Thread: New Member - Australia

Hey Everyone!!!

A little history first. My grandfather for the past 5 years has been making knives, and i have always liked knives, I'm also studying a degree in mechanical engineering. I have a fair collection knives (for collection and utilitarian use, not fighting). Iv always loved the idea of straight edge razors, but i have never got one . I'm turning 21 in a 5 days and I want to get a straight edge razor, strop and brush for my 21st from my family.

My local shaver shop has a collection of razors ect, and the brand is Dovo, I have read on this website that it is a good brand and is trusted, and the razors look amazing!

I do have sharpening equipment for regular knives, i have the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker, i love sharpening my knives, my knives can all shave the hair off my arm/legs, i tried a small patch on my face with a dry shave and it was a bad idea.... Anyway, the Sharpmaker has a present angle of 20 degrees and 30 degrees, the Sharpmaker also doubles as a flat sharpening stone. So my question is, would i be able to hone a str8 edge on the sharpmaker, then strop it? I also have a medium grit wet stone, would that be a better alternative?

For the strop, i was liking the idea of the paddle strops, and was thinking it would be a fun exercise to make my own one like in the DIY section of this website. I would make it with my grandfather because I'm sure he would love to make it with me!

So yeah, any comments, ideas ect are welcome!!!

P.S. this website is awesome!

Thanks
Marco

welcome marco,

my guess is that your sharpmaker won't be good, nor would your medium hones. take a look at the hones and the honing sections, as well as the relevant pages in the wiki.
i'd suggest you have somebody else who knows what they're doing sharpen that razor for you, or you may end up with the same experience as with your pocket knife. or you can just give it a try for a while and see what happens.

Originally Posted by gugi

welcome marco,

my guess is that your sharpmaker won't be good, nor would your medium hones. take a look at the hones and the honing sections, as well as the relevant pages in the wiki.
i'd suggest you have somebody else who knows what they're doing sharpen that razor for you, or you may end up with the same experience as with your pocket knife. or you can just give it a try for a while and see what happens.

Thanks for the speedy reply . Yeah i see what you mean, ill take a good look at the section .

One thing i love doing is doing things myself, working with my hands and learning, so i hope to learn about correct honing technique. Is there any good articles, instructions ect that i should read? Or would i be better off reading through the honing section?

Spartigus,

As the previous post by gugi suggested, read the SRP wiki on honing first. Then, if I were in your shoes, I would invest in a Norton 4k/8k combo hone starter set.

After that, the sky's the limit.

BTW...I wouldn't begin honing any of your new razors immediately. In fact, imho a brand new str8 razor that has been professionally honed shouldn't need any honing for anywhere from 6 months to a year after purchase. I would begin developing my honing skills on an old vintage razor that you pick up in an antique shop or a flea market.

Just my 2 cents...

Happy shaving!

Originally Posted by jhenry

Spartigus,

As the previous post by gugi suggested, read the SRP wiki on honing first. Then, if I were in your shoes, I would invest in a Norton 4k/8k combo hone starter set.

After that, the sky's the limit.

BTW...I wouldn't begin honing any of your new razors immediately. In fact, imho a brand new str8 razor that has been professionally honed shouldn't need any honing for anywhere from 6 months to a year after purchase. I would begin developing my honing skills on an old vintage razor that you pick up in an antique shop or a flea market.

Just my 2 cents...

Happy shaving!

Oh sweet thanks!! Thats an excellent idea!!! I plan to get the razor, i hope to make a paddle strop, and ill get a brush and soap.

With regards to making a paddle strop, is there anything specific i should look out for? Like any specific leather?

Spartigus,

Again, check the SRP wiki...There is a lesson in there on creating a pasted balsa paddle strop. Check the wiki about different types of leather for strops and their different qualities too.

I don't think you will want to paste your new paddle strop immediately, however.

BTW...You will need to use your paddle strop daily to maintain the edge of your new str8 razor.

Welcome Marco!

I do not know what part of Aus you are in, but if you have a shaver shop you need to be aware that the Dovos they sell are not generally shave ready - at least the ones I've tried are not. There are a few fellow Aussies who will hone razors for you (if you run into problems send me a PM).

With regards the strop, any decent bit of leather would do for a hanger - if you have a leather artisan/maker in your area, pop in and ask them what they use to strop their implements with. They will often sell you a bit of what they use. I do not really know much about paddle strops, so the other guys might help you there.

Actually, the Shaver Shops do stock, on occasion, Black Beauty hanging strops. They are expensive (at around 100 bucks or so), but they are good quality. However, not necessary if you want to make your own.

Good luck!

James.

Hey Marco!
Welcome from another fellow Australian.

+1 to above comments.

Also - check out the classifieds here at SRP for razors, unless you have your heart set on one of those Dovos.

If you like DIY, you can look into making your own strop as James suggested - there's a few of us here who've done this.

Before you buy any hones, have a read through the honing forums - might give you too many choices of course!

Happy upcoming birthday!!

All the best,
Michael

Welcome brother.

Good advice in previous posts.

Read, read, read and more reading in the forums and the wiki will see you right. Ask questions even if you think they sound stupid.. they will be answered regardless and almost always you will be steered in the right direction.
If you really intend on honing yourself at this stage contact the guy at Lie Nielson in Adelaide.. he is the sole distributor of Norton Waterstones in the country and he sometimes has some slightly damaged but completely usable stones going cheap.

Above all I wish you great shaves and completely pity you if you are a Collingwood supporter.

Cheers

Mykel

Hey everyone!!
Thanks for the warm welcome!!!! Im in Sydney . On a side not, i was in Adeleide over christmas visiting family, and my knife maker grandfather just moved to adeliede, doesnt have his tools there yet . And we went to this custom knife makers shop in a small German town call handaarf or something?

Ill speak to the people in the shaver shop if they offer honing services too, but i would love to learn. Iv been reading through the wikki (and was almost late to work because i got too involved lol) and it looks like an amazing thing to get into!!! Iv been reading into the honing section and it looks like a lot of fun and hard work, cant wait .

My mom has lots of experience with leather so i think she could help me out with it too , she still has all her leather making gear .

What side of the leather strip do you use? the smooth side or the other rougher side?

Also i couldn't find the answer on the wiki, but at what angle are the razors sharpened to?