Your experience appreciated: passes HHT but tugs and pulls and hurts

**WW243** · 11-08-2013, 09:04 PM

The translation sounds like: I'm already in over my head and can't afford to spend another pence to make this miracle come to fruition. No shame in that, I permanently live in that state....I don't recommend it but perhaps one of the many honing saints will offer some help for a weary traveler on the blue green brick road....

Originally Posted by ffarouki

Well here's the thing I should've asked earlier.. When you all buy a brand new razor, do you send it to get honed as soon as you receive it? I'm trying to remain in denial that I have to send them get honed after they've just arrived.

**Mvcrash** · 11-08-2013, 09:44 PM

Before trying to determine what is wrong I would ask if you ever had a good shave with the razor?

**pinklather** · 11-08-2013, 09:57 PM

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

Before trying to determine what is wrong I would ask if you ever had a good shave with the razor?

Excellent question, Crash.
As the vid of Maestro Livi shows - most makers that send the razor honed - use abrasive pastes. 'Nothing wrong w/ that, but of the 6 wackers I've had (5 now) and 2 of the 3 customs, they came w/ a pasted strop finish and needed more than a little work to get right.

The Wackers can be a bugger to hone, but I will say that they reward the effort. When I received one Wacker 'shave ready' that I bought used - I tried the shave and asked the seller if 'xxxxx' honed it (by name). Yup.

If I'm reading right, you're in Britain? If so, there are a couple of guys very skilled - mainly w/ coticules, that I'd want to handle a wacker. One is a barber in London - and a member on this site - Gary Haywood. The other had a screen name of Tat2ralphy on the old coticule site. They used to have a free sharpening service. I would try to connect w/ these guys so you have confidence it receives proper stone work. If its possible to meet them in person, I'd recommend bringing a strop and have them watch your stropping - could give you some helpful tips.

Good luck w/ the Wacker. When that edge gets sorted out, you're gonna be a happy guy.

**shanky887614** · 11-08-2013, 11:08 PM

Originally Posted by pinklather

Excellent question, Crash.
As the vid of Maestro Livi shows - most makers that send the razor honed - use abrasive pastes. 'Nothing wrong w/ that, but of the 6 wackers I've had (5 now) and 2 of the 3 customs, they came w/ a pasted strop finish and needed more than a little work to get right.

The Wackers can be a bugger to hone, but I will say that they reward the effort. When I received one Wacker 'shave ready' that I bought used - I tried the shave and asked the seller if 'xxxxx' honed it (by name). Yup.

If I'm reading right, you're in Britain? If so, there are a couple of guys very skilled - mainly w/ coticules, that I'd want to handle a wacker. One is a barber in London - and a member on this site - Gary Haywood. The other had a screen name of Tat2ralphy on the old coticule site. They used to have a free sharpening service. I would try to connect w/ these guys so you have confidence it receives proper stone work. If its possible to meet them in person, I'd recommend bringing a strop and have them watch your stropping - could give you some helpful tips.

Good luck w/ the Wacker. When that edge gets sorted out, you're gonna be a happy guy.

Ralfy is very good, he honed one of mine a while ago and it was very good, it feels different after being honed on a coti

**UKRob** · 11-08-2013, 11:32 PM

Your razors are not shave ready. Both makes are excellent so you have probably killed the edges by incorrect stropping. Pm me and I'll hone one of them for free then you will be able to compare the other.

I'm in the UK by the way.

**ffarouki** · 11-08-2013, 11:49 PM

Now I'm getting somewhere! And because of all your informative and helpful comments, you've made my day

WW243 SWMBO is watching over my shoulders. It was the razors, the soap, the strops, then the aftershaves. She can't bear the site of me getting any more packages and/or paying for hobby related services, specially that we just recently moved to London and we have so much to cover in order to get settled in.

Mvcrash I've had a decent shave with the Bergischer. The Wacker is a nightmare thus so far. I stropped it a lot more today and tried an arm removal hair test and it did so much better, but my face couldn't take any more experiments and so I will give it one final go on Sunday. I finished my shave with a DE and I was like OMG that's like touching my face with a tissue in comparison.

Pinklather That's the idea. I was hoping for recommendations if any kind people could help me out. Worse than having to pay the fee is the 2 week wait and the shipping and anticipation. I would love to meet someone anywhere and see it done with my own eyes, maybe I can learn a lot as well. This way, I can eventually get hones so if I am ever back home where there aren't any hone meisters I would have an idea what to do myself.

UKRob Thank you so much for your gracious offer, I really appreciate it. From your Avatar shows you're not in London though, so I would have to mail it. I will give my Wacker a final try as I said on Sunday and I'll take you up on your offer

**SirStropalot** · 11-09-2013, 05:35 AM

Here's some good info on prep, technique, blade angle, etc.. It's about the shave test, but Glen covers most of the usual shortcomings of getting a good shave.

Howard

What is "The Shave Test" for a Straight Razor - YouTube

**AFDavis11** · 11-09-2013, 12:16 PM

Honing is essential. Shave with the DE until you can get professional honing. Even professional honing is often not genuine straight razor honing. You could also learn to hone. I would, personally, try to hone on the bottom of a coffee cup before I relied solely on pastes.

As long as the shave is unacceptable you might try finding a high grit hone, the highest you can afford (and I mean like just a few dollars, not hundreds) or even stopping by a barber shop in London and paying the oldest barber in the joint to hone the razor a little for you. I'm sure you know someone who ownes a hone of some sort you can borrow. And in desperation I mean any hone. Even a very high grit knife hone will help.

If you can apply forty or so passes that might get you in the ball park.

Then strop on linen for 200 or so passes.

Then apply pencil lead to your strop and strop 100 passes. Draw all over a piece of paper folded over twice. Draw on it till its covered in pencil lead, then rub the paper vigorously over the strop.

Then clean off all the pencil lead with a damp cloth

Let the stop dry and do 60 passes on clean leather.

Try another shave.

The key is to search for the best hone you can find and to apply a lot of passes on linen, lead, and finally plain leather. In your search for a "poor mans hone" wet your finger and rub it along the hone. You want a hone that feels the closest to glass as possible. By the sounds of your description some honing on a lower grit stone (one that feels a little rough on your finger) might be helpful, first, even before all this other work.

Without knowing how to hone all this work might not be very helpful, compared to a professional honing. But sometimes we decide not to spend any more money on something prematurely. You can send one razor out for honing when you can afford it, later.

Don't try and rush the process. Just stay patient and try and progress a little each day.

I'm currently learning how to play the guitar and the books are littered with, " practice everyday and be patient" and let me tell you learning the guitar is WAY easier than learning to shave with a straight.

**Splashone** · 11-09-2013, 01:04 PM

As someone recently down your path, Get your razor honed by someone that knows what they are doing. They do not arrive shave ready from the factory and as a newbie, I immediately dulled a shave ready razor with my ham-fisted stropping. Take the offer of the free honing and use your DE for another week! Your face and learning curve will benefit immensely.

**edhewitt** · 11-09-2013, 09:32 PM

Allan, are you serious about coffee cups? And how would that work? I am not being facetious here, just not sure if that part was a joke

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