Thread: Unpacked my shaving stuff after 5 years. Advice / info needed on razors

Welcome back! I've never met you on the forum, but certainly glad to

A couple thoughts from my side:

Strop - You could try applying a little neatsfoot oil to soften the leather and then use a bottle to flatten it out. Some guys will put a stack of heavy books on top of their strop and let it sit overnight. As for the canvas side there are some material strop pastes (Dovo comes to mind), but I've never used them and can't comment on their performance.

Brush - Some will use borax or similar for an initial cleaning, but that somehow seems harsh to me. I'd say give it a good cleaning with regular shampoo once or twice and that should take care of it.

Razors - were your razors shave ready, or somewhat so, when you last used them? Assuming yes they may not need all the honing that you think they do. Once you get your strop sorted out and back in working order, strop the living hell out of the edge and see if there is a noticeable improvement in shave readiness - you may be surprised.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Welcome back Josh! I'm a rookie here on SRP, so we've never met here. 5 years away from the game, eh? Sounds like me before I retired -- I was an on-and-off again cutthroat user for 16 years until fairly recently.
You do have some very nice blades in your collection -- I really like the Jos. Smith's 7/8.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

Welcome back! I've never met you on the forum, but certainly glad to

A couple thoughts from my side:

Strop - You could try applying a little neatsfoot oil to soften the leather and then use a bottle to flatten it out. Some guys will put a stack of heavy books on top of their strop and let it sit overnight. As for the canvas side there are some material strop pastes (Dovo comes to mind), but I've never used them and can't comment on their performance.

Brush - Some will use borax or similar for an initial cleaning, but that somehow seems harsh to me. I'd say give it a good cleaning with regular shampoo once or twice and that should take care of it.

Razors - were your razors shave ready, or somewhat so, when you last used them? Assuming yes they may not need all the honing that you think they do. Once you get your strop sorted out and back in working order, strop the living hell out of the edge and see if there is a noticeable improvement in shave readiness - you may be surprised.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Shampoo for the shaving brush! I didnt think of that, but I'll give it a try. As far as the strop, its that the canvas has most likely shrunk, which will not allow the leather to lay flat. I did hear back from Tony and he is evaluating a few photos. This was an atypical design for him as a favor to me, so he has to check around and see if he still has hardware that would work.

I had refreshed the razors a few times on one of Tony's 4 sided paddle strops, but I really milked the edges and they definitely need a honing, although some of them may only need minimal honing. My concern is more with the oxidation and some of the pitting, as well as the one that needs a re-pinning for sure.

Originally Posted by mapleleafalumnus

Welcome back Josh! I'm a rookie here on SRP, so we've never met here. 5 years away from the game, eh? Sounds like me before I retired -- I was an on-and-off again cutthroat user for 16 years until fairly recently.
You do have some very nice blades in your collection -- I really like the Jos. Smith's 7/8.

Thanks. I was always very picky about what I wanted and found some great deals, but ultimately found that my favorite is 8/8s or larger in a full wedge. When I found the direction I wanted to go, it was pretty easy to find the big ones, as not too many people preferred the 8/8s, but I liked that 7/8s so much i made an exception to my rule lol.

I know you contacted Tony about your strop already but one of the first noes i got from him had a similar issue with the canvas shrinking. i removed the hardware form one end made little slits in the canvas to allow a tighter pull and reassembled it has worked just great for the last 5 years. you could try both ends if you need to.

enjoy,
jim

Welcome back, although I haven't been here, when you registered. Your collection ist pretty nice!

Hi Josh,

'Sounds like you've been busy. 'Would be glad to give a hand w/ honing - just the cost of getting them back to you. I'm out in Western Oregon (Pacific North Wet).

You certainly had good taste in gear. It should be a pleasure getting them back in use.

Pink can produce some great edges

Originally Posted by syslight

I know you contacted Tony about your strop already but one of the first noes i got from him had a similar issue with the canvas shrinking. i removed the hardware form one end made little slits in the canvas to allow a tighter pull and reassembled it has worked just great for the last 5 years. you could try both ends if you need to.

enjoy,
jim

Thanks for the info. I may try this or something similar if Tony can't do it. I know he is a perfectionist and won't tolerate less than perfect, but I can deal with "good enough" for a while until I need to buy something new. A strop of that size was not cheap back then and I don't even think it could be made now.

Originally Posted by Rori

Welcome back, although I haven't been here, when you registered. Your collection ist pretty nice!

Thanks. Its tough staring at them without being able to use them lol

Originally Posted by pinklather

Hi Josh,

'Sounds like you've been busy. 'Would be glad to give a hand w/ honing - just the cost of getting them back to you. I'm out in Western Oregon (Pacific North Wet).

You certainly had good taste in gear. It should be a pleasure getting them back in use.

Thank you for the offer SRPers have been very generous in offering to hone. My concern is that the US Mail has lost enough things I've shipped this year to make me avoid wanting to ship at all. I'm going to ask around and see if anyone can help me figure out how much I'd need to insure them for if I were going to ship, but the thought still scares me since some of them are just not replaceable or carry sentimental value. I'm hoping I can find someone within driving distance and avoid shipping entirely, but it s not looking promising.

I took a few photos of my razors at different angles to show to a few people that have been recommended for restoration work and repair. Since I got a few positive comments on my little collection, I figured I'd share them. Sorry if they are a bit big, I scaled them down to what fits on my laptop monitor. I love these razors, but I'm still pissed at myself for not finding a WB wedge or 1/4 hollow in 9/8 with a barbers notch for a reasonable price a few years ago. Its my unicorn.

Henkels Friodur INOX - Plain Spine 8/8

Damage from improperly aligned blade nicking the scales

Henkels Friodur INOX - Decorated Spine 8/8

No issues with this one, just needs a good honing and maybe some updated scales





Joseph Rodgers & Sons w/ desert ironwood scales - Restored by Bill Ellis 7/8

Hopefully just needs a good polishing and honing. Has some oxidation and rust marks, but they are minimal