Thread: Craig Barr Straight razor - Rolling review

Thats a good thing glad you like the scales.

There is an elephant in the room.

Got my Craig Barr in early December. Had been watching these on the bay for several months. Couldn't find anyone on SRP or other forums that had one but tried to give it a shot anyway. The CB seemed to be going up in price since August and finally pulled the trigger for my Xmas present on a 1080 steel 9/8 which was really close to 10/8. It is a heavy, wide, monster but it is cool. I didn't try to shave with it out of the box. Looked at the edge under a 60X scope and decided to put my own edge on it. It was really hard steel, really hard to hone IMHO. Used one layer of tape and in hindsight should have used two layers as the bevel is wider than I'd like and cutting away hard steel was tough. Worked on it for several days off and on. Let it rest several times....Thought my cotties could do it but had to start over on the 1K Norton then 4K, 8K and then went back to the coties. Finally finished up with an Escher. It is finally shave ready as it passes the HHT! Made the scales from stabilized Buckeye Burl, black spacer fiber lined and used soft lead as my wedge. I used brass replica bullseye collars. Took a while to get the hang of stroping it as it is soo big. I go really slow when I shave with it. Overall, I am happy with my CB and don't plan on selling it any time soon. Couple of pics...

looks good !!

Ajkenne I see what your saying about the bevel, it does not look too big but time taken is a pita I suppose.

Those scales look fantastic on that monster blade!

Currently have a naked 10/8 CB...oddly enough I'm looking at stabilized buckeye for it as well.

Looks sharp!

Originally Posted by yardie

Currently have a naked 10/8 CB...oddly enough I'm looking at stabilized buckeye for it as well.

Looks sharp!

I really like the buckeye burl. You just need to line it as it is still somewhat fragile even when stabilized. Shines up nice and there is something to be said about the feel of wood.

Originally Posted by ajkenne

Got my Craig Barr in early December. Had been watching these on the bay for several months. Couldn't find anyone on SRP or other forums that had one but tried to give it a shot anyway. The CB seemed to be going up in price since August and finally pulled the trigger for my Xmas present on a 1080 steel 9/8 which was really close to 10/8. It is a heavy, wide, monster but it is cool. I didn't try to shave with it out of the box. Looked at the edge under a 60X scope and decided to put my own edge on it. It was really hard steel, really hard to hone IMHO. Used one layer of tape and in hindsight should have used two layers as the bevel is wider than I'd like and cutting away hard steel was tough. Worked on it for several days off and on. Let it rest several times....Thought my cotties could do it but had to start over on the 1K Norton then 4K, 8K and then went back to the coties. Finally finished up with an Escher. It is finally shave ready as it passes the HHT! Made the scales from stabilized Buckeye Burl, black spacer fiber lined and used soft lead as my wedge. I used brass replica bullseye collars. Took a while to get the hang of stroping it as it is soo big. I go really slow when I shave with it. Overall, I am happy with my CB and don't plan on selling it any time soon. Couple of pics...

Great review, i definetly agree that the edge can be made better, i started using a heavy leather to strop with since the steel is so hard and have been having good luck keeping it shave ready. Love the scales

Originally Posted by honorakr

Great review, i definetly agree that the edge can be made better, i started using a heavy leather to strop with since the steel is so hard and have been having good luck keeping it shave ready. Love the scales

I used a Latigo strop to finally get mine shave ready. Someone previously stated that Jimps top and bottom wound be nice and I completely support that recommendation. I found this monster to be ergonomically challenging for me during stropping and honing. Jimps would help with the grip especially during stropping which I found to be a difficult task. Had to slow down my stropping significantly and really had to watch what I was doing. A deliberate process for me anyway. My guess is that CB would probably do Jimps for the custom made blades for an additional cost. Haven't seen any on eBay with Jimps to date.

Austin,
I think I mentioned that they could use upper & lower jimping but if I didn't it was on my mind.