Thread: Closeness of shave

Even if you have a stellar razor, your results will be sub-par in the beginning. Takes time as Gasman said.

Every 5, 10 or 20 shaves you will see a jump in the quality of your shaves. You will have little "aha" moments which will motivate your journey.

Have fun.

I'm certainly no expert but I'm not a total moron either. I have lived long enough to know that if something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't.

To test this theory I have placed an order for a shave ready vintage razor and a leather strop kit (also has the balsa and polishing compounds) from whipped dog. I have also ordered a 4000/8000 stone from another source.

I'm hoping I see a big difference with the quality blade and that will give me a target to shoot for sharpening the gold dollar. It may not hold an edge long but I should be able to get it there for a little while. If I ruin it, who cares?

6 months from now the razor you thought was dull might shave just fine. in the beginning its just that way, you don't have a reference for how to shave and strop,, stropping and technique being the most import things. you should tell the difference in your new blade if they honed it well, but ultimately your technique will give you some rough shaves, its a good practice to just start slow and do just a cheek or 2 till you have that down pat then move on. gives you time to learn the proper attack so to speak, and stroppiung cant be stressed enough, takes a while before you actually improve an edge with a strop.

as for learning to hone on the GD , your right nothing to lose, but really its more like restoration trying to get the geometry right, instead of just honing, good luck Tc

I agree technique can most certainly be an issue but at the same time I can tell you that 6 months from now a dull blade will still be a dull blade.

Doing further reading and testing, this thing does the hanging hair test about as well as a drinking straw. I can single out a hair on my cheek, pull the skin tight as a drum, and the only way it will cut it in any direction is with considerable pressure. Sure it'll cut the hell out of your face if you do something stupid, but if I have to apply enough pressure to remove skin and still not cut hair, something ain't right.

I may not have helped the blade any over the last month but it has been this way from day 1.

hey I,m with you the razor itself really wasn't the best choice, even after a pro gets ahold of it, the money spent could have went to a decent blade,, your getting a shave ready vintage razor from someone who really will hone it right will remove all doubts about it. you really cant learn to shave with a crap edge. there is so much going on in the first month or two that the edge is really important. my point was even with a proper edge in the beginning, most will not get the results they thought, then as their technique improves they will find that some of the edges they thought weren't good in fact were. but stropping will also kill an edge to. so get that other razor and start on the road to smooth shaves. I know its been said but if you put your general location in your profile you may be right down the road from some real help on the edges Tc

Oh I agree. On my first shave it wouldn't have mattered if my blade had been honed by Jesus himself, I still would have done a lousy job. I remember that first time I felt I really had done a passable job was on about day 12. Through hard work and patience I went from thoroughly helpless newbie to slightly less helplesd newbie.

As I have progressed further I have gotten less and less worried about slicing my face off (especially left handed) and have been able to really focus on problem areas and try different approaches. As I concentrated on the problem areas and realized that nothing made a difference I started really paying attention to the non problem areas. Thats when I really started paying attention to how close the shave was (or wasn't) and realized that it really isn't very sharp. I know I still have a ton to learn and practice, but if the blade is so dull that nothing works, then practicing doesn't really tell me anything.

I did a little bit of research before I ordered my blade but apparently not enough. Five different websites give it good reviews? That's great until you realize that all five sites are owned by the same freakin guy! After coming here and finding another person on the front page having bought the exact same kit and having the exact same oncerns, I was convinced that my "shave ready" blade might as well have been honed by a monkey. Still though it has taught me that it is something I want to pursue further, and that is a good thing.

I can't wait for my new stuff to get here so I can see what one is supposed to feel like.

I figured you fine folks would like an update. I got my shave ready sight unseen vintage razor and new strops from whipped dog. What I got is a W.H. Morley & Sons Clover, which says it was made in Germany. The difference is night and day.

What's more I ordered a 4000/8000 Norton stone and decided to see what I could do for the gold dollar. I followed the instructions for the "pyramid" honing pattern, doing 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 3, and 1 laps on each grit. I then went to the balsa strop and made 50 laps with 0.3 micron chromium oxide and 50 laps with 0.1 micron iron oxide. I finished it off with 20 laps on the leather strop.

I was absolutely amazed by the difference! Suddenly my gold dollar shaves on par with my vintage. This tells me one thing for sure, the "shave ready" selling point of this razor was a total crock. If some dude (that would be me) who has never honed a blade before in his life can read a couple of web pages and kick the crap out of your honing job on the first attempt, you have ZERO business saying your blades are shave ready!

My shaving technique can still use some work, but at least the tools are not fighting me anymore. I'm sure my honing can use work as well and there is better equipment to be had, but for now I can get a good shave out of the deal instead of a laughable one.

These things need to come with warning labels. Not because they are sharp, but because the "sport" is so stupidly addicting. I have despised shaving my whole life and now I actually look forward to it.

Good to hear!
Just wait till the Razor/Strop/Hone/Brush/Soap/Bowl/Scuttle/Aftershave/Preshave/etc.etc Acquisition Disorders kick in full speed.

Originally Posted by KYMotorcycleShaver

I did a little bit of research before I ordered my blade but apparently not enough. Five different websites give it good reviews? That's great until you realize that all five sites are owned by the same freakin guy! After coming here and finding another person on the front page having bought the exact same kit and having the exact same oncerns, I was convinced that my "shave ready" blade might as well have been honed by a monkey.

Sadly this has been a common occurrence. When you are selling to beginners who have absolutely no sense of what is good or bad, it is easy to take advantage of that opportunity. This vendor is one of several that capitalize on the ignorance of beginners. Unfortunately then when they find that they cannot get a decent shave, the majority give up. The vendor of course simply moves on to the next batch of novices (suckers).

Originally Posted by KYMotorcycleShaver

I ordered a 4000/8000 Norton stone and decided to see what I could do for the gold dollar. I followed the instructions for the "pyramid" honing pattern, doing 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 3, and 1 laps on each grit. I then went to the balsa strop and made 50 laps with 0.3 micron chromium oxide and 50 laps with 0.1 micron iron oxide. I finished it off with 20 laps on the leather strop.

I was absolutely amazed by the difference! Suddenly my gold dollar shaves on par with my vintage. This tells me one thing for sure, the "shave ready" selling point of this razor was a total crock. If some dude (that would be me) who has never honed a blade before in his life can read a couple of web pages and kick the crap out of your honing job on the first attempt, you have ZERO business saying your blades are shave ready!

My shaving technique can still use some work, but at least the tools are not fighting me anymore. I'm sure my honing can use work as well and there is better equipment to be had, but for now I can get a good shave out of the deal instead of a laughable one.

I am very happy for you that you are not one who gave up. I am fairly confident that you will continue to get better at this!

Also, I hope that you will be able to find your way to a meet-up with a more experienced honer some time soon so that you can make even faster progress.

I never recommend straight razor shaving to anyone. It's not because it isn't the best shave. It is. But it comes with a lot of learning and maintenance. If you are truly happy with a disposable razor shave, do it. There is a reason why most people don't use straight razor much anymore. Performance is not the issue. It's the learning curve and upkeep that are.