Thread: NEWBIE QUESTION WITH WHAT I HAVE

Hello all,
I have been a DE shaver for 2 years now, I am eager to move into the straight razor world now. I have picked up vintage straight razors over the years, the blades are without nicks and gouges. The brands I have are THE WEDGE by Union Culery Co of Clean, NY next is a Geo P Haldy of Cedar Rapids, IA, next Muse best tungsten steel next is a J. WOSTENHOLM & Sons ebro perserverance works the handle on this one is broke , does anyone know if this can be fixed ?? and finally I have a Franz Swaty Wahring bei wien (Austria ) hone. I do not have a strop, so with what I have what can you recommend should I skip this hone and get a new one I need a strop and as far as getting the handle repaired what options do I have ??
thank yiu
William

Welcome. It seems like you have been staying up at night watching... ;-) It is recommended that before you start honing your own razors that you get, at least one, honed by a experienced honemeister so that you can learn what a shave ready condition should feel like. Many guys in the forum offer honing services, go to the classified section, under member services. Same with the restoration, in that section you can find people that would rescale (put a new handle) your razor. In terms of the strops, Tony Miller and Straight Razor Designs offer good quality strops. They are both listed in the vendor corner. It has been said that newbies should not buy a top of the line strop until their technique is good enough. Ah, and your hone is what some members prefer for maintaining razors. I do not own one so I cannot tell you how they work but some swear by them. I use diamond spray coated on a strop for this and I also have a set of Norton stones for honing. There is also a DVD by Lynn Abrams that is very good if you are starting out. We have a wiki and a section on videos that should be of help if you have some questions. Enjoy!!!

Al raz.

your hone is good for maintenance, not for sharpening razors, may need lapping too.
i'd have the razors honed and buy a strop.