Thread: Setting new bevel.

Originally Posted by Gregory27

Good stuff. So let's assume that I agree, and I do, that I should get a shave ready razor, for comparison sake. What's a good source for something at a reasonable cost? I've already spent more than I want to think about on my knife hobby, and I'd really prefer that my wife doesn't kill me with one of them.

Try pm’ing Glen(gssixgun) he occasionally has some affordable user grade blades for sale, also is a pro honer. Another good place to look is in the bst part of the forum, usually some good deals to had on shave ready razors.

A second razor doesn't have to cost much. A vintage for ~$40 is 'just a normal deal'. You can easily fall into much better deals. Then get it honed by someone here.

BST is a great way to get a second razor at a decent price. You can also find some very nice, more costly ones there too. Id take outback up on his offer. Send him your razor and buy another off our forum that is shave ready. Then within a week or two you will have something really shave ready by outback and possible a second one too.

When your learning having two is best. One to send off or to practice honing on and one ready.
Id recommend you start with learning the shave first. Learn to hone later. Its important to learn on a proper edge. Not something that might be close to right.

new razor wont mean its truly shave ready either, the new razors come so, so, buy a used one from our Buy Sell Trade section from a member whos been here awhile with posts counts up there and whos got alot of people who will vouch for the edges. or buy new and send out

As TC said...
Buy new and send it out for honing. It will most likely need it. Its just the way it is.

To be clear, I am not a pro honer. I would describe my skills as adequate for my face.

Your sharpening background sounds similar to mine, so I thought I'd share a bit of my journey. I got my first straight in the late 80's and got about a 1/2 dozen shaves off the factory edge. Edge got a bit harsh so, no problem, I'll just sharpen it up. Never did get the edge back. Fast forward a lot of years and I got back into straits. Found a local knife store that said they honed razors (it was only $4) had my original Dovo done as a benchmark and practiced on a couple of other razors I had picked up. The Dovo shaved kinda like I remembered, but it had been a while. Going off some spotty youtube videos and my previous knowledge, I was able to get shaves similar to the Dovo. Then I found SRP and started thinking the local honer might not have had the most skill (spine had clearly been on the stone and when I asked him if he had stropped it I got a hesitant reply of "yea, I did some stropping"). What I have learned so far is straights are way different to sharpen than knives. It's a whole different level of precision and care.

I came across this thread a few weeks ago (https://sharprazorpalace.com/honing/...on-2012-a.html) and read through it. I warn you, it's a long one. There's a ton of tips and helpful info there if you can wade through it. That thread got me to really focus on the bevel set, make sure I'd removed all the previous grits scratches (a 10X magnifier is really helpful), and be more exacting and patient. I worked with two blades and was rewarded with my best shaves to date.

I still feel like I can get better and will at some point send a blade to an SRP recommended honer, but that will be after I decide which blade grind/size/tip I want to have as my new benchmark. The folks at SRP really know their stuff and are super helpful.

Good luck on your journey.