Thread: Bought my first real straight razor... Any tips for me?

So I went and bought my 1st big boy blade. I own a few shavettes that I shave with and use in my barbershop as well and I can pretty much close my eyes and swipe away without thought and no nicks/cuts or burns. But my curiousity and the threads on SRP motivated me to by a "real" blade.

For now I will have the cutley shop hone it when needed for me but eventually I would love to be able to do it myself. Since this is my 1st blade I was hoping you all could leave me ANY tips or advice on maintanence, sharpening etc. Any info is helpful. Also, my razor is a Thiers-Issard Taos 5/8 bocote, did I make a good choice?

I have been reading through all the threads and there is great info. Thanks.

Congrats on your purchase..TI's are good blades. One piece of advice..unless someone in that cutlery shop has or knows how to hone a razor...don't let them touch it!! It's not a knife and shouldn't be sharpened as such. Read up in the WIKI here and it should help you well on your way with your "big boy" razor...lol.

Originally Posted by Catrentshaving

Congrats on your purchase..TI's are good blades. One piece of advice..unless someone in that cutlery shop has or knows how to hone a razor...don't let them touch it!! It's not a knife and shouldn't be sharpened as such. Read up in the WIKI here and it should help you well on your way with your "big boy" razor...lol.

Good advice. I would even go so far as to suggest not sending to the cutlery shop and find someone here on SRP w/ lots of experience that offers honing services and send it to them. There is nothing like a properly honed razor and one that's not is a real PITA and has caused many to give up on straight shaving.

Thanks for the advice. Well the place I go to is Stoddards in Newton,MA and this store has been around for 100years. They sell and hone straight Razors and the guy does it by hand on a few different stones. They even offer classes on how to do it. So I felt like I could trust him. Should I not? Is there any other questions I should ask him to solidify that they are good at it?

Also, I will probably buy a cheaper practice blade for honing so I don"t ruin my nice new one.

If they have a rep for honing straights, go for it. It's just that most cutlery shops that say they know how to do straights really don't. When it's your first razor, you want to remove as many variables as possible, so having it honed by someone with a reputation is important.

Do you own one? If so, do you hone it yourself or do you have someone from SRP do it?

RzorsBarber --

Relax !!!

Either your TI is "shave-ready" from the shop, or it isn't. If the local shop sold it to you, they'll know, one way or the other.

Try the razor. If it's "Shavette-sharp", or close to it, it _doesn't_ need to be honed. Just strop it between shaves. It should not need honing for several weeks (worst case) or several months (best case).

If it's not sharp -- that is, it doesn't cut your beard well, or skips, or drags -- it _does_ need to be honed. If the guy in the local shop knows what he's doing, let him hone it.

A hone -- in inexperienced hands -- can do significant damage to an elegant new blade.

Read the Wiki's for a while before you decide to hone a brand-new razor yourself. Honing is a "learned skill", and it's best learned on inexpensive razors, not new TI's.

Charles

Originally Posted by RzorsBarber

I own a few shavettes that I shave with and use in my barbershop as well and I can pretty much close my eyes and swipe away without thought and no nicks/cuts or burns.

Since you shave yourself and others with the shavettes I suspect you'll take to the 'real' straight like a duck to water. If the cutlery shop doesn't do a good job honing it you'll find it won't give a smooth and comfortable shave. In that case you can always send it to one of SRP's members who offer honing services. Many of us hone our own razors. That is a sport in itself. I won't tell you to read my sig line to avoid nicks and cuts 'cause you probably already know the info.

Thank you. Yes I will absolutely study up in the wiki section and I have absolutely no intentions on trying to practice honing on this beautiful new razor. I have a pretty old razor that we keep as a display in the shop. Maybe I will clean that up and practice on that. I don't believe its an antique so I wouldn't worry about ruining it