noob to straight razor, few questions...

[Frank Shaves]

Here is one of the better articles about cleaning razors that I have seen:

Safety razor maintenance

Cleaning Safety RazorsYou've recently picked up an old razor at the local flea market or antique mall. How do you clean it?

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[saj]

Are whetstone sets like these below any good? Just to give me an idea

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400-1000...-/313273701904?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

 

[Legion]

Are whetstone sets like these below any good? Just to give me an idea

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400-1000...-/313273701904?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

"Swing scraper cutter cloth"....

No, give that a big miss.

To be honest, you said in your previous post that the learning curve of this all is putting you off. And that is fine, but you are right when you say that it might mean that this is not for you.

In my experience, the guys who get the most out of it, and stick with it, got into the SR thing BECAUSE of the learning curve and challenges. There are no machines to do the grunt work, and it is a tricky skill to master (but not impossible, by any stretch).

If you are looking for shortcuts before you start, continue with shavettes and so on. You will get way less frustrated, and save a bunch of money.

Most people can learn to do this, but most people would not be bothered. And that's ok.

The only logical reason to go down this path is that you really want to learn new skills, because you can shave your head plenty of easier ways.

And if and when you are ready to try it out, all the info is here.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Are whetstone sets like these below any good? Just to give me an idea

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400-1000...-/313273701904?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

IMHO, no.

 

[saj]

"Swing scraper cutter cloth"....

No, give that a big miss.

To be honest, you said in your previous post that the learning curve of this all is putting you off. And that is fine, but you are right when you say that it might mean that this is not for you.

In my experience, the guys who get the most out of it, and stick with it, got into the SR thing BECAUSE of the learning curve and challenges. There are no machines to do the grunt work, and it is a tricky skill to master (but not impossible, by any stretch).

If you are looking for shortcuts before you start, continue with shavettes and so on. You will get way less frustrated, and save a bunch of money.

Most people can learn to do this, but most people would not be bothered. And that's ok.

The only logical reason to go down this path is that you really want to learn new skills, because you can shave your head plenty of easier ways.

And if and when you are ready to try it out, all the info is here.

Yea I saw it, did think for the price it was too good to be true, just thought I'd ask the question

Is sharpening a SR done in the same a kamisori is done too?

 

[saj]

IMHO, no.

Yea I'll stay away lol

 

[Legion]

Yea I saw it, did think for the price it was too good to be true, just thought I'd ask the question

Is sharpening a SR done in the same a kamisori is done too?

No. A kamisori is primarily sharpened on one side, and lightly sharpened on the other to remove the burr. A western style straight is sharpened equally on both sides.

 

[rbscebu]

Are whetstone sets like these below any good? Just to give me an idea

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400-1000...-/313273701904?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

I have a set. They work but:

Only for rough honing in initial bevel setting.​

They tend to glaze over on the surface fairly quickly and need to be relapped often, like once per blade.​

I used mine last week to do the heavy work when setting the bevel on 7 of my Gold Dollar W59 straight razors. Those W59's started with a 180° bevel angle as I had bread-knifed the excessive (for me) smile out of them.

 

[ouchyfoot]

I’m getting ready for my first straight razor.
What I want to know is if a straight razor shave is anything like a Shavette shave, or are they two different animals?

 

[sanookd]

I’m getting ready for my first straight razor.
What I want to know is if a straight razor shave is anything like a Shavette shave, or are they two different animals?

Very different feel on your face. A real straight is much more forgiving than a shavette. Different grinds of straights will feel different among themselves i.e. wedge verses hollow or half hollow.
The closest relationship is the way you hold them. IMHO a real straight will always feel comfortable against your face provided it’s shave ready.

 

[RumpleBearskin]

Agreed, the mechanics are identical in terms of holding the razor and controlling it. But the feel on your face is significantly different in my opinion. For me this is in part due to the edge being longer on a traditional straight.

I also find that I tend to shave at a somewhat steeper angle with a shavette.

I am sure you will find the transition fairly easy to navigate.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I’m getting ready for my first straight razor.
What I want to know is if a straight razor shave is anything like a Shavette shave, or are they two different animals?

Yeah somewhat different. Very few straight razor edges that you encounter will be as sharp as a shavette with a high quality blade like a Feather in it. You will have to do your part because the razor won't do it all for you. We all say no pressure but in fact that means no or very faint pressure against the face. You will probably have to use some small amount of force pushing the razor through the whiskers. Or maybe use sort of a slicing stroke. If the razor is extremely sharp, you will find that the shaves are very close, and pretty much the same technique you used with a shavette will work just fine.

 

[str8six]

It really depends on which shavette, which straight razor, and how the straight razor is honed. The balsa edge as pioneered by @Slash McCoy feels to me very similar to a quality factory-honed replacement blade, that is very, very sharp while not being especially hash. I have a Japanese frameback with a thin blade and it's not too dissimilar to my Weck Sextoblade shavette so I imagine it would feel behave very close indeed if I put a balsa edge on it, though the Weck is still narrower and lighter.

I think a hollow ground straight has more flex. And wedges would have less while also being heavier. Most shavettes hold the blade much closer to the edge than the Weck and this makes for a different experience (sometimes this can provide a skin-stretching effect akin to a safety bar and those are the ones that need wider angle).

 

[DaveHStone]

for a start might sound like a silly question but i dont care how stupid i sound if i want to understand something ill ask the questions

No need to apologize for asking anything. There are no silly questions, we can all learn smth. new.

As for the rest of it, IMHO the SR is like a weekend sports car. It sure is fun to take for a ride every once in a while, when the weather is warm outside and you can enjoy the wind blowing against your face and all that... OR if you are a retired millionaire living in say Monaco or Florida and you can use it as a daily driver.

For all of us "regular dudes", who have to take kids to school, run to the office on a daily bases, etc, etc... well... it's a hassle. At least to me it would be.

I see no point in operating a SR collection and not maintaining the razors yourself, which means occasional honing, daily stropping et.al. That requires an arsenal of tools and years of patience and perseverance to learn the skills. It'll require a substantial amount of money, time and effort.

If that's your thing, I'm sure it can be very rewarding.

In terms of shave quality, closeness, etc... many SR aficionados will claim that it shaves "closer" and is less irritating, which I cannot corroborate scientifically. I don't know enough. What I do know is that my Feather AC SS gives me as close a shave as my R41 or my Hawk v3. I might be wrong, but I do believe you can only cut the hair above the skin and not below the skin, as that would imply cutting off the skin itself. So, I don't think shave quality will be either better or worse with a SR. It just depends on your skill level. A DE / SE is definitely easier to use, especially for head shaving.

Just my $0.02...

 

[Slash McCoy]

No need to apologize for asking anything. There are no silly questions, we can all learn smth. new.

As for the rest of it, IMHO the SR is like a weekend sports car. It sure is fun to take for a ride every once in a while, when the weather is warm outside and you can enjoy the wind blowing against your face and all that... OR if you are a retired millionaire living in say Monaco or Florida and you can use it as a daily driver.

For all of us "regular dudes", who have to take kids to school, run to the office on a daily bases, etc, etc... well... it's a hassle. At least to me it would be.

I see no point in operating a SR collection and not maintaining the razors yourself, which means occasional honing, daily stropping et.al. That requires an arsenal of tools and years of patience and perseverance to learn the skills. It'll require a substantial amount of money, time and effort.

If that's your thing, I'm sure it can be very rewarding.

In terms of shave quality, closeness, etc... many SR aficionados will claim that it shaves "closer" and is less irritating, which I cannot corroborate scientifically. I don't know enough. What I do know is that my Feather AC SS gives me as close a shave as my R41 or my Hawk v3. I might be wrong, but I do believe you can only cut the hair above the skin and not below the skin, as that would imply cutting off the skin itself. So, I don't think shave quality will be either better or worse with a SR. It just depends on your skill level. A DE / SE is definitely easier to use, especially for head shaving.

Just my $0.02...

No re-honing is needed if you use the balsa. The arsenal of tools called for by The Method costs chimp change. Nothing to learn. Just follow directions. Maintaining your razor is simple, if you follow The Method. Honing from scratch isn't so hard, either. A lot of guys get it on the first attempt. The rest usually get it on the second attempt.

Sure, the Artist Club is a good shave. But one of these days your curiousity will get the better of you and you will give it a go. Straight razors are for regular dudes too.

 

[DaveHStone]

No re-honing is needed if you use the balsa. The arsenal of tools called for by The Method costs chimp change. Nothing to learn. Just follow directions. Maintaining your razor is simple, if you follow The Method. Honing from scratch isn't so hard, either. A lot of guys get it on the first attempt. The rest usually get it on the second attempt.

Sure, the Artist Club is a good shave. But one of these days your curiousity will get the better of you and you will give it a go. Straight razors are for regular dudes too.

That may be Sir, but I'm not one of those dudes.

As said, I get the appeal, I get the hobby aspect of it and admire people who have learned the honing skills, but to me it's just way too much hassle. I simply wouldn't have the time for it.

 

[Wolfgang von Kessler]

That may be Sir, but I'm not one of those dudes.

As said, I get the appeal, I get the hobby aspect of it and admire people who have learned the honing skills, but to me it's just way too much hassle. I simply wouldn't have the time for it.

I fully agree with this. SR appealed to me from the early age, but being in service, I simply didn't have time for it. I was often wondering how did my dad, and both of my grandpas did it. It was the only way to shave back then, and while the artillery, and mortar was incoming.

After I retired from service (at the age of 42), I opened my own businesses, and had "all the time in the world" (meaning I was the "top dog", and didn't have to be anywhere at any prescribed time). I came to work when I pleased, left when I wanted, and all the meetings/appointments etc. were on my schedule. That's the time when I finally had time for the SR (22 years ago), and have been using it ever since. At that time (in business), I still didn't have time to fuss with honing, replacing scales, or amass a "collection". I had one SR, and an old barber in town who honed it for me once, or twice a year. In between it was just stropping, and the dry hone (few passes once a week or so).

Once in my "second retirement" (five years ago), I finally started to get interested in maintaining my own razor, having more than one, and basically "playing with them". I maintained my SR on the dry (barber's) hone, and the strop, never even heard about balsa stropping, and then I stumbled onto this forum, and.........now I have 13 razors, set of stones, I'm learning how to pin the scales......plenty of time (in the winter) to play with stuff like that.

Now,.....I shave every third day or so (more often if I have some social engagements on agenda). I have all the time in the world, and answer to nobody.

Since you do have interest in SR shaving, I assume once you are out of the rat race, you will take it up. For sure. "Been there, done that".

 

[str8six]

I don't dispute that straight razors take longer to use and maintain because of course they do. And you don't have time to use them on deployment. But I'm concerned some of the comments here might lead someone who's considering giving them a try to believe that you need to devote a huge fraction of your life to it and can only feasibly use them if you're retired. And that's simply not true. It takes a bit of time up front to get the hang of after which you pretty much just need to strop for a minute or two after every shave. If you have time to take apart your DE and dry off then you probably have time to strop.

Similarly, touching up an edge that has served you well for a dozen shaves (or two dozen, maybe more!) is just a matter of a few laps on your finishing hone and even if you want to flatten it or build a bit of a slurry this is more like a 10-15 minute task than one of hours.

So if you have some time to devote to picking up the skills (which ultimately aren't rocket science, anyone can do this and it needn't be super expensive), it can provide a very satisfying and meditative option for your shaves for the rest of your life (you get a better return on that investment if you don't wait until you're 97).

I like this kind of hobby where you can front load it as a bit of a project and just cruise along benefiting from it thereafter. Coffee roasting was like that for me too.

 

[JohnEzra]

It is one of my largest pet peeves when people make using and maintaining straight razors into some intimidating, overly complex pseudo-science that is reserved to only those with endless time on their hands and a PhD in Materials Science.

Yes, there are many different methods to sharpen and maintain a razor, and there certainly are many rabbit holes one can journey down ranging from steel types to razor grinds and synthetic hones to ancient natural rocks. That being said, at the end of the day, you're rubbing a piece of steel on a rock, and it doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.

I think that there are many people in the straight razor community that feel like they have "mastered the art" of using and maintaining a straight, and love to give themselves an ego boost by acting like it is such an exclusive and difficult thing to do. These people seem to act like it is such a difficult and time consuming task that only someone of great wisdom and skill, like them, can be successful.

In reality, using and maintaining a straight can be as simple or complicated as YOU want it to be. I personally love tinkering with things, and experimenting with new methods to see how my results are effected. I also have a love for Japanese Natural Stones from my days sharpening Japanese kitchen cutlery. Those two things have lead me down an expensive, time consuming task of wanting to experiment with every JNat and Nagura I can get my hands on.

That being said, if my only goal was to shave with a straight razor and enjoy it, I could easily get the job done by spending 30 minutes or less every few months touching up my razor on a single finishing stone, and it would give me a comfortable shave daily with little to no effort or steep learning curve.

TL;DR: Straights are fun and simple, and people need to stop exaggerating the level of difficulty involved to puff up their own egos.

 

[saj]

Is there like an all in one kit I can get?

Like the SR and everything I need to hone for beginners?