Adventures of a Straight Razor greenhorn.

[scabface]

Hey folks, I've been lurking on various forums for a year, I guess It's time for me to sign up on one of the forums, I hope I picked the right one. I know there is an introduce your self page so if you want some background on me check herehttp://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...65#post5870165

I thought I'd use the general discussion section to chronicle my adventures in shaving from the perspective of a straight razor virgin. Hopefully my experience will help some other newbies along the way. Cross your fingers that I don't butcher my strop too bad, or make a bloody mess of my face.

My father died a year and a half ago. Among his things there was a straight razor. My mom surely would have tossed it, so I grabbed it thinking that if I was lucky, It might be worth something. I don't recall my dad ever having used a straight razor, I don't know perhaps it was something he got when his father died, or perhaps a souvenir from time he spent in England. The razor is in great condition but is used. It has some minor nicks, that are just visible with the naked eye.

So, I looked it up
HESS Hair Milk Laboratories ST. PAUL. MINN.
Solingen, Made in Germany.
"Forty Two"
HESS Stainless Steel Frozen Temper

Holy Cow it is worth something! Around $80? Some how I never got around to listing it on ebay, instead I read reviews on the razor and was fascinated by the quaint people that bought and still used these things. So much culture and ritual, who has time to strop a razor, build up a lather hand shave, then dry everything off so it doesn't rust? I shave with my electric on the days drive 13 miles to the office. If I ride my bike to the office, I'll just skip that day.

I've come to the realization that I'm to fascinated with the idea of shaving with a straight razor. I'm too attached to the razor to give it up now. The ironic thing is that I work at a place that requires me to have a clean shaved face, a place where if you want to grow facial hair, you have to have a doctor's note. If you have a doctor's note, you have to grow it all out. It's an all or nothing deal. Well I just got my doctor's note 3 weeks ago, Utah Winters are very very dry and shaving irritates my skin, no matter, what I do. I plan to shave my neck and cheeks during the winter and shave it all in the Summer. This should give me a chance to only cut up part of my face. By Spring, I hope to be practiced enough to only slightly scar my face. I realize I'll need some additional supplies. I need to buy a strop, cream, badger, scuttle, styptic pencil, aftershave and... anything else? I'll post again when I've figured out which ones to buy.

 

[scabface]

OK so, I've decided I'd make my own badger brush. I thought it would be fun to use spalted maple for an item used in the bathroom. I'ts turning out quite nice, I'm hand rubbing the finish with tung oil, I've found it to be pretty good at keeping moisture out if you thin the first few coats and really let it soak in. I chose a mid-quality badger to start, perhaps I'll spend more for my next knot. I'm surprised at how soft this one is, especially when in hot water, Will It be enough to work up a lather? I'm not sure why people seem to prefer the soft badgers, It feels sloppy to me, perhaps less loft, perhaps something with a little more backbone. My personal preference will likely be something stiffer. Maybe the issue is in the loft, It's set 55mm above the rim. Is that too much? Sorry about the picture quality, I'll get a better picture when it's done.



I've ordered up one of Ken Rup's starter strops. At this point I don't really see the point of an expensive strop. Can they be that much better? They seem to get decent reviews, and they are not questionable Ebay stuff. Maybe I'll completely regret it, we'll see. I even considered using a leather belt, instead of a formal strop, I have some old school belts that are 1 3/4 wide, think and fairly supple, I've tested the razor on it and it seams to have some draw. I'm not really sure what else I'm to gain from a purpose built one. I've sharpened up the Hess at a wood shop I have access to. I'm not sure of the grits, but I used four different diamond hones, then two leather strops. Edge is wicked sharp. Seems to do well with the HHT, but I've got fine hair on my head and arms so sometimes it just wants to bend. I'm going to swing by a pharmacy this week and pick up some cream, I still need to get a scuttle, but maybe I'll just use something I have lying around.

I've showeda co-worker of mine my Razor and he reached behind him and pulled out a razor from the table behind him, he said it belonged to his mother but she is de-junking the house so he grabbed it because it was the nicest one of the bunch (It looks unused). Looking at it's pretty generic, scales are quite flimsy compared to the Hess. The only stamp on it says "Solingen" that's it, not much to go on, but maybe it's not complete junk. He gave it to me, he had no real interest in keeping it. I'm happy to have it. It will be nice to have something to compare the Hess to. He mentioned that the other ones were worse for wear, but I told him that I'd love to see them, and likely they will be a little more interesting and perhaps worth something. I don't know if he'll collect them from his parents and bring them in. I'll take pictures of the one he gave me when I get back to the office with my camera.

 

[Attila]

Where did you get the knot from? That loft looks too high on that brush. I would say 52-53 max. But if it's not a better quality knot and stuffed enough, it still might not be enough.

 

[scabface]

I got it from a local source, unfortunately it comes set in the metal already so I can not control the loft. It's stuffed plenty well, and the hair is soft. Maybe it's just fine or maybe it's too soft, I really have no frame of reference. I've been messing around with it quite a bit, putting it through hot playing with it on a bar of soap, it's lost a handful of hairs, but I think it's done shedding.

 

[Attila]

Well then changing the loft to say 52 would change the floppiness of it for sure. If you have already set it with epoxy however, then you can only either save the knot or the handle, but not both.

 

[scabface]

The knot is set in the metal from the supplier. I made the handle. Next time I'll buy a knot that I can set.

 

[scabface]

OK so here is the razor that my cubicle neighbor gave me. It's not bad, loads better than stuff I've seen here and there made in Pakistan and china. I'ts got a pretty good edge on it and looks to have never been used. It's dressed in some flimsy scales. I've seen this exact "Extra Special" logo and this exact box on a razor with "The Magnetic Razor" stamped on it's tang.


I got my strop in the Mail and read a minor complain that it didn't swivel very well. I'm not sure why swiveling is important but I added a swivel to it since I had a swivel and clip lying around. The strop was not as soft as thought it would be. I assumed that strops would be luxurious, soft leather. I guess that's not the case. It seems sufficient. My blade draws across it and has less draw than I expected. Of course I have no experience to base this on.



Here is my finished Badger brush, nested in a walnut bowl I had made a while back. I suppose it will work fine for a shaving bowl for now. The bowl fits in the hand but is a little large. Maybe I'll keep it pulling lather duty with the brush, they look like they could be pretty good friends.



I didn't make the bottom of the brush flat since I though you were assumed you should dry it bristles down. But I'm getting the impression that some people dry them bristles up. Someone let me know Which is correct. In the mean time I made a walnut brush stand. You will notice that their is a flat side on the holder. This is so that it will park itself on the counter flush with the wall. I dunno I thought I'd try it and see what it looks like. What do you think, should I toss this one and make a new stand without the flat spot? I treated the stand and badger with tung oil and it should do well against moisture as long as it doesn't soak in water for hours.



I haven't picked up shaving cream yet, so I can't exactly shave yet. I'll grab some on the way home from work today. I'm planning on picking up some "The Real Shaving Company" cream on the way home. It's seams well priced with decent reviews. Which one is your favorite?

I've tried honing the razor using my dads old American Hone Company hone size is approx 2.5 x 8 x 3/8, but it's not getting as sharp as I want. So I borrowed some diamond hones (up to 8000 grit) and I'll work on that tonight.

 

[hillbilly pick]

That's quite a gift!

 

[AndroiDad75]

Beautiful stuff sir.

 

[ajbones]

You seem like quite the do it yourselfer, but have you considered sending your razor out to a professional for honing? I think starting with a properly honed blade would make your learning much easier, & you'd know what to shoot for when you start honing. Very nice work on the brush & stand BTW.

 

[scabface]

Thanks all for the compliments. I am a do it yourself kind of guy. I have considered getting a professional honing. It would be nice to know what a blade honed by a recognized honemeister feels like. Like many of you I've taken up the hobby for the enjoyment of the experience. For me that includes honing, restoration, and making my own accessories. For now I'm content with going it alone and I believe I have a shave ready edge. I've got an idea for scales that I don't believe has ever been done. I'm think of a restore razor or a gold dollar to try them out on. My co-worker brought me another 4 razors from his parents house. They were the ones he thought were less valuable (because of they were more used). Well, I told him to bring them in anyway because I find razors with a little history interesting. I post pictures in my next post, but there is an Antoni Tadross extra hollow, Joseph Rodgers wedge with slight hollow, Soligen Razor Company extra hollow and a Union Cutlery with regular hollow. All 4/8 or 5/8. Also included was a well used Ever Ready Boar brush, a flat brush made of some natural fiber, a small sharpening stone of some sort, and some other sharpening thing. I won't try to describe the sharpening things more until I post pictures.

Instead of picking up some Real Shave Company cream, I grabbed the VDH shave soap. I don't know why, It was probably the price, but I grabbed it instead. I shaved my neck and cheeks and got good shave, no problems. The soap whipped up fairly easily with my badger brush, but didn't explode with lather. The soap tingled a bit on my cheeks (not in a good way) but was not so bad that it annoyed. The soap smelled like soap, and cleaned off well. applied some witch hazel. Nothing else to report. Pictures to come soon.

 

[scabface]

Ok so I don't think I mentioned the scuttle. My co-worker also gave me a scuttle. Nothing special, but it fits the VDH very well. Here is the first brush, I think it's boar bristle. and is quite dry. I'm worried that if I try to use it it will crumble. I'm soaking it in avocado oil in hopes that it will come back to life.


This brush says its a whisk, I'm not sure if it's shaving specific, but it looks scratchy and is made of some sort of natural fiber. I'd like to find out more about it.


Here is the "Solingen Razor Company" "Columbine" straight. In spite of the generic sounding name, it looks like a fabulous razor. and has a nice long thin edge.



Any info on any of the above is appreciated. Pictures of the rest of the haul to come.

 

[mrb7]

A whisk is for brushing away stuff. Not lather. As a child I always heard them called Whisk Broom.

 

[scabface]

mrb7, thanks for the reply, would this be used in men's or women's wet shaving? Is so, how?

 

[mrb7]

Not really for shaving. Use it to brush dandruff off a sports coat collar. Dust off the brim of a special occasion dress hat. (1) Things like that. It really is a tiny broom.

But they're part and parcel to a proper gentlemen's grooming kit. You want your duds to be as upscale as your shave.

(1) A real hat brush works better, but you can end up with more specialty tools than you can carry in a steamer trunk if you don't consolidate a few things.

 

[mrb7]

Ok so I don't think I mentioned the scuttle. My co-worker also gave me a scuttle. Nothing special, but it fits the VDH very well.

View attachment 422934.

See here about the antique scuttle.

http://www.badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=304534

 

[scabface]

Thanks for the link mrb7. a few weeks ago, I read the wiki page on scuttles and skimmed the patent for it. Reading that info gave me the same conclusion you came to, without any trial and error. I pour hot water slowly into the top and let it fill the reservoir. softening the soap and wetting the brush, it seams to work OK but in reality the soap is probably a little too big and water needs to get around it with less restriction. But, the restriction does give the soap a fair amount of contact time with the hot water, so maybe that's how it is supposed to work and patience is key.

 

[scabface]

I'll talk a little about my first ever wet shave then on to some more pics. My first shave was fairly uneventful. I lathered up with the self made badger brush and the VHD soap. I worked a wet brush over the soap then into my wooden bowl with a trace of water on the bottom. Back and forth from the soap to the bowl adding a teaspoon of water as needed. It didn't take long and there was lather. It wasn't quite as frothy as I expected, but I'm pretty sure I got the soap to it's full potential within two minutes. I applied it to my cheeks and neck. The brush was floppy very soft and without backbone. I'd prefer something a little firmer, but it did it's job comfortably.

I shaved my cheeks, from the top down WTG I let the blade establish the width of the clean area between my cheeks and my mustache. It took a couple of tries to get all the hairs to cut, but I think some of that is due to the restrictions of working in the confined space between my mustache and sideburns, there's not a lot of room for coming at it from different angles. I ended up resting the heel of the bade at my side burns and pivoting the toe of the blade down in order to have the control I needed to establish the angle of the beard hair/clean cheek line. The neck was lots easier, I found it much easier to shave from the neck up to the jawline ATG so I went with that.

Over all a pretty good experience. I cleaned up and put on some witch hazel I had on hand. Over all think everything went pretty good. I felt none of the trepidation that other report upon presenting a razor to their mug. Decent results with room for improvement. Single pass I can't really feel the hair, but I can see it. I have not used a razor in MANY years, I don't see me using an electric ever again. I'm not paying to replace the head. View attachment 423630

 

[mrb7]

but in reality the soap is probably a little too big and water needs to get around it with less restriction.

I think the biggest obstacle to understanding the old style is getting into the mindset of "no running water" when trying to rediscover their use.

There's virtually no way I would go to one of these antiques on a day to day basis as long as I live in a house with indoor plumbing and automatic hot water. And if the doomsayers are right and all of society falls apart, well a lot of things are going to change. I don't expect a fat old man like me would last long enough to enjoy shaving.

But they sure look neat on the shelf on my bathroom!!

 

[scabface]

Here are the sharpening stones that came with the razors. I'm hoping that someone can tell me how they are used. The one on the left is as hard as stone but looks like it got mushed or melted as some time. I'm not sure if at one time it was pliable or some sort of rouge, but it seems solid as rock now. It's a crude kind of flat top and bottom, nothing I'd put a razor on. The one on th e right has a flat side and a concave side. I'm hoping someone can tell me what the concave side is for and tell me aprox what grit it might be. When would someone use a hone this small? Picture with razor shows scale