In need of assistance from straight razor users…

[John 5]

Good day gentlemen. I’m going to give the whole straight razor thing a try. In order to give it a fair shot, I want to make sure that I have the right equipment to go along with the razors. Namely, the right stuff to get the blade’s edge in optimal form.

Thus far, I’ve purchased three straights, an oldie American one from the evil Canadian duck, and a couple of Solingen ones now en route from afar. I received Richard’s straight sometime last week, and due to a combination of overconfidence and stupidity, I gave it a shot without owning a strop, and mind you, having no more education than watching Kornpoke do it to Maggie. Here is the razor I used, shown in my SOTD picture from that day:



Well, strop-less, ignorant, overconfident, and two passes and ten minutes later, the experience and results surpassed my expectations. The razor felt dull, what I expected from not having stropped, but still…I came away with a slightly sub-par shave just shy of presentable. Much better than expected, really. As far as blood…nicked myself once under my chin, and over shaved in a couple of areas on my neck, but no blood to speak of. But the experience was good, and now I aspire to pursue this in the right way.

Which leads me here. I’m not going to give up on my Rocket HD. But, for the chance that there might be a place for straights in my life (…don’t look at me so funny...), I want to give them a fair chance. I put away that straight after that first and only try, and plan to read up on Chris Moss’s eBook this weekend, and maybe order that DVD from that gentlemen on the straight razor forum. In the meantime, I want to order whatever I may need. I ask the following personal question to those with experience on the matter:

What brand and type of strop is your personal preference? How about for honing goods?

I will add, that while I have no preference for strops equipted with precious metals, cost is really no object; I just want to hear from fellow members what you personally view as the best for the job. And I’m all too cognizant of all that YMMV mantra. That’s why I want personal opinions, and if there is a consensus, so be it, don’t mind hearing it either. Bottom line, what would you personally acquire were it you starting out all over again?

I’d like to order whatever I need as soon as possible, for I’m taking a little hiatus away from the city in a couple of weeks, and that time would serve my straight shaving foray quite well.

Much gratitude to all and take care,
John

[sebell]

John,

Glad to hear you're serious about delving
into straight razor shaving! It was probably
a good thing that you shaved first without
stropping, so you will be able to tell next
time if your stropping was helpful or det-
rimental.

I would grab a strop from Tony:

www.thewellshavedgentleman.com

Pretty much any one would do, make sure
you get one with canvas/linen and leather
sides.

As far as honing goes, there exists no One
True approach, but you could choose to
use pasted strops to keep your sharp razors
sharp, or get some stones to sharpen and
maintain your blades.

As far as a pasted strop goes, if it is the
only tool you have, go for a 4-sided diamond
pasted strop from Tony at the above URL.
If you want to be able to hone razors in a
wider variety of conditions, purchase a
Norton 4/8k stone and a pasted strop (0.5
Chromium Dioxide) or a finishing hone (One
of: Coticule, Chinese 12k, Escher, Spyderco
Ultra-Fine).

I'm using Spyderco hones exclusively at the
moment (just shipped off the last of my
Belgian stones), and I was able to obtain 3
different grits that would be able to tackle a
razor in any condition for less than $120.

If you have too much money and need to
achieve honing luxury, buy all of the Shapton
stones above 1000 grit and a diamond lapping
plate to go with it

It may be worth it to pose your question
over at the StraightRazorPlace.com as well.


Good luck!

- Scott

[Vern]

You cannot do better than a Tony Miller hanging strop. For beginning honing I recommend a Norton waterstone in combination 4000/8000 grit. To make touchups between honing sessions a paddle strop with chromium oxide paste will make you look like an expert honer (but take the time to really learn honing). If you find you like the straight you will never have to buy another razor or blade. Ofcourse you will; you just wouldn't have to.

Regards,

Vern

[bbqncigars]

Hello John.
I would go here for strops. Drop Tony a line (email or phone) and tell him your situation. He'll set you up with what you need. My favorite (and not most expensive) strop is one of his. Great quality at a great price. He will even include a practice strop so you can get your technique down without nicking the main strop. My best shaves are always from one of my str8s.


HTH,
Wayne

[drmoss_ca]

Strops:
Agreed that Tony's are good, and it is worthwhile getting his best heirloom model. Dovo/Jemico red russian is nice, but not as wide. HandAmerican's Old Dog strops are nice too, but more expensive. Illinois #827 makes an excellent intermediate strop when you are moving towards advanced use (you use this first, and then a smooth finishing strop).

Bench hone:
I would get either a bench hone with magnetically attached leather from Handamerican, or a pasted paddle from Tony Miller. Use Handamerican liquid chrome on it. Every two weeks give your razor 100 back and forths (ie 50 round trips) and you won't need a hone for a long time.

Hones:
If you are still at it by the time the razor is dull you could do worse than use Spyderco hones, which are reasonably priced. I don't like Nortons and have given a couple away. Shapton stones are the bees knees, but you have to be dedicated to want to spend that much.

Chris

[rustyblade]

John, technique is an issue here as well. I shaved with that razor a couple days before it left and then ran it over a pasted paddle and stropped it before I shipped it. While razors can get jostled about it should have been pretty much good to go. No doubt, you still need to strop before each shave anyway. Pay attention to the angle of the razor and stretch your skin. You will also need to use some pressure. You'll get the hang of it. Straight razor shaving (particularly the keeping it sharp bit) doesn't come easily at first, but you get rewarded for perseverance.

[minderasr]

I gave it a shot without owning a strop, and mind you, having no more education than watching Kornpoke do it to Maggie.

Anyone else notice there was no water used (or harmed) in the making of this video?

[razorcat]

You cannot do better than a Tony Miller hanging strop. For beginning honing I recommend a Norton waterstone in combination 4000/8000 grit. To make touchups between honing sessions a paddle strop with chromium oxide paste will make you look like an expert honer (but take the time to really learn honing). If you find you like the straight you will never have to buy another razor or blade. Ofcourse you will; you just wouldn't have to.

Regards,

Vern

+1

Eddie

[John 5]

Gentlemen, thanks a million. My professional duties kept me away from these parts for most of the time after my original post, and while I didnt have a chance to place any orders, I did peek in here via the wonder of smart-phones. iPhones let you browse these parts quite well, but placing secure orders, another deal altogether.

Thanks again all, I'll be mulling over the responses and choices and hopefully placing a few orders in the next few days.

Its so wonderful to have such knowledge available at one's disposal.

Regards,
John

[Occam]

John nice to see you back.

I blame this post of yours a while ago for having sparked me back into open razor territory. I think that the recent conversions to straight razors beginning with yourself resulted in a critical mass being reached that resulted in a new subforum... which I was thinking of a few days back when trying to find relevant homes for my straight razor posts.

Again welcome back...

[John 5]

Ben, thanks for the warm welcome. I always gravitate to these parts when I'm in leisure mode.

Ok, after mulling over the myriad of choices, I've put all the pieces together and formed what I thought was the most sensible lineup for me. Suggestions/comments welcomed.

For honing, I gave strong consideration to the Shapton series, but could not determine which set of stones would serve as an all purpose kit. Too many choices, too many colors. That, in combination with their cost, cemented their place in the 'Future Acquisitions' bin (I think I came up with a figure like $500 to $700 or so for what I would have purchased, so, I think getting my feet wet elsewhere is more sensible for now). Spyderco won out. For around $130 or so, it seems like I could put together quite the set up, ready to tackle everything from eBay junk/treasure to new high end blades. Two questions: 1) What good is the Medium one for, other than restoring blades in really bad shape? 2) Where can I find a reputable dealer who has them in stock? The two or three recommended vendors I've found links to from the forums do not have them in stock. Found a couple of other wood shop vendors which appear good, but for a 15-30 dollar premium per stone.

For touch up honing, acquired a new bottle of Handamerican liquid chrome 0.50, and a Tony Miller two sided pasted paddle strop from a kind fellow member amongst us. Serves its purpose well, quite happy with it.

For stropping, I have settled on what I want, but availability is null. Settled on either the HandAmerican Old Dog, or the Tony Miller 3" Heirloom Artisan Red Latigo Strop w/ Handle & genuine linen. Really prefer Tony's model best. But no can do with either...been hounding both websites the past few days, unable to order. Nothing seems to be in stock at the present moment. Really wonder when Tony's stuff will be available again, for like I said, I would prefer his over the HandAmerican stuff, but right now, will probably pull the trigger on whatever becomes available first.

As for an update, been doing great. The second shave was multitudes better than the first, and the third exponentially better, too. I must bow down to Richard, for he was right...my virgin sub par shave with his razor was sub par do to technique. I received a new 'shave ready' Dovo, which was new from the factory, so obviously anything but shave ready. Gave it a go for kicks, and what a nasty shave. But it was a conscious sacrifice for the experience. The following week, took Richard's razor for a spin again, and man, what a nice shave. He really did a good job honing it. Smooth as butter, a complete 360° from my initial impressions, all from the same piece of metal. Kudos to the duck. I'm hooked.

John

[rustyblade]

Straight razor newbies face so many hurdles it is amazing that there is as many straight shavers as there is. From shaving technique to honing, stropping and the ease of damaging a good edge. On top of that every razor is different, one will hone up a dream just waving it at the hone where another razor can be nightmare. I had a hell of a time stretched over about 8 months before I finally concentrated on my honing techniques (and I still have a handful of awkward buggers in my drawer that refuse to take an edge easily). You really have to stick with it and once you "get it" it is a very rewarding skill. Well worth the effort IMHO and I reckon most gents can keep a shave-ready edge with the right tools and practice.

[Heirphoto]

John,
Just send me an e-mail or call. We removed most stock from the site simply to have manufacture time for our paddles for a day or two instead of filling orders. just a one man show here.

Tony

[sebell]

John,

Regarding the Spyderco Medium hone, I would
recommend picking it up with the others as it
is fairly inexpensive, but it would only be used
to restore razors in really rough condition. The
Fine and Ultra-Fine hones are all you need even
for a factory razor such as the Dovo. I used the
Fine and UF to bring a factory Dovo #41 Pearlex
up to shave-ready sharpness in no time.

Stropping is really the last piece of the puzzle
that will bring your razors to true shave-ready
sharpness -- so be prepared to live with sub-
optimal shaves for a good while!

- Scott

[John 5]

Richard, the shave I had today confirms what you preach, and that without having the hanging strop I crave. Only missing ingredient in my technique is getting at my lower neck, where the little sturdy bastard hairs decide to break away from the mold and pull a 360 on the grain. Don't know if I must find a different way to hold the razor, or something else...but were it not for my lower neck, 'perfect' would describe my experience today.

Scott, where did you pick up the Spyderco hones? Like I mentioned earlier, it seems that the vendors linked to by members are all out of stock, or only have one or two of the three hones. I'm in no hurry, for all practical purposes I should not need to hone for at least a few months or so, but still, if they are in stock at some reputable joint, I'd like to pick them up now (my eBay treasure pile is adding a member or two every other day ).

John

[John 5]

John,
Just send me an e-mail or call. We removed most stock from the site simply to have manufacture time for our paddles for a day or two instead of filling orders. just a one man show here.

Tony

Tony, fantastic. I'll head on over to your site to shoot off an email.

John

[sebell]

John,

I got my hones from the following location:

http://bestdarnproducts.com/sharpeners- ... tones.html

I experienced good service and prompt
shipping. Others have reported less than
great service and slow shipping, however,
so I would take that into consideration.

- Scott

[John 5]

A public thank you to Tony.

Ordered the 3" Heirloom Artisan Red Latigo Strop with handle, and the genuine linen on the other side. Just arrived. Beautiful piece. The leather is just beautiful. And more importantly, by all accounts, I have no doubt a tool that shall serve its purpose well.

Somewhat on a hurry to get ready for incoming guests, I placed it on the floor, still inside it’s bag liner, somewhere around the area in the bathroom under the wall where I plan to place it. My fiancé just arrived, went to the bathroom, came out to me, and asked “what a beautiful belt, but what is it for?!’ I told her, and while money could be bet on that she could care less about straight razors, she loves the thought of it hanging on that little spot on the wall.