Thread: My first s/r shave

Well I tried my 1st s/r shave with my Crowing Rooster and quickly found out that it is not shave ready...Or I rushed my prep...Even though I honed it with 2000 grit wet/dry paper on a piece of glass w/lots of water...I`ll try again tomorrow with more prep, work my blade a little...I`m a left and my left wrist is fused from a motorcycle accident so it`s a little tough to get the angles...I have to work them with my elbow because my wrist doesn`t move...
Keep ya posted...

my first guess is that the razor is not sharp. 2k wet/dry is very coarse for a razor 8k is about the low end for smooth shaves. over time you may find that shaving with the right hand works too, i use both hands for shaving and i'm naturally a lefty.

enjoy,
jim

I'll assume your razor isn't a Chinese or Pakistani type. If it is you'll never get it truly shave ready. If it's a quality piece it's true 2K is too coarse. That's for doing repair work. Many have shaved off a 4k but for a truly comfortable shave an 8K is pretty much the standard and most go up from there for better refinement.

No this is not a Japanese or Pakistan piece..German surgical steel..I`ll get some finer paper today and see if I can work this edge better...Is that edge too fine or should I make it a little wider???

After a quick search.... "crowing rooster" razors are part of the frost family of "fine" razor and knife shaped items. with that in mind it is highly unlikely that any combination of stones, films, plates, paper are likely to produce a shavable edge.

sorry you wasted the $11

jim

I am not too familiar with that razor brand but you might want to look at this:
Good Straight Razor Brands - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Originally Posted by syslight

After a quick search.... "crowing rooster" razors are part of the frost family of "fine" razor and knife shaped items. with that in mind it is highly unlikely that any combination of stones, films, plates, paper are likely to produce a shavable edge.

sorry you wasted the $11

jim

Well mine was $45. but still...Oh well.I`ll look in your classifieds section...
I did a search but must not have looked far enough to find out what the deal was...Thank you for the info before I cut my head off,lol...

Just my advice from what I have learned. Whatever you buy make sure its shave ready. Thats the most important thing for a beginner. It gives you a frame of reference of what sharp REALLY is supposed to be for when you start honing. Secondly it will insure any problems you have will be from technique which can be corrected, you know its sharp so that will not be a problem (assuming you strop correctly) Leave the honing alone for a while. And I wouldn't hone with sandpaper period. There is a really good stone out there that is great for beginners and pros alike, the Norton 4k/8k. I would work on face prep, razor care, and technique first though. That will give you at least a couple of months of things to work on.

Originally Posted by ccase39

Just my advice from what I have learned. Whatever you buy make sure its shave ready. Thats the most important thing for a beginner. It gives you a frame of reference of what sharp REALLY is supposed to be for when you start honing. Secondly it will insure any problems you have will be from technique which can be corrected, you know its sharp so that will not be a problem (assuming you strop correctly) Leave the honing alone for a while. And I wouldn't hone with sandpaper period. There is a really good stone out there that is great for beginners and pros alike, the Norton 4k/8k. I would work on face prep, razor care, and technique first though. That will give you at least a couple of months of things to work on.

Thank you...Yes,I`ve already learned a $45. mistake,but that was before I found this killer site and all the info thats in here...
You guys were a great help...

Originally Posted by Paul2281

Cool cool deal..I just ordered from one of his sight unseen programs for a Shave ready razor and a poor mans strop kit...
Thank you very much for this info and intro to Whipped Dog...

I think that is the best choice for a beginner IMO. He will even swap it out or drop his price if you are unhappy. He prides himself in keeping the prices as low as he can for the best razors he can give you. He even states that if you think you payed too much he will make it right. Good good choice IMO. Now just go buy a bunch more new and old from all these sights and as many hones, brushes, creams, soaps, strops, and gear you can get your hands on. Its called RAD and I have it bad.