Beauty and Barber Razor

Hey guys, I've been wanting to try using a straight edge for a while, so I bought a couple of cheap Beauty and Barber brand razors and a strop on ebay.

I only spent about $20, but that was the point. At least to get the hang of shaving and stropping the blade. (I was too afraid of spending a couple hundred bucks and then screwing it up somehow)

In any case, I got the B&B razor and stropped it, but it's definitely not shaving well. (No $hit! it's a $20 razor) I guess my question is, even though it's not a good razor, should I still be able to get it sharp enough to get a decent shave and find out if I want to make the larger investment? Or do I really need to just jump in and spend a couple hundred bucks?

I'd love to go into a shop, but I live in Bloomington, IL and can't find anything here. Chicago's just 2 hours away, but I have no idea where to go there that would sell or have knowledge about straight razors.

Idea's/suggestions?

Look up

See the word Classifieds??? hit that link, that is your best bet for an inexpensive shave ready razor

Also check the "Vendors Corner"... Holli's razor page often has some great buys for starters so do some of the other vendors just can't think of names ATM...

Wanna invest more???? then browse through the rest of the Vendor ad's it will range from below $100 to over $1000 :)

Well I guess the thing is that I've already got this razor I bought.

My question is whether I'd be able to get it sharp enough to actually shave a few times to see if I want to make a bigger investment. Not make a bigger investment to see if I want to shave.

That defeats the purpose of me getting this razor to begin with.

Well if you knew how to hone your razors and had the proper equipment already, you could get them to shave readiness to try it out. However the stones necessary would be an even bigger investment than a lot of the razors in the classifieds.

The other option would be to send them out to a member in the classifieds for honing, but again that would cost around $20 I think, I'm not sure what most people are charging for their honing. And that's assuming the razors you have are any quality at all, I honestly don't know, I'm fairly new to this.

So basically, all the options I can see for you will cost some money. Personally if I were in your shoes I would purchase an inexpensive shave ready razor from the classifieds here (I actually did for my first razor, $35 I think).

I hope I've helped!

If your strop has a canvas side in addition to the leather side, you might be able to hone the blade to shaving sharpness. If you don't have a canvas strop, another option is to get some polishing compound and rub some of it on a piece of cardboard (the back of a notepad or inside of a cereal box, etc.). Strop the razor lightly on the cardboard a few times, carefully wipe it clean by stropping on a piece of plain paper or cardboard and then strop on your leather strop.

Then lather up and try shaving a small area to see if it removes whiskers as easily as your usual razor. If not go back to the pasted cardboard and leather to refine the edge further. If the steel is at all decent on the B&B razor, it should get wicked sharp and stay that way for a few shaves with only stropping on the leather occasionally. It's not hard to hone a razor once you get the feel of it, but it does take some practice to get the hang of it.

Be careful, patient and persistent and you'll have success. Have fun! And let us know how things go for you.
:gwh:

+1 to JeffR, I totally spaced on CrOx and other pastes.

Hello, Thorxes:

If I may suggest, please put the barber razors away for now and find a shave-ready razor from the Classified.

As many have suggested, having a razor professionally honed and buying stones so that you can hone costs money. Not only that, but it takes time to learn how to hone.

A good and inexpensive shave-ready razor from the Classifieds, therefore, is your best bet for now. Use the barber razors later to practice your honing.

Regards,
Obie

Can you provide more information on exactly which razor you bought? I tried searching, and I actually cannot find what you are referring to.

The reason I ask is that is that the vast majority of the cheap new "razors" on ebay are made from substandard steel and are not even suitable for shaving - the steel may be too soft to take an edge, too soft to hold an edge, too brittle to take an edge, very poorly made and ground, etc etc. While I understand you would like to get something out of your purchase, you may very well be spending too much time on a razor that will turn out to be good for nothing (except a box cutter) anyway.

Maybe he can pick up a Gold dollar razor. There cheep but give a respectable shave. I forgot who bought a bunch. Maybe there some left.

From what I have heard I would avoid Gold Dollar razors. People that know much more about razors than the average person have found issues with a majority of them to the point of bring them to shave ready condition would cost as much or more than a good vintage or a Dovo.

bloomington eh? first straight shaver ive heard of in my area, i had an identical problem, and the simple answer is, no. if you want a good shave you must have a good razor, not that a good razor MUST be expensive, but of an appropriate quality steel to be able to serve the purpose of shaving. im assuming your rather new to the SR realm so here is my advice( its what i did) make yourself a pot of coffee, sit and study, get all the info you can on vintage razors, eat it up, obssess , YOU DONT EVEN HAVE TO LEAVE THIS SITE! and then go hit the antique shops resale shops, pown shops thrift shops, consignment shops, ive only ever bought razors from these places, and as long as you dont make a pressured or uninformed decision, you will not be disapointed. ive come across some absolute steals (unused W&B bow w/ mirror finish for $15 entice anyone?) make yourself a mental checklist of points to check: tang spine edge heel pivot inside scale, that you apply to every razor you look at.

As I see it, you've got a couple choices. First, that razor you bought is not likely to be shave ready when you bought it and will need to be honed...that will set you back $20. You can't shave with it in the condition it is in. Your second option is the classifieds here and pick up a razor for $30 but it will be ready to shave. Your third option is to get a gold dollar from mysteryrazor.com. that'll set you back about the same as getting one from the classifieds but it, too, will be shave ready.

Personally, I know you've already spent the money on the razor you have, but having already bought it, why drop good money after bad? It's not likely to ever be a very good razor and even after the $20 purchase and then $20 to have it honed only to find out that it's a terrible razor? I would chock up the loss as a learning lesson and look to the classifieds or to the gold dollar as super-budget options.

I have not heard of that brand of razor. In general, as you've already been told, the new and cheap razors are of poor quality and the odds are that the price of honing is not worth paying for such razors. I checked the Wiki Do Not Buy list and that razor is not on it. I'd like to help to assess whether or not it should be on that list. Since I'm always looking for a new honing experience, I'd gladly hone one or both of your razors just for the price of postage. (I'd suggest no priority, no tracking, and certainly no insurance!:D) I'd just like a chance to examine it under the microscope, see how it hones and shaves, and then see how well it holds the edge. Please let me know if I can play with your new toys.

I boo booed and broke some rules so let me try this again.

Thorxes I was actually in bloomington last night.. you are not that far away from me. I would be more than willing to either visit and let you use my shavette to see if you even like the idea of putting a bare blade to your face. Or if you want a decent blade to strop up..

or you could stop in the school for a straight shave

let me know bud

but like the others have said purchasing a good shave ready blade from here or sending a good named brand bought off of ebay to Lynn or one of the other honemeisters here... I would be more than willing to donate one to you if you care to have it sent in and honed up.

Hey In Bloomington IL there is a antique fair every 3rd weekend of the month I have had some good luck there. Check it out you may have some luck. Its 2 hrs from me to hard for me to make it out there. If you go let me know how it panned out

I would take advantage of Utopian's kind offer. At least, by having an expert look at the razor, you can make an informed decision about spending more money on getting them rehoned in the future.

Also, you may have found the bargain brand of the century and will never know. Let him have a look, he'll shoot you straight, then you can either discard the ones you have or start stockpiling more.

Thanks so much for all the feedback guys! Sorry about the delay in writing back. My grandfather passed away recently, and me and my family have been down in Texas taking care of the funeral arrangements and our grandmother.


Anyways, I went ahead and went to the TruHill and Fitt shop up in Chicago and bought me a Solinger "Best Quality" blade by Dovo with a nice little strop. I also went ahead and bought the Norton Stone kit with the 220/1k and 4k/8k stones.

The BIGGEST thing I'm going to do, however, is send Utopian one of my 2 Beauty and Barber razors to inspect and "attempt" to hone. I truly feel that it should be on the "DO NO BUY" list, but he is definitely in a better position to make it official or not.

My primary reason for this is to inform the SRP family about another "junk" brand out on ebay.

In the meantime, I'll be attempting to hone the other Beauty and Barber razor to start building my skills in preparation for honing my new Dovo. Unfortunately, it wasn't in shave ready condition when I bought it, and it's been tearing the hell out of my neck to the point where my towel is pink by the end of my shaving session. Believe me, I can't wait till my first smooth shave!

Any other thoughts/ideas?

BTW, thank all of you from the Bloomington/Chicago area for offering your help and advice! I can't tell you enough how warm and welcomed that makes me feel. If things go the wrong way with what I have right now, or if I feel like I need an upgrade, I'll definitely be sure to give you guys a holler!

I also bought myself a B&B razor and strop, and after 2 minutes of hell (and nearly giving up) I went on to by a Dovo. However, I'm now a little concerned about putting the Dovo on the B&B strop, and I was wondering what the thoughts of the forum were. Should I buy a new strop (I've been looking at the 3" Walkin' Horse English Bridle Strop from RasagePoulin.com) or can I get away with using the B&B one without damaging my Dovo?

Quote:

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The BIGGEST thing I'm going to do, however, is send Utopian one of my 2 Beauty and Barber razors to inspect and "attempt" to hone. I truly feel that it should be on the "DO NO BUY" list, but he is definitely in a better position to make it official or not.

My primary reason for this is to inform the SRP family about another "junk" brand out on ebay.

In the meantime, I'll be attempting to hone the other Beauty and Barber razor to start building my skills in preparation for honing my new Dovo. Unfortunately, it wasn't in shave ready condition when I bought it, and it's been tearing the hell out of my neck to the point where my towel is pink by the end of my shaving session. Believe me, I can't wait till my first smooth shave!

Any other thoughts/ideas?

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A thought:

. . .Send the Dovo to Utopian, along with the B&B.

That way, you'll have one "known-good" razor. You can learn to shave with it, knowing that your technique -- not the blade -- is the cause of any problems you have.

"Learning to hone" isn't quick and easy, for many of us. You will probably be frustrated; you might do some damage to the Dovo. Let Utopian bring it up to "all it can be" quality.

If you want to practice honing on the B&B, go ahead. But be warned:

. . . Some bad-quality "razors" _cannot_ be sharpened to "shave ready".

You can spend a lot of effort, and get really frustrated, proving that statement is correct.

There's a minimum start-up kit for straight razor shaving:

. . . shave-ready razor

. . . strop

. . . brush

and it's possible to buy them for about $60, if you search the "Classifieds" here, and Whipped Dog Straight Razor Sales and some of the Vendors here.

It's _not_ possible to buy them for much less. After you have some experience, you can haunt your local antique shops and find inexpensive vintage razors, and sharpen them back to life. But getting that experience will cost some money.

You can polish a cheap piece of steel so it looks nice, but a _razor_ is tempered much harder than most steel -- drop it, and it cracks or chips. Assume the worst case -- that the B&B is what we call a "razor-shaped object", and that it will _never_ give you a satisfactory shave. Utopian may be able to do something with it; it'll be an interesting experiment.

Charles

PS -- I started with an antique-store razor, and learned to sharpen and hone on sandpaper. But that was a _good_ vintage razor. In spite of my honing efforts, I only understood what "sharp" meant, after I got a Dovo from Straight Razor Designs. There are limits to how cheap you can be, and still get good results.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

I have not heard of that brand of razor. In general, as you've already been told, the new and cheap razors are of poor quality and the odds are that the price of honing is not worth paying for such razors. I checked the Wiki Do Not Buy list and that razor is not on it. I'd like to help to assess whether or not it should be on that list. Since I'm always looking for a new honing experience, I'd gladly hone one or both of your razors just for the price of postage. (I'd suggest no priority, no tracking, and certainly no insurance!:D) I'd just like a chance to examine it under the microscope, see how it hones and shaves, and then see how well it holds the edge. Please let me know if I can play with your new toys.

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If it is not on the Do Not Buy list, it should be.
Unfortunately, before I found this site, I purchased two of these 'titanium' blades and a strop. (and a GD but we won't go there)
The strop is so dry that it will stay horizontal only holding one end!!
I have treated it with leather dressing and left it in the sun to soak in and it is (barely) usable.
I have got a shaving edge on one of the blades, however the other one is now a knife in my workshop, only used for trimming the long bits off my buffing wheel.
I agree with the rest of the members and would suggest getting a shave ready blade from the classifieds here and you won't go wrong.
Welcome to SRP and enjoy the ride

Just need to let you all know , this thread is over a year old . It fooled me too at first , until I realized the posts were from July 2010 . I thought I remembered reading all this before !:gaah:

Well...that's it....I'm going to but a razor on EBay now........hehehe

OR have a shave....mmmmmmmm.....decisions, decisions

don't worry buddy i made the same mistake, i even had it honned for 40 bucks twice cuz i thought i was stropping and honning wrong. Whipped dog has great, cheap, and best of all vintage razors, and they are pre honned so they are ready to go the day you get them. Use your current razor as hone and strop practice

lol.. my first blade was a thiers issard.. i stay away from anything not made in germany, france, or the UK. =]

My first blade was a Hoffritz some 20 years ago that Geln brought back to life. On the way back in I bought two (count them, TWO) GDs that I've never even used - they still sit there covered with the oil they came with.

I'm not as picky as some, though and am fond of American blades too. Hell, I'll buy anything that is not on the "do not buy list" if the price is right... and sometimes when the price isn't so right! :D

Marcos

well my first good razor was a geneva which is made in the u.s so We can make good blades as well.

I just bought 2 of these RSO (Razor shaped objects) on ebay with a strop for 20 bucks, I am aware that they are junk and will never shave, but the strop I think will be a decent base for a pasted strop so I can practice on...

I figure I can get a few stones, paste this crappy strop and practice on the B&B razors, I know thgey will never shave (That's what my THeirs Issard and Dovo and GoldenRod are for :) ) I figure for 20 bucks even if I totally screw them up I can practice strokes etc

But I agree, they should be on the "Run like hell" list LOL (I knew what I was getting) :)

Actually, I take it back, I found something they are VERY good at, apparently they make pretty darn good cheese knives!! (I'm not kidding LOL)