Thread: fools rush in

I just purchased my first straight razor on eBay. It looks to be in pretty good shape but will need some work. I figure it's a good one to learn about restoring razors. The razor I purchased says "Clover Brand" on the handle with a clover symbol. The tang (forgive me if I get names of parts confused) says "Red Man" on one side and Clover Brand, Registered, Germany on the other with another clover symbol. It doesn't say W.H. Morley and Sons, which produced a Clover Brand. Can someone tell me what it is or point me in the right direction (provided it doesn't involve a long walk off a short pier). Any help would be much appreciated. Also, I plan to buy a new Dovo Shave Ready to actually begin shaving with (I'm only crazy some of the time). Are the new ones as good as the vintage restored ones?

well i can't help you with the first question, but i shave with a Dovo Best Quality 5/8ths razor, and it shaves quite well ^_^ i guess it all comes down to if the razor was honed properly or not, and your technique. then again i wouldn't really know much, i've only been shaving with a straight Razor for about 3 weeks xD

A Morley Clover Brand was my first razor and I'd have to say it's probably my best shaving razor. I've never seen any other Clover Brands but that certainly doesn't mean they don't exist. Post up a pic if you can.

Originally Posted by eaglesfan

Are the new ones as good as the vintage restored ones?

I think the answer to that depends on lots of things, but assuming a shave-ready blade, so far that seems to be the case for me. I have one new DOVO 6/8 Special and 4 vintage blades of different makes, and I get great shaves from all of them.

One thing I learned from my vintage Bengall is that sometimes with an older blade, you have to keep the angles smaller than usual. Lynn had told me that it was probably 2/8 narrower than it had been originally (it's a 5/8), so smaller angles were called for. Once I tried that, it shaved just as well as the others in my rotation.

Originally Posted by Durhampiper

One thing I learned from my vintage Bengall is that sometimes with an older blade, you have to keep the angles smaller than usual. Lynn had told me that it was probably 2/8 narrower than it had been originally (it's a 5/8), so smaller angles were called for. Once I tried that, it shaved just as well as the others in my rotation.

PMFJI --

Isn't the honing angle set by the ratio of spine thickness to blade width?

How do you get a smaller angle (I assume that means "smaller included angle of the bevel") ?

How can you hone the razor without using the spine as a guide?

Thanks --

Charles

I believe he's referring to shaving angle not honing angle.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

I believe he's referring to shaving angle not honing angle.

Duh . . . I guess that makes more sense.http://straightrazorpalace.com/image...ootinmouth.gif

If the blade gets narrower with age (and sharpening), and the spine stays the same thickness, the bevel angle would increase over time.

I can see that a larger bevel angle might require a different shaving angle than a smaller (new-razor) bevel angle.

I thought this "return to the straight razor" was supposed to be a _simplification_ of my life . . . . <g>

Charles

Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

I thought this "return to the straight razor" was supposed to be a _simplification_ of my life . . . . <g>

Charles

It is. We are just complicated beings.

Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

PMFJI --

Isn't the honing angle set by the ratio of spine thickness to blade width?

How do you get a smaller angle (I assume that means "smaller included angle of the bevel") ?

How can you hone the razor without using the spine as a guide?

Thanks --

Charles

My bad, sorry. I wasn't referring to honing angle but to shaving angle. Apparently, when shaving with an older razor that has lost a lot of metal and has a good bit of hone wear (both true in this case), it's necessary (or advisable, anyway) to keep the WTG angle LESS than 30 degrees, and angles for other passes smaller than usual also. Lynn didn't really go into why, but it works. Sorry for the confusion.

Originally Posted by eaglesfan

I just purchased my first straight razor on eBay. It looks to be in pretty good shape but will need some work. I figure it's a good one to learn about restoring razors. The razor I purchased says "Clover Brand" on the handle with a clover symbol. The tang (forgive me if I get names of parts confused) says "Red Man" on one side and Clover Brand, Registered, Germany on the other with another clover symbol. It doesn't say W.H. Morley and Sons, which produced a Clover Brand. Can someone tell me what it is or point me in the right direction (provided it doesn't involve a long walk off a short pier). Any help would be much appreciated. Also, I plan to buy a new Dovo Shave Ready to actually begin shaving with (I'm only crazy some of the time). Are the new ones as good as the vintage restored ones?

it's hard to go wrong with one of those Clovers. I've worked on and used 3 of them including 1 that I almost threw away when I unwrapped it. All 3 came around and were terrific shavers that held their edges like a champ.