Giving cut throats a shot....

So on a whim I decided to jump out of the DE frying pan and into the straight razor fire. Why? I don't know, probably because it looks cool and dangerous, and because those old restored straights are neat.

I bought a 'second' practice strop from rickboone1 (see here) and for the razor I bought a WH Morely and Sons 5/8 hollow ground from Sluggo (see here).

The few questions I have concern honing. I have been reading and trying to figure out how much honing / maintenance tools I need but I still don't think I have a good grasp on things.

If I were to send my razor out to be honed, would I only need a basic strop, or would I need a pasted strop as well? About how often do they need to be sent away?

If I were to learn as I go and do my own honing could I get away with a 4-sided paddle strop with 3, 1, .5, and , .25 paste? Or would it still need to be sent every now and then to be honed on a stone?

Thanks!!!!!

A pasted strop would only be used to "touch up" a blade "going south", it is not used like you would use a regular strop. It would extend the time between "maintenance" honings. It's not actually a required item, but most stops come with a linen strop and CrO2 is very cheap. The time between maintenance honing is one of those YMMV things. Depending on frequency of shaves, number of passes, toughness of beard and the actual blade (some blades simply keep their edge a bit longer than others, some sharpen easier, etc., etc.).

How about a nice ball park of 3-5 months for a maintenance hone. It's about as close as I can estimate. Others will chime in I'm sure.

As far as honing equipment is concerned, I can only chime in on what I use and am satisfied with: Norton 1K, 4K, 8K, Naniwa 12K, and paddle strops with .5 micron and .25 micron diamond paste. It works for me. There are many combinations and am currently mulling over a Jnat but am choking a bit on its cost. Most people can only chime in on the combination they have, very few have more than one system, i.e. Norton, Shapton glass, Colicules, Jnats, or Escher finishers. Studying this can give you data overload for sure.


Had to edit this as I read the add for your razor, it is not clearly stated that it is "shave ready". You might ask him that. For the price you paid, I would be very surprised if it is. If it is, I would;

1. Say "Amen" and shave
2. Decide if you wish to learn how to hone (and spend the money on stones) or if you wish just to send it to a honemeister. The added cost of of stones and buying other razors to practice with (so you don't screw up your shaving razor) may not be worth it, especially if you are just "taking a flyer" on straight shavers and haven't fully committed to them.

I suggest you shave with what you have, send in to a honemeister when needed until you decide if this is what you want to do. Meanwhile, go study up on honing and shop for stones. Defer the honing decision until later.......

Just a thought...but you might want to focus on stropping and shaving to see if you like the experience. Its going to take AWHILE before you feel comfortable enough to get good, solid DE shaves from a straight.

Only reason I say this is because hones jump you up quite a bit in your investment in this hobby!

That said...if you're like me and bound and determined to figure it out, I suggest a pasted paddle strop or a barber's hone to simply touch up razors you get from honemeisters. Then, when you're good and experienced, you can start buying more expensive hones for more serious repair.

I've been researching str8s on here for about three months and have come to the conclusion that serious honing is probably a bridge too far for this Newb (me) right out of the gate. I dont want to worry about honing a razor if I can't even shave right with it

If you ask around, there are MORE than enough folks willing to hone the occassional str8 for you for the cost of postage.

Best of luck and post your results!

Thanks for the replies guys.

I've been researching str8s on here for about three months and have come to the conclusion that serious honing is probably a bridge too far for this Newb (me) right out of the gate. I dont want to worry about honing a razor if I can't even shave right with it

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I pretty much came to the same conclusion. I am the type to jump bull-headed into a new hobby, but I'd rather leave it up to a pro while just learning to shave with the darn thing.

I did want to make sure I have the right tools just to start out. I thought the same thing about whether or not the razor is shave ready. The post leads you to believe that it is, but I PM'ed him to clarify. He said that he touched it up before the last time he shaved. He said it should be good to go, the most it might need is a hit up with some crox, but it probably doesn't need it.

Then:
a. you got a great price for the blade
b. just strop and go shave
c. concentrate of shave prep just like DE: good lather,etc.

Focus on technique and let someone else take care of maintenance honing. If you wish, you can put Cro2 on the backside of the strop. It's quite inexpensive, unfortunately when you buy it, you end up with a lifetime supply. Perhaps some one who has some can pif you enough to treat the back of your strop (a little goes a long way). you would only use it when the edge starts to get a bit dull, it only extends the life of the edge, does not eliminate maintenance honing.

I'm sure some of the honemeisters will pm you to offer their services. I know of a few here but hesitate recommending anyone in particular lest I be accused of favoritism.

The one thing I would recommend is to practice stropping, even if it's with a butter knife. Bad technique can actually dull the blade or at the very least, cut the dickens out of the strop.

By all means enjoy the journey. There is a steep learning curve. It took me about a month before I got DE quality shaves and two months before I realized that I would never go back to DE. Then again, YMMV!

Good luck.

FlyinAg05 said:

I did want to make sure I have the right tools just to start out.

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Most folks told me all I needed was a "shave ready" str8 honed by a honemeister and a strop (plus all your additional shave kit...brushes, soaps, aftershaves etc).

I've come to the conlusion that "shave ready" means different things to different people though. Some people's "shave ready" might not be your own depending on beard/face type.

Best of luck!

WTFO? Is that a cat scuba diving?

FlyinAg05 said:

WTFO? Is that a cat scuba diving?

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I nearly fell out of my chair with that one.

Sweet my razor came in today and it'a a beauty! Well, I think it is any way

FlyinAg05 said:

WTFO? Is that a cat scuba diving?

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Best of luck with the shave!

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