be able to give you a better idea than me.


Mick

Some good info here albeit using diamond spray.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...eriment-6.html

Welcom to the forum and sounds like a heck of a start already.
Most of the other rstuff has been covered so no help there.
Pat

Thanks guys, tons of help there Mick. Fantastic.

I accept that proper honing is something that will have to be done, but the longer I can keep the razor comfortable without that need, will help me add to my tools (aka stones etc..) over time.

I have read about cross-contamination and it makes total, logical sense to me. So I'll be sure to clean the razor down between stropping. I first intend on doing the pre and post shave stropping method, with the reading I've done on SRP, this will keep the razor sharper and edge condition the best for the longest period (avoiding/alleviating corrosion and oxidisation).

I will keep my hanging strops clean/virgin/whatever (canvas and leather). The kit comes with leather conditioner and I'm not sure if I'll bother as I've read good things about simply using the palm of your hand and wipe the leather down to keep it happy. If I do, the 'less is more' method will apply with, well pretty much everything I'm doing, with the SR.

Mick, if I could be so bold (or anyone else who'd be kind enough to answer) - How much do stones cost? I've read that it's rather subjective as to what stones you use but something like the Norton/whatever 4k/8k? The little I've found online about them is around $60-$70. More-so, I guess, is where can we get them in Bris or Australia?

Also, while we're at it , what do you use to protector your razor if anything (oil?). The pre-post stropping theory I'm subscribing too can't protect a hinge-pin etc.. I had a look at SRD's oil, and whilst at $5 it's great, it's the $32USD post that makes me baulk.

Thanks again.

Hi Nick, the Norton 4k/8k is a good stone and once lapped flat it is capable of maintaining a razor (i.e. one that's just gone off a bit) using the 8k side - you'll find stacks of info about the Norton hones on SRP. You can get them from Henry Eckert in Adelaide for $125 plus postage. You could order one from the US but by the time you pay the postage you're looking at 130 odd dollars anyway. If you get interested in honing you'll also want to get a 1000 grit stone for bevel setting but that can wait till later.

With regard to oil for razors, any light machine oil (or even Vaseline) is OK but I use IKEA Skydd oil - it's just the right consistency and is food equipment safe, so therefore essentially non-toxic. It's also pretty cheap at 10 bucks for 500 ml - you've just got to drive to Loganholme to buy it :-)

As Sunbird mentioned, our little SE Qld Straight/CT razor group is having a meet-up in late May (not sure if we've decided on the exact date yet). It would be great if you could come along - they're a terrific bunch of guys with a lot of collective knowledge on the art of honing, using and maintaining razors.

Mick, Geoff or Stu will probably chime in here with the actual date and time for the meet-up.

Mike

Thanks, $10 is fine but as you said, it's the drive to Logan that gets you. I can imagine for a sunshine coast resident, that must really be a pain for you!

I'll certainly check out when that meet-up is on, sounds like there'll be tons of good info flying around!

Hi NickB and welcome to the forum from another Queenslander, I am up at Ningi, as to Norton 4/8K stones, the cheapest ones I could find were from Amazon about $75 delivered to Australia. However I should point out that the first stone arrived with a damaged case and some chips out of it, sent it back and got a good one but it was still a hassle to do it. Reading on the web indicated that several other people had the same problem, maybe someone dropped a crate of them at the warehouse. As for stones well they can be cheap, all the way up to selling your kidneys to pay for them (ie JNATS). Apart from the Norton, perhaps a slate about $44-80 would cover it and then a balsa board as you have done with whatever grit/compound you prefer and a leather strop would complete the ensemble. But that lot should set you up for a long time. As to oiling razors, I just rinse off, wipe with some toilet paper, strop it for next time and smear some light machine oil over it and good to go for the next time. No dramas doing it that way so far. I made my own diamond spray, 1 carat of 50K and 100K Diamond from a lapidiary supplier at $4.95 each mix with water and put in small spray bottle for use on balsa boards.

So after these initial purchases your set for quite a long time. That is till the HAD and RAD set in!!

Cheers

Ed.

Originally Posted by NickB

Thanks guys, tons of help there Mick. Fantastic.

I accept that proper honing is something that will have to be done, but the longer I can keep the razor comfortable without that need, will help me add to my tools (aka stones etc..) over time.

I have read about cross-contamination and it makes total, logical sense to me. So I'll be sure to clean the razor down between stropping. I first intend on doing the pre and post shave stropping method, with the reading I've done on SRP, this will keep the razor sharper and edge condition the best for the longest period (avoiding/alleviating corrosion and oxidisation).

I will keep my hanging strops clean/virgin/whatever (canvas and leather). The kit comes with leather conditioner and I'm not sure if I'll bother as I've read good things about simply using the palm of your hand and wipe the leather down to keep it happy. If I do, the 'less is more' method will apply with, well pretty much everything I'm doing, with the SR.

Mick, if I could be so bold (or anyone else who'd be kind enough to answer) - How much do stones cost? I've read that it's rather subjective as to what stones you use but something like the Norton/whatever 4k/8k? The little I've found online about them is around $60-$70. More-so, I guess, is where can we get them in Bris or Australia?

Also, while we're at it , what do you use to protector your razor if anything (oil?). The pre-post stropping theory I'm subscribing too can't protect a hinge-pin etc.. I had a look at SRD's oil, and whilst at $5 it's great, it's the $32USD post that makes me baulk.

Thanks again.

Check out Japanese Waterstones : CARBA-TEC. Stones vary in price according to brand. Carba-tec and King of knives stock stones. I got mine from king of knives. Maybe not the best stones, but they are good enough to do a good job for my razors. Amazon might be your friend here as has already been stated.

My routine with my razors is to rinse avoinging the pin area after shaving, dry the blade and scales (inside and out) with a bit of toilet paper, strop in readiness for the next shave, and in my bathroom cabinet, I have a small pump spray bottle of INOX that I got from the local Automotive shop in Sandgate. I give a small spray of that on the blade and an even small spray on the pin area. I wipe off the excess and wipe it over the entire blade at the same time with a cotton ball. INOX is food safe/non toxic, doesn't dry out or gum up like some other oils do if left for extended time.


Mick

I'm Jody, and I'm a shave-a-holic
chorus: hello Jody
I'm pretty sure I bought a ceramic hone (8k) mail ordered from a gy in Brisbane off ebay.
If only I could remember the name of his online store.
I seem to recall it was basically a kitchen supplies joint and it cost me $40.
I guess I'd LIKE a finer hone, 16k or so, but I found I can actually get the results I need just with an 8k and some stropping.
I never really used paste either, I started out with a really rubbish strop (part of a package deal from a firm I won't even advertise by repeating the name of), then later I got a Dovo canvas/ leather.
Huge difference, probably the single biggest difference of any one piece of equipment.
I rarely use my hone, I find a light stropping pre and post shave is more than adequate.
I use it so rarely in fact that were it possible to find someone locally who would professionally hone the razor for me, I probably wouldn't have bothered at all.
Decent strop is far more important and probably the most important thing I learned by trial and error is caress the blade on the strop, don't need a lot of pressure at all.
I like to imagine I'm running it up and down the back of a woman's leg, that gentle and you'll get superior results every time.

So the woman is one you like then, not one you are thinking of hamstringing...slicey?!


Mick