Should I jump?

[wbusby1]

Hi all,

Not sure this is the correct place to post this:

I'm finally feeling ready to jump into straight razor honing but have a few questions. Mainly it's whether or not I should jump in and what kind of razor you'd recommend I acquire.

I'm a professional knife sharpener and have some awareness of straight razor honing and sharpening --read about it before and have sharpened many adjacent blades (japanese single bevel knives and tools, mandolin blades, chisels, etc).

The main reason I've waited so long to switch from a disposable razor is that I'm a gent with very low facial hair, I could grow a thin/spotty mustache in a couple weeks and a spotty beard mostly just on the tip of the chin, so I'm not sure it's totally worth it. I don't like the idea of disposable razors but I like that I can use them in or after a hot shower without shaving cream. I'd ideally like to never need shaving cream or other shaving products other than a razor and the sharpening stones I already have.

If y'all think I should get a razor, what kind should I look for? For kitchen knives I tend to prefer japanese over american/western even though they may be more delicate, I enjoy the higher quality steel and design. Japanese meaning something like hitachi steel and truly handmade, not like Shun & co. which are garbage.

Should I jump in? What razor should I get? What am I missing?

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

So, many of us come to razors from knives, chasing sharp, and find a whole different vortex.

Sharp is easy. Keen and comfortable is the trick and the ability to tailor a razor to your face and beard. None of the tools and knives mentioned will be put to your face and when sharpened, no thought is given to comfort, wood, meat, vegetables do not complain… Cutting hair is just one component of honing a razor.

Most any good quality razor will shave you well, and even a cheap Chinese razor once tuned will provide a lifetime of great shaves. So, steel quality is not as big a factor as one would think. This coming from a big fan of Japanese steel razors and a collection of hundreds from all over the globe.

Buy a good vintage Japanese razor and get it pro honed, as a standard. Buy a quality vintage razor, $10-50 and learn to hone it. There is some technique involved and a learning curve. You probably have most stones and tools needed and may just need a finisher. With razors the finisher and stropping make all the difference in the shave.

Not to say it is difficult for an accomplished knife sharpener to transition, just keep an open mind, that the goals are different.

Lots of knife guys here and a few pros.

Enjoy.

 

[5whiskey]

I too came to SRs as a long time knife and tool honer. Not "professionally," but good enough that friends will offer me $$ to sharpen their knives and tools.

Of course, as Brad explained, it is not quite the same but there are similarities. I never hone knives on as fine of a hone as I do razors. Spending the proper amount of time at each step in the progression is also more important. If you don't hone out all the 1k grit stria in a kitchen knife, honestly it doesn't matter so much. Skimp on the progression with a razor, though, and it will be harsh shaving.

Bevel set also requires more finesse. Otherwise, it's a very similar concept to honing knives or tools. Other than you don't have to worry about holding perfect angle or using a jig... the spine does it for you.

Edit to add: I would not recommend using a SR in the shower with no soap/cream or face prep. You may get away with it. I do some touch up at the end with just a splash of water (fairly, there is residual soap that slickens up), but I would practice actually shaving the proper way to get the hang of blade angle/proper hold/skin stretching/etc before I tried the shower shave.

 

[Frank Shaves]

Yes, you should jump in.

Get yourself a high-quality new or vintage razor or two or three. Griffith Shaving Goods is a trustworthy seller of new and restored vintage razors. Lots of high-quality vintage razors on eBay. Some may need a little clean-up. Look at sold razors to learn about prices. Look at a few months or postings on these threads to see what other folks are using:

What straight did you use today? Now with PICTURES

Henckles 3/8"

www.badgerandblade.com

Straight Razor Acquisition Thread

Okay, so I'm definitely not being original on this, totally taking Bigfoot's idea, but I love looking at the Safety Razor Acquisition Thread on the DE Subforum and I haven't been able to find one for straight razors. I'd love to see any Straights you've recently acquired (Pictures are a must)...

www.badgerandblade.com

You are missing the ability to put a sharp, smooth edge of your choosing on your razor. It takes practice to put a top-notch edge on a razor but once you experience one you will understand why guys love their straight razors.

 

[BobYourUncle]

If I had to start now, I would buy a Ralf Aust in 5/8 or 6/8. Good geometry, thin grind and shave ready. Restored and vintage can be a crap shoot. Current makers are good, but Aust is very consistent in the QC department.

 

[wbusby1]

I too came to SRs as a long time knife and tool honer. Not "professionally," but good enough that friends will offer me $$ to sharpen their knives and tools.

Of course, as Brad explained, it is not quite the same but there are similarities. I never hone knives on as fine of a hone as I do razors. Spending the proper amount of time at each step in the progression is also more important. If you don't hone out all the 1k grit stria in a kitchen knife, honestly it doesn't matter so much. Skimp on the progression with a razor, though, and it will be harsh shaving.

Bevel set also requires more finesse. Otherwise, it's a very similar concept to honing knives or tools. Other than you don't have to worry about holding perfect angle or using a jig... the spine does it for you.

Edit to add: I would not recommend using a SR in the shower with no soap/cream or face prep. You may get away with it. I do some touch up at the end with just a splash of water (fairly, there is residual soap that slickens up), but I would practice actually shaving the proper way to get the hang of blade angle/proper hold/skin stretching/etc before I tried the shower shave.

When you say "the proper way" does that also include shaving cream? Can you just use soap or something else less gross/ that you have to buy? I've seen a few videos of folks shaving with a SR and I am down for learning "blade angle/proper hold/skin stretching" but am curious about the "/etc" part

 

[wbusby1]

Edit, I did a little reading on the site and see that lather is needed and seems to be folks recommend a shaving soap. I guess this is a different question from OP but I'm wary of getting into SR shaving if I need to buy a special soap. Can you make your own and achieve decent results? Can you just use natural soap bars? Will my not having much facial hair make SR shaving easier or more challenging?

 

[JohnG]

Might as well jump. You've got to roll with the punches to get to what's real.

 

[Seelector]

Edit, I did a little reading on the site and see that lather is needed and seems to be folks recommend a shaving soap. I guess this is a different question from OP but I'm wary of getting into SR shaving if I need to buy a special soap. Can you make your own and achieve decent results? Can you just use natural soap bars? Will my not having much facial hair make SR shaving easier or more challenging?

If you’ve got light facial hair I bet you could get away with using some plain old bar soap or whatever you’ve got in your shower. There’s a video on YouTube of one of the last razor grinders from Sheffield shaving with bar soap.

There’s a few guys here that make their own shaving soap too.

 

[Gamma]

Don't jump in unless you know it's the right thing for YOU to do.
If you aren't sure, then you don't know.
If you need someone else to tell you to do it, then you aren't sure and you don't know.
If you do jump in, buy a razor YOU like, don't buy what someone else likes. You are the one who has to see it every day.

Learn first, jump in later.
There's no race, no finish line, no degrees and no graduation; the more you know before the better off you'll be later.

Beard type doesn't matter, really. It's just shaving. How challenging it is depends on how challenging you make it.
Most people into 'wet shaving' use shaving soap. There are some who lather with shower/face soap with mixed results but the vast majority of wet shavers use shaving soap. It's not a rule but shaving soap is generally considered to be better for shaving than other soaps are. It's like dish soap is better for dishes than face soap, etc.
You can make your own shaving soap if you know how to make soap and are able to tweak a recipe to suit the task.
Honing razors is relatively simple but not like sharpening the tools mentioned above. But if you can pay attention and not try to reinvent the wheel, and sharpen Usuba correctly for proper usugiri then honing a razor should be within reason. And if not, learning how isn't that big of a deal.

 

[2bit_collie]

Lots of soaps can get the job done. I think a key is the lather quality. I would say that a slicker lather is “nice to have” for using a cartridge but rather more important when using a straight.

In terms of the razor, this can lead to mutliple rabbit holes. In the end you may find yourself enjoying the honing process more than the actual shaving. Or not. If honing itself is a key part of the experience then I strongly encourage you to get 1-2 vintage razors, say eBay. Much cheaper route and you won’t mind if you screw one up or cause excessive wear from honing multiple times. In particular early 20th century American or German razors are typically well ground and still quite cheap due to the large numbers still out there. Japanese and Swedish will have perhaps harder steel, but you will pay more for them.

If you are more interested in the shaving itself, you can’t go wrong with a Ralf Aust. Some modern razors are OK or even excellent out here f the box but some of the cheaper ones will not have a great edge on them or may even have grind issues.

 

[StillShaving]

Edit, I did a little reading on the site and see that lather is needed and seems to be folks recommend a shaving soap. I guess this is a different question from OP but I'm wary of getting into SR shaving if I need to buy a special soap. Can you make your own and achieve decent results? Can you just use natural soap bars? Will my not having much facial hair make SR shaving easier or more challenging?

I don't think one needs a special soap, but it can be helpful to add a little more water or otherwise make the lather a little less dense to enable better blade feel and not get in the way.

When you say you are coming from disposable blades, does that mean you are currently using a shavette? IMO the choice of soap or really how one builds their lather is more demanding for a shavette than a traditional straight. In that the groove or shallow corner created where the disposable blade enters the blade holder can allow too much soap build up if one did not use enough care when building the lather. For example, if the lather were left it too pasty after using a shave stick.

 

[wbusby1]

No, sorry, used the wrong term, I'm currently using a cartridge razor.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

It all depends on your skin, like everything about straight razor. Its benefit is the ability to tailor the razor edge to your face, skin, razor and technique.

You can do this with double and single edge razors and blades, but not to the extent you can with a straight razor and finish hone.

Most folks just want to scrape hair from their face, for them straight razor shaving and honing is probably not for them.

 

[eezee]

Do it.