Thread: New . . . damn I'm new

Rob,

I've heard some people talk about stropping the Feather and I've thought about it. Perhaps I'll try it, as you suggest. It wouldn't hurt to get a few more shaves out of a blade. Although some would say that one of the advantages of the Feather is not having to do the maintenence like a traditional straight. Just shave10-15 times then throw the blade away, like a DE.

I was also going to play with using one of the those DE blade hones to see if it would squeeze a few more shaves out of the DE blade, but lately I haven't shaved enough with the DE to get a blade down to that point. I've heard that those DE blade hones were made for the old-style steel DE blades and that using it on a new stainless blade probably wouldn't work too well or is not worth it.

Originally Posted by CRR

Rob,

I've heard some people talk about stropping the Feather and I've thought about it. Perhaps I'll try it, as you suggest. It wouldn't hurt to get a few more shaves out of a blade. Although some would say that one of the advantages of the Feather is not having to do the maintenence like a traditional straight. Just shave10-15 times then throw the blade away, like a DE.

I was also going to play with using one of the those DE blade hones to see if it would squeeze a few more shaves out of the DE blade, but lately I haven't shaved enough with the DE to get a blade down to that point. I've heard that those DE blade hones were made for the old-style steel DE blades and that using it on a new stainless blade probably wouldn't work too well or is not worth it.

With DE blades costing less than 50 cents for a Feather, and much less for others, why bother? It's your face that takes the beating with dull blades, and at less than the cost of a soda...I'll toss 'em and start over.

RT

I think too the issue is that they have a coating on them and it gets rubbed off and then just acts like a dull straight...

I tried stropping a Feather but because of the angles you can achieve I only managed to dull it but with a Feather thats not such a bad thing...those things nick you everywhere....

I am confused!! You buy a razor with disposable blades and then you try to reuse them? What's with that? If you want to hone get a straight other wise why not spring for the 50 cents and get a new blade.

Originally Posted by RichZ

I am confused!! You buy a razor with disposable blades and then you try to reuse them? What's with that? If you want to hone get a straight other wise why not spring for the 50 cents and get a new blade.

Yeah, I tend to agree. I think if you use a disposable-bladed razor, be it DE or Feather, you're losing any advantage by not disposing of the blades and always having a sharp one.

I suspect, too, that the steel isn't quite good enough to stand up to regular stropping and the like. The edge is very fine, and there's probably more damage than repair done to the edge.

Of course, if you're /trying/ to dull the feather, as some people mentioned, maybe it is a good idea.

My curiosity about the DE blade being sharpened was just that, curiosity. I agree that it doesn't make sense to try sharpen a .10 blade to squeeze a few more shaves out of it. I was just going to play around with it for fun, if you can call it that.

Stropping the Feather is the same thing. As for dulling the Feather blade so it's not as sharp. That isn't a problem for me, I don't think the Feather blades are too sharp. I don't seem to have any problems with them. In fact, they don't seem sharper than anything else I've used so far.

I think the interchangeable blade straight razors like the Dovo Shavette was designed for hair stylists (not barbers) to deal with shaving or trimming without developing skills. I say if you want to shave with a straight razor, then shav with a straight razor. you can do this for less than $100.00 easily. I would suggest a Tony Miller Starter Kit. www.thewellshavedgentleman.com

Give it a try.

Chris, the small, scooped-out, DE blade hones WERE made for the old style DE blades. A modern DE blade wouldn't work, as I understand it. I haven't tried, but the older DE blades that those were intended for were much thicker, and not very flexible. Nearing the thickness of an injector blade. If one were to attempt honing a modern blade on one of those type hones, the blade would just bow in the middle, raising the edges, and no contact would be made with the hone. Or so I hear

Jeff

Originally Posted by CRR

Rob,

I've heard some people talk about stropping the Feather and I've thought about it. Perhaps I'll try it, as you suggest. It wouldn't hurt to get a few more shaves out of a blade. Although some would say that one of the advantages of the Feather is not having to do the maintenence like a traditional straight. Just shave10-15 times then throw the blade away, like a DE.

I was also going to play with using one of the those DE blade hones to see if it would squeeze a few more shaves out of the DE blade, but lately I haven't shaved enough with the DE to get a blade down to that point. I've heard that those DE blade hones were made for the old-style steel DE blades and that using it on a new stainless blade probably wouldn't work too well or is not worth it.

Originally Posted by glrerun

I think the interchangeable blade straight razors like the Dovo Shavette was designed for hair stylists (not barbers) to deal with shaving or trimming without developing skills. I say if you want to shave with a straight razor, then shav with a straight razor. you can do this for less than $100.00 easily. I would suggest a Tony Miller Starter Kit. www.thewellshavedgentleman.com

Give it a try.

I understand that, thanks. I'll be saving up for one.

t