Urban myth or true

Hi

Just found this forum by accident.

I used to shave with a SR when I was in my early 20's, I gave up after a couple of years, I am now thinking of starting again because I remember the quality of the shave being second to none.

Any how I remember hearing although I can remember where, that its good practice to have a razor for each day of the week, apparently it has some thing to do with resting the steel after stropping, is this a truth or myth?
Also is it true that the blade should be rinsed with cold water when shaving?

Thanks

Ian

Welcome to the SRP Ian.
I can't answer any of that, hopefully some of the real gurus will chime in. Come on fellas, how about it.

:)

Welcome Ian!

Both should be true
opens up a lot of possibilities to buy nice razors :)

Having a razor for each day of the week and letting them rest is very nice. There are many here that only have one razor and are doing just fine. Think Barber back in the day giving straight shaves with real straight razors. They would need to have a slew of straights if they let them rest a day after each shave.

Rinsing the blade off after a shave is a good idea but be sure to dry it completely and try not to get the pivot area wet. I grip the pivot area when rinsing to protect it from water. Be sure to get all of the soap/cream off the blade and out from between the scales if there is any. Soap/cream and touching the blade after wiping it will enhance rust and Devil's spit. Many people like me have corrosive skin oils that cause rust.

Welcome to SRP. Here is the SRP Wiki beginner's guide that will start you off in the right direction. I was like you, someone who shaved with a straight years ago and then gave it up, found this forum and returned to it. Been having the time of my life since.

I rinse my razors in hot water before and after the shave. I am shooting for a 365 day set but haven't quite got there yet .... but it is fun trying. :)

That would be myth and myth.

IArmstrong,

I have encountered that same piece of wisdom myself, but it is a half truth, not the entire truth. It is good to own a razor for each day of the week, but it is not a necessity.

I have read somewhere that in reality, you only need to "rest" your razor overnight or approx. 24 hrs. to achieve a close shave with it the next day. Of course if you want to purchase an additional razor or two to insure that the blade will be completely recovered from the previous shave, by all means feel free to do so.

Jhenry's advice is insidious. One razor is all you need. The whole thing about needing a second one is a plot to seduce you into addiction. I started with one and let others talk me into thinking I needed two. So I bought a second...then a third..then a fourth. and a fifth, and then a sixthseventheight...Somebody, stop me!!!

Stropping your razor will recover it better than resting ever could.
I have heard that resting may apply to stainless blades, but the only instructions I've ever seen that encouraged resting the blade also gave some very poor advice about stropping and honing.
don't believe it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by leadduck

Jhenry's advice is insidious. One razor is all you need. The whole thing about needing a second one is a plot to seduce you into addiction. I started with one and let others talk me into thinking I needed two. So I bought a second...then a third..then a fourth. and a fifth, and then a sixthseventheight...Somebody, stop me!!!

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That's right!

LOOK OUT! IT'S A TRAP! (:roflmao)

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. :borg:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ControlFreak1

That's right!

LOOK OUT! IT'S A TRAP! (:roflmao)

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. :borg:

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Gooble Gobble Gooble Gobble. We accept you. One of us.

For years I only had 2 razors, twice as many as I needed.(Please dont show this post to my wife!) I dont rinse my blades and they dont get dinged on the faucet. The blade only gets soapy stubble on it, no need for a wash, wipe dry witrh a towel, a little alcohol if desired. This also eliminates rust.

It's a myth. But don't let your wife or girlfriend know that. It's a good excuse to buy more.

Thanks for the welcome guys and the reply's.

Well now I just need to find a razor, a strop, and some soap, I still have my hone and brush.

The prices for razor have gone up loads since the late 80's early 90's, some beautiful blades out there.
I think Im going to get a vintage one with a solingen blade or Sheffield steel.

Any tip on sterilizing old blades?

Thanks

Ian

I think it may be true that seven day sets were sold because of the myth of resting. I think back in the heyday of seven day sets that people didn't strop their razors. Or that they did it infrequently.

Because I only shave with a straight 3 days a week and I have a rotation of two razors I can shave very often without ever stropping.

But the quality of the shave is a little better if I strop. Not much, just a little.

I think this is why there are so many references and pictures of strops in barber shops and not so many in historic homes.

But, early on, the advantages of using a strop were very apparent.

I think so many people are so convinced of the utter sillyness of the idea though that they have never really tried, or there is a small chance that I just hone well and this works (but I would be really surprised if I hone better than the average user).

I don't know if I buy into that Alan. Both my Grandfather and my Wifes had strops from the days when they shaved with straights, for that matter so did my wifes great grandfather. It might have had something to do with the fact that they were all carpenters and knew the value of shrpening on leather but Ithink it was just the norm.

I don't know either way but I know that the strop makes the edge even sharper. I think microscopic particles of rust start on the thin edge after it sits a while and the strop fixes that. I have a seven day set but find myself using only two of them most of the time. I always strop before shaving. It really helps.

Re Hot water rinsing

I think the myth here is that anything that makes your blade hot will dull the edge / change the temper.

Hot water will not be hot enough to ruin your blade (unless you flick the water off and ding it on the sink...)

Some of us like the feeling of a hot blade when shaving too.

Enjoy your rediscovery of the straight!

Michael.

I don't know if this is true or not. But I keep telling my wife that I need a razor for each day of the month in order to rest the blade. Of course she does not believe me.

So she is keeping my RAD in check.

Lu

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wildtim

I don't know if I buy into that Alan. Both my Grandfather and my Wifes had strops from the days when they shaved with straights, for that matter so did my wifes great grandfather. It might have had something to do with the fact that they were all carpenters and knew the value of shrpening on leather but Ithink it was just the norm.

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You are probably correct. I do not know though if your wife's Grandfather goes far enough back to remember when shaving with a straight without using a strop was common.

I'm curious if you've ever tried just rotating though?

A

Gents I thought the main purpose of a strop after honing was to remove the microscopic bur that forms on the edge of the blade, if not stropped off it causes the edge of the blade to blunt quickly, at least that why I strop my wood working kit after sharpening.
If the strop is also coated with rouge (iron oxide) it puts a fine polish on the edge to.

I remember when I last shaved with a SR I could not get an edge good enough just from the honing stone to shave with, it would pull the hair. If I honed and stropped, it was a smooth snag free shave.
Are there any brand recommendations for SR's from all here?

That is a good question. I can not answer it because I do get razors to shave nicely off a stone alone. I would be curious though if you could PM me about your stropping technique or describe it here, I would love to hear about it.

I do not think that Mentors should endorse products, but, I like Dovo stainless razors. It is what I use and like, but I am not necessarily endorsing or recommending them. I am just stating an observed fact. I have only owned about 8-10 razors in my whole life though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IArmstrong

Are there any brand recommendations for SR's from all here?

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There are LOTS of good brands of razors to choose from. Here you go:
Good Straight Razor Brands - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IArmstrong

Thanks for the welcome guys and the reply's.

Well now I just need to find a razor, a strop, and some soap, I still have my hone and brush.

The prices for razor have gone up loads since the late 80's early 90's, some beautiful blades out there.
I think Im going to get a vintage one with a solingen blade or Sheffield steel.

Any tip on sterilizing old blades?

Thanks

Ian

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Welcome to SRP!

Are you trying to sterilize or disinfect? Huge difference here.

Straight Razor Place Wiki article: http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwiki/index.php/Sterilization


I've been reading about pressurized autoclaves.......and I just don't think your average celluloid or plastic scales can take that kind of heat without ruining them.....nor would I want to experiment. I have a full stainless TI razor that can take it but it doesn't justify the $400 for the contraption.

Violight makes a UV case for the average disposable razor and it operates on AAA batteries. While I would love to send them an e-mail asking if they have plans to make this type of case for your average straight razor user, I could only imagine the canned response along the lines of, "are you kidding us? Please stop wasting our time!". I wouldn't mind buying two of those and removing the light generating parts and combining them lengthwise and placing a razor in the case for half an hour or so. They're only $30 each so for $60 plus the cost of whatever type of case I could come up with, i.e. "engineer". It might be worth it to make one for straight razors and post it in the Workshop part of this forum. I just might be adventurous enough to try something like that :hmmm:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IArmstrong

Thanks for the welcome guys and the reply's.

Well now I just need to find a razor, a strop, and some soap, I still have my hone and brush.

The prices for razor have gone up loads since the late 80's early 90's, some beautiful blades out there.
I think Im going to get a vintage one with a solingen blade or Sheffield steel.

Any tip on sterilizing old blades?

Thanks

Ian

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While you are in the restoration and honing process you can
use alcohol and sanitizing wipes. Just clean and re-oil after
each session. Since the cleaning and honing process takes
a couple days the repetition of sanitizing, cleaning and re-oiling
is a good thing.

I was tinkering with my frowning warped sacrificial problem Dovo a
couple of months back and I use 99% isopropyl alcohol to clean
it before stropping. I got distracted and put it up. In less than 24 hours
the grease/ oil free surface developed some small rust spots.
They rubbed out easy enough but it was interesting how quickly
it happened.

Most shaving soaps are hyper fatted so a simple warm rinse and
wipe after shaving tends to leave a protective coating good enough for
most actively used blades. Because this is true for so many
there is a lot of confusion about this.

Mineral oil is a good thing as is a silicon coated "gun" cloth
that many machine shop supply stores also have. Keep it
sealed up as per the directions. Oily rags are a shop fire
hazard so good shop habits are good to bring home.

I sure hope it's a myth. I just got my first razor a few days ago and I'm having a hard enough time keeping it "shave ready" with all the learning curves. I'd also only be able to shave about once a week which probably wouldn't work out so well.

Well, the absolute undeniable unquestionable fact is that it is absolutely impossible to get by with just one razor. It's just a fact, reject or deny it to your own peril. In fact probly not even 10 will do. :)

Myth and Myth no doubt.

I have more than ten and that is not enough. Some mornings I just don't think I can make it. LOL

Loads of good info guys.

I think Im going to go for a new Dovo.
After a lot of thinking (about 5 mins) Im just a little paranoid about the history of a vintage used razor, so going down the new route.

So will let you all know how I get on and if I manage to shave or peel :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IArmstrong

Loads of good info guys.

I think Im going to go for a new Dovo.
After a lot of thinking (about 5 mins) Im just a little paranoid about the history of a vintage used razor, so going down the new route.

So will let you all know how I get on and if I manage to shave or peel :)

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IArmstrong,

A wise choice...

I rinse my razors with hot water during the shave as I like the feeling of the warm blade. Never had any problems, my razors stay sharp on average 1 month apiece before needing a touchup.

-Chief

When I started I only had one razor and I used it daily for months. And I also rinsed it in warm water as this helped dissolve any soap far better than cold water.

The key to keeping a good edge is your stropping. I do 25 material and 50 - 60 leather before each shave and I do 10 material and 10 -15 leather after each shave. This really keeps the edge in good condition and cleans any micro-gunk off the edges before you put it away.

Make sure you dont get water anywhere other than the actual blade, and especially avoid the pivot area.

Dry between the scales before you store the razor, as its really easy to forget the drop of water or lather thats worked its way in there and this will tarnish your blade overnight!

Warm water makes no difference to the razor as its not hot enough to affect the temper of the steel.

Some people have a couple of razors, so one is in use and one is out to be honed, and some (like me) suffer from RAD..! More than one or two razors is just for fun..! Hehe!

Sorry, I haven't read all the replies, Originally, A 7 day set was a status symbol. Most guys had one razor, let alone two. 7 day sets were for the wealthy, or well to do.
Even now, 7 day sets will run you well over 1000.00 in most case. I see a few here and there for 750.00, and they're very plain. Most barbers use a towel to wipe the soap/cream off the razor. Rinsing is fine, just be careful. I use hot water, and feel it adds to the shave. As far the edge needing to rest, well, that is a myth....

You don't need to let your razors rest.

But you still will find you need/want/desire a razor for every day of the week.



Maybe month....





OK, one for every day of the year, but then I stop browsing EBay...I'm serious this time....





Okay, maybe a couple more as "back-ups"...just in case, you know!