Thread: Picked up my first SR - Loeffler & Sykes "Kutezy"

I've been DE shaving for a few months and have been interested in starting SR shaving. Yesterday when I was out shopping for antique brushes to restore I stumbled upon this Loeffler & Sykes razor from Rochester, NY and a hone-strop from Geneva, NY. This was my first purchase, and I think I did ok - the blade isn't frowning, there's no pitting, chips, or cracks and the scales are in good shape as well.



I've since discovered that the Genco piece is probably a barber's tool to quick clean up a SR before a shave.


All told, I paid $30 for both the razor and hone-strop. Thoughts? Suggestions for my next purchase? I'm probably going to send out the razor to get professionally honed before I use it - will the leather side of the Genco be enough to strop, or will I need to get a proper strop?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

EDIT: More high-res photos can be found in my imgur album: Antique Finds - 2/26/2012 - Imgur.

That's a cool little hone.

I'd get a hanging strop. You can get some decent ones cheaply either from whippedog (super-affordable) or star shaving (not as affordable but still a great price). Straight Razor Designs has really nice ones if you want to spend a little more.

There's also ebay if you want a vintage strop, but you'll have to clean it up and make sure it's usable.

Don't use that barber hone until it's been flattened.

I'm guessing flattening it like this would be best?

Originally Posted by pezhore

I'm guessing flattening it like this would be best?

yup. sandpaper will work fine. A lot of people use the DMT325 diamond lapping plate, but it's expensive and sandpaper will work fine for a beginner.

I lapped some barber hones the other night and used Norton 400 wet/dry sandpaper according to the link you gave. It worked just fine. Be sure to doe the pencil grid 2 or 3 times to be sure you have flattened the hone. It took me about 10-15 minutes for each round of "pencil grid removal."