Thread: please help

Hi, i am new to straight razors and recently purchased an old westor bros razor. I honed it with a 6000 grit water stone in an x pattern and stropped it with a felt and leather strop. It no doubt cuts hair but when i try the hanging hair test it takes an effort to cut the hair as compared to my dads newer straight razor. My question is am i i doing something wrong or do old razors not get as as sharp as newer razors. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hey, a question I can answer! Sweet! An old razor will get just as sharp as a new razor. For the rest of it though..I defer to experts.

I would hone at least to 8k. 6k sounds harsh. It really should be finished on a 12k then strop.

Honing is an art and takes some practice.

Best to send it out for honing because the HHT is not worth anything but a parlor trick. The test shave is the only way to see if the razor is sharp enough. As a beginner you don't yet have the shaving technique down yet so you won't know if it is your technique or the razor that is giving you trouble.

Originally Posted by AK49

Hi, i am new to straight razors... I honed it with

With all respect, AK, these two statements don't often go together well. You mentioned your Dad shaves w/ a str8 also. Has he taught you honing already? I ask, 'cause learning the shave and learning to hone at the same time is rather dicey. That's what I did, and it was a mistake. Maybe your natural talent w/ the stones is many times better than mine (hope so), but not having a top edge makes it harder to learn the shave well.

+1 on the 8k and the 12k. You'll be glad you bought them.

Jerry

6k edge is not going to provide a very good shave, you need to go to 8k or higher if you want.
HHT does not indicate how well the razor will shave, the shave test does.
If this is your first razor I'd suggest to send it out for pro honing, then you will have a base line to learn honing on your own with another razor.

Thanks for the help, My dad is also new to this, he just recently bought a gieson and forsthoff 6/8 razor and he had it professionally honed when he bought it. I went the cheaper route and bought a used one off of ebay. When i received my razor i honed it with 6k stone, Then stropped it. When comparing my sharpening job compared to his professionally honed razor i noticed his was slightly sharper. Now seeing that i used too low of a grit stone to hone it it makes sense his would be sharper. Do you think if i purchased a 12k water stone and use it properly that it will make a reasonable difference in the sharpness in my razor?

You will definitely feel difference when you hone on a 12k stone compared to a 6k stone.

If you are referring to a Chinese Guang Xzi, otherwise known as a Chinese 12k or PHIG, you can expect to do between 100 and 200 strokes to finish your edge. If you are referring to some other 12k, you would probably need fewer strokes to finish. Do 10 strokes and test shave a small area, then 10 more strokes and test shave again etc. etc. Stop honing when it shaves you well. You will figure it out.

Jerry
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