Thread: Howdy From Maine

Originally Posted by smokelaw1

..............
So you haven't shave since before you were 30? It's going to be interesting to see that bare face after all this time! A pictorial would be nice. Might want to wait till after the Maine winter to shave off that face warmer, though!!!

Welcome, enjoy the ride and the learning curve.

No one here thinks I will do this thing. One friend says it will ruin my image among the rough hewn Mainer guys who wear plaid wool shirts under Dickie overalls and smell like deer urine. And yeah, I ought to wait until winter is over, but well striking when the iron is hot is the only sure way to follow through. Besides I just picked up what I hope is a nice Henckel on Ebay. Supposed to be recently honed and shave tested. Spend that kind of money on a blade and not use it would be sacrilege I think.

Next purchase - a strop. Been eyeing the ones from The Well Shaved Gentleman. I like the idea of buying something from the person who made it. Anyone have an opinion of his strops?

Originally Posted by CRUM

No one here thinks I will do this thing. One friend says it will ruin my image among the rough hewn Mainer guys who wear plaid wool shirts under Dickie overalls and smell like deer urine. And yeah, I ought to wait until winter is over, but well striking when the iron is hot is the only sure way to follow through. Besides I just picked up what I hope is a nice Henckel on Ebay. Supposed to be recently honed and shave tested. Spend that kind of money on a blade and not use it would be sacrilege I think.

Next purchase - a strop. Been eyeing the ones from The Well Shaved Gentleman. I like the idea of buying something from the person who made it. Anyone have an opinion of his strops?

You can't go wrong with Tony's gear. Total gentleman and the strops are beautiful and functional.

Originally Posted by Bruce

Howdy,

Sharpening a razor will probably require more than one hone or grit. Maintaining an edge can be done with one hone, but once on the slippery slope of hone acquisition you will more than likely slip and slide like the rest of us and get... oh, a couple more.

I sharpen tools for myself and had to unlearn some of the heavy handed approaches that work for coarser edges. You also may have some that educational process before your razor honing becomes progress.

good luck, good shaving,

Yeah, from what I understand after a couple of weeks checking this odd fascination with straight razors, honing will be the toughest thing to get down. But I can be tenacious when I set my mind to it. But first things first. I will follow the advice and learn to shave before I learn to hone. And you do not know how out of character this will be for me. I specialize in putting the cart in front of the horse as a rule.

Originally Posted by jnich67

Welcome to the board. I'm sure it will be interesting to see yourself in the mirror after so much time with beard. As I'm sure you've read here, there are many hones out there. I'm not familiar with the DMT products. You'll want to finish on something in the 8K grit range at least. Chromium oxide powder on a wood or leather strop is an inexpensive and easy finishing fix for many.

Jordan

Edit: Oh, and Howard from theperfectedge.com can probably answer any questions you may have about the DMTs and other hones. He's a great resource and not too far from you.

Some guys my age buy red sports cars. I figured I would find my face. I definitely plan on doing a pictorial revue of the process. It should be real comedy.

Originally Posted by kahunamoose

What everyone else says about inexpensive Zeepks, Kriegers, others, all of the $10 surgical stainless steel blades out there. The metal is so low grade it just crumbles when you “sharpen” it down thin enough to be razor sharp. You can drive yourself crazy chasing an edge that can’t happen. You will be fine with the current stone collection you have EXCEPT you will need to add one or two stones in the 4000 and 8000 grit range, water type stones that will slowly dissolve as you hone on them. The resulting sludge is what really hones the blades. If you polish your chisels on leather with abrasives, this is what pasted strops are here and they are a cheap way to get a fabulous edge on a razor. Also read up on taping the razor’s spine, you can do lots of honing learning without wearing down the blade or messing it up too much as you make your learning mistakes. I see you got “ego”. I know that one. Get a Norton 4000/8000 waterstone, read and HEED the info you can collect here, and you will have NO PROBLEM getting this razor honing thing down. It will take a while, but it will come.

I must have 20 hoining stones of varying grits and quality. But apparently none of them will be adequate for a straight razor other than using them on a razor in the early phase of a restoration. From what I can tell, the Norton 4000/8000 with a flattening stone would be a sensible choice. Thanks.

Well I took the plunge and bought some razors. One is a Kenckel and supposed to be shave ready, having been recently honed and shave tested. I will use it to learn how to use a straight razor. And just a few moments ago I bid and won a couple of old razors, one from Sheffield and the other I assume was a rebranded Boker as it has "The Improved Eagle" on the blade. Both look decent in the photo, but then I will not know until I get them. I paid w/shipping - $31 for the pair. Figure for that price if one turns out decent, I am ahead of the game.. I am sure they will need some work. So that means one of you honing guys will be getting some work from me.

I just want to say the responses here have been excellent. You guys are way more politie and friendly than many of the other forums I have visited for other things. And I appreciate being treated civilly for a newbie. I know how it goes when one is a supposed "expert". I am at that end of the spectrum when it comes to bicycles. And let me say, that crew is all over the map when it comes to treating a newbie decently. I always try to be even and dispense my opinions and advice without judgement. Again thanks for doing the same with me here.

So the razors are on their way. Now I need a strop and I think one from "The Well shaved Gentleman" is what I will get. Almost locally made. But what kind of soap and brush (Less expensive soap and brush) would be good to start with? And is aftershave really an important finish for a shave?

G'day & welcome Crum.
Has anyone pointed you to the WIKI yet. Great advice on all your questions especially honing.

Category:Honing - Straight Razor Place Wiki

For brushes, I really prefer badger. They are a little more expensive than boar, but I think the difference is more than marginal. You can probably get a good $40 vulfix badger from classicshaving or vintageblades.com. I think Tweezerman makes an adequate badger for less than $20. Otherwise, I think Omega makes a decent boar for less.

If you want to go really cheap on the soap, you can get Williams soap at most drug stores for around $2 a puck. Again, I think its worth a few more dollars for a quality product - soap lasts months even if you're shaving everyday.

Mid priced soaps might be Proraso (this has a eucalyptus kick though), Volabra almond soap, or Tabac (one of the best soaps out there, period).

We have several soap makers here on the board. Mama Bear and Colleen (the gentleman's quarter) make great soaps for reasonable prices. Their contact info should be in the vendor's corner.

Being in Maine, I'd be surprised if you didn't have some local soap makers there too.

Enjoy

Jordan

Originally Posted by jnich67

For brushes, I really prefer badger. They are a little more expensive than boar, but I think the difference is more than marginal. You can probably get a good $40 vulfix badger from classicshaving or vintageblades.com. I think Tweezerman makes an adequate badger for less than $20. Otherwise, I think Omega makes a decent boar for less.

If you want to go really cheap on the soap, you can get Williams soap at most drug stores for around $2 a puck. Again, I think its worth a few more dollars for a quality product - soap lasts months even if you're shaving everyday.

Mid priced soaps might be Proraso (this has a eucalyptus kick though), Volabra almond soap, or Tabac (one of the best soaps out there, period).

We have several soap makers here on the board. Mama Bear and Colleen (the gentleman's quarter) make great soaps for reasonable prices. Their contact info should be in the vendor's corner.

Being in Maine, I'd be surprised if you didn't have some local soap makers there too.

Enjoy

Jordan

Thanks much for this bit of insight. As I am new to this straight razor thing, I know I have a lot to learn about every aspect of it. The brush thing makes sense, better brush, better moisture retention, better lather. Or am I off base here? As to the soap thing, When I use to use a safety razor many years ago, I would shave in the shower and lather up with a cheap brush and whatever soap I was using to wash the rest of me with. In retrospect, it is no wonder I hated shaving and eventually gave it up. Your point about local soapmakers is well taken. I know they exist and close by. My wife was a basketmaker for years and we became well entrenched into the state and regional culture of craftspeople. I will definitely check out local for the soap.

Keep it 'tween the ditches,

Crum

Originally Posted by onimaru55

G'day & welcome Crum.
Has anyone pointed you to the WIKI yet. Great advice on all your questions especially honing.

Category:Honing - Straight Razor Place Wiki

I have been all over the Wiki articles. I think I am beginning to get a clue. The big one is take it one step at a time. I need to learn to shave first.

Keep it 'tween the Ditches,

Crum