Thread: What are you working on?

You were also beginning to put a frown in it, near the heel.
It can be seen in the second to last pic. Its the scalloped spine. Figure you were heel leading your strokes, with too much pressure on the spine.

Its gonna be a fun one to hone. I see rolling X stroke's in its future.

The bug eaten lettering repair came out REALLY nice.

Thanks Rez, though its not as nice as I'd like. But passable for its age and original condition

That Ebro did not have the original scales on it and I was waiting for a while for Ebro scales to show up.
As far as honing goes, I'm a very strong advocate now for sending a blade to a pro until you get very proficient or have a blade that is expendable to practice on.
I think this cannot be over-stressed.
For newbies, even guys with experience sharpening knives, take it from me as someone who has made the mistake, listen to the guys who have been working with straight razors for a long time. Get the perspective from a number of them, not just one.

Originally Posted by MikeT

That Ebro did not have the original scales on it and I was waiting for a while for Ebro scales to show up.
As far as honing goes, I'm a very strong advocate now for sending a blade to a pro until you get very proficient or have a blade that is expendable to practice on.
I think this cannot be over-stressed.
For newbies, even guys with experience sharpening knives, take it from me as someone who has made the mistake, listen to the guys who have been working with straight razors for a long time. Get the perspective from a number of them, not just one.

That is such Sweet Music to my ears! THANK YOU! As a former meat cutter I have preached and preached how different the two cutting instruments are only to hear "I've been sharping knives, axes and all kind of things all of my life so I can sharpen a razor".

As I've said many times the difference between Sharpening a Knife and Honing a Razor is Night and Day Black and White.Thank you!

I'm not saying that I don't encourage someone to learn to hone as I'm not. With that said a Newbie has his hands full learning how to Properly Strop, Make Lather and most importantly how to Properly Shave.

I usually figure about a year to a year and a half then start to learn how to touch up a razor. Once that can be done Correctly then have at learning how to set a good bevel and work up to a shave ready razor.

Of course there is always an exception to any rule.

Smooth Shaving My Brothers in Blades

Originally Posted by cudarunner

That is such Sweet Music to my ears! THANK YOU! As a former meat cutter I have preached and preached how different the two cutting instruments are only to hear "I've been sharping knives, axes and all kind of things all of my life so I can sharpen a razor".

As I've said many times the difference between Sharpening a Knife and Honing a Razor is Night and Day Black and White.Thank you!

I'm not saying that I don't encourage someone to learn to hone as I'm not. With that said a Newbie has his hands full learning how to Properly Strop, Make Lather and most importantly how to Properly Shave.

I usually figure about a year to a year and a half then start to learn how to touch up a razor. Once that can be done Correctly then have at learning how to set a good bevel and work up to a shave ready razor.

Of course there is always an exception to any rule.

Smooth Shaving My Brothers in Blades

Well said Maestro....

Originally Posted by cudarunner

That is such Sweet Music to my ears! THANK YOU! As a former meat cutter I have preached and preached how different the two cutting instruments are only to hear "I've been sharping knives, axes and all kind of things all of my life so I can sharpen a razor".

As I've said many times the difference between Sharpening a Knife and Honing a Razor is Night and Day Black and White.Thank you!

I'm not saying that I don't encourage someone to learn to hone as I'm not. With that said a Newbie has his hands full learning how to Properly Strop, Make Lather and most importantly how to Properly Shave.

I usually figure about a year to a year and a half then start to learn how to touch up a razor. Once that can be done Correctly then have at learning how to set a good bevel and work up to a shave ready razor.

Of course there is always an exception to any rule.

Smooth Shaving My Brothers in Blades

That exception must be me then, Roy. But I did start learning about sharpening and honing at the age of 8.
Razors didn't come into play till I was 17, and yes, its a whole new ball game, just like anything else.

Practice, destroy, practice, proficient, practice, learn more and become damn good. Always look to better yourself, no matter what you do in life.

Or unless your just stubborn and do it anyway. I went that route. I screwed up a few blades but just kept at it. And after "1.5 years" of honing I finally got it. It's a slow learning process. So many things to understand that cant be explained. So, YES, you can learn to hone, shave, lather, strop, etc all at once. But it's going to be a long road with many failures. Plus it will take longer to learn them all at once compared to learning a couple things at a time. Roy likes to remind me of my stubbornness but I survived and made it. If I wasn't so stubborn I most likely would have given up and went back to the DE!

Thank you, Roy, for trying to slap me down when I needed it. Too bad I didn't listen. Ha. It would have gone smoother your way.

And Thank you Mike T. for bringing this up. I think most newbies don't feel its a big deal. Its a much bigger deal than they can imagine. Trust Me.

Originally Posted by Gasman

Or unless your just stubborn and do it anyway. I went that route. I screwed up a few blades but just kept at it. And after "1.5 years" of honing I finally got it. It's a slow learning process. So many things to understand that cant be explained. So, YES, you can learn to hone, shave, lather, strop, etc all at once. But it's going to be a long road with many failures. Plus it will take longer to learn them all at once compared to learning a couple things at a time. Roy likes to remind me of my stubbornness but I survived and made it. If I wasn't so stubborn I most likely would have given up and went back to the DE!

Thank you, Roy, for trying to slap me down when I needed it. Too bad I didn't listen. Ha. It would have gone smoother your way.

And Thank you Mike T. for bringing this up. I think most newbies don't feel its a big deal. Its a much bigger deal than they can imagine. Trust Me.

Jerry, you had a few advantages when you started using a straight razor. First of all you had successfully learned how to use a DE including how to make lather. So you had the lather down and I find that one of the basics of shaving with a DE and a straight and that is that you only use the weight of the blade with No Pressure/which so unlike the disposable pieces of crap. So you had that down.

Yes I like to bring up a Direct Quote from when you insisted on learning how to hone--but you gotta have some fun as life is way too short to not to. Besides you did take my advice to have some razors honed by a Pro or at least someone who had been at it for awhile so you had something to compare your edges with. I think that is what kept you going and not so much for being stubborn.

By the way the package to help with getting a newbie showed up today. Thank you.

I really like that one about trying to become better at what ever you do in life.
Also, I figure IF you do start learning to hone, just do it on a crappy blade. Not one that has a bowed spine mind you, just don't do it on a 200 year old work of art that by the grace of chance, and/or people who took real good care of it, survived that remarkable span of time.
There was another thread lately that really got me thinking when I saw a beautiful blade, over 200yrs old, that a newbie wanted to do it his way regardless of the info that some of the most knowledgeable guys on SRP suggested he not do.
This would damage the blade terribly. Yet he planned to anyway. Don't know if he did.
But it got me thinking about my own bull-headed attitude about many things. Always learning this young Jedi apprentice is.
It will be a while before I have my workshop or the time to do any projects because my young family has me subdued.
BUT I'm eternally grateful for Outbacks work on my blades, so now ill get down to the heart of this hobby...
SHAVING!
And when I have time (who knows when), I can start again restores/customs, and learning to hone.
Cheers Gents!