Thread: 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.

+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.