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Another newbie diary

Hi all, just another newbie diary here. I'll try and document the successes and failures and hopefully it'll be useful to some folks in the future!

Background
I'm based in the UK, so hopefully there will be some other useful tips for anyone trying to source stuff over here.

Motivation
I'm getting started for lots of reasons. Firstly, I'm fed up with the amount of waste, both plastic and other, from cartridge or even worse disposable razors. Secondly, with enough practice, I'm hoping for that perfect super-close shave. Thirdly, I think of it as a nice ritual, to take time and pamper my face. Finally, I just think it's cool to connect with an art that's been practised by generations of men before me!

My first SR
I've been able to try out a shave-ready SR before buying my own, so I've experienced what that's like. It also helped inform me about what I'm looking for in a razor. So recently I took the plunge and treated myself to a Ralf Aust 5/8", Spanish point, stainless blade, jimping on the top and bottom of the tang, and Olivewood scales. Really easy purchase through Ralf's site, with a great tool to customise the razor exactly how you'd like it, and it was posted within a day. Although, it then took a couple of weeks to make the short journey across the water from Germany to the UK.

When the razor arrived my first impressions are that it's a beauty. Looks great and feels great in the hand. It was exactly what I wanted. I was initially a bit unsure about the blade alignment in the scales (see another thread on here) but you guys convinced me it was nothing to worry about for now. I would say, as a potential warning to other newbies, that it definitely did not arrive shave ready. I was a bit surprised as others have reported that theirs had arrived sharp. Mine only barely shaves my arm hair and is a totally different experience to the SR I'd tried before. Needless to say I only managed one cheek before deciding to get this thing honed!

1640793407337.png


Honing
So this is where I am now. Rather than send it away for its first hone, I figured I'd take the plunge now. I've got to learn sooner or later, right! I decided to go down the lapping film route and have been preparing all the gear. I also put together balsa strops for finishing. I read all the great threads on The Method and watched Slash's videos so I think I'm ready to give this a go. I'll post up details of what I bought and how I prepared it all, assuming I can get a nice edge out of it!
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
@maxa welcome to the gentlemanly art.

It is not as easy learning to SR shave and hone at the same time. I had to do that but using the B&B Method helped me greatly. It only took me two goes to get a very decent shave-ready edge.

As soon as you get your lapping film setup together, I suggest that you do a sharpie (marker) pen test on the Ralf Aust. This will tell you a lot about the way it was honed and what further work you may be required to do. If you don't know how to read a sharpie pen test, post pics here to get advice/opinions.

You should be able to get a good shave-ready edge just off lapping film. Diamond pasted balsa stropping only refines an already good shave-ready edge. It does not make a bad edge shave-ready.

When finishing the blade's shave-ready edge, don't forget the short X strokes. They make all the difference for a truly comfortable shave.
 
When I started SR shaving straight out of highschool, I had to learn EVERYTHING on my own. How to sharpen the razor, how to hold it, how to shave with it.

It was surprisingly simple, and I certainly didn't have all the right tools. The first time I tried it, I gave myself razor-burn for a week.

So, a few tips:

1. There's no such thing as "too sharp". If you don't think you've sharpened your razor enough, sharpen it again.

2. Strop smoothly and thoroughly, with pressure on the spine, not the edge, of the blade (pressure on the edge will flex the blade and you don't want that).

3. A properly sharp, properly smooth razor should cut effortlessly without you having to put ANY pressure on it. Kiss the skin with your razor and start shaving in short, smooth, gentle strokes like you're stroking your face with the edge of the blade.

That alone, should be enough to cut hair and start shaving.

If it isn't, your razor, or your face, hasn't been prepped enough. Start over again.
 
Don't rush! I am of the thought that RA gave you a good edge. Do you have a good strop? I have honed some razors to the point where I believed they had a great edge. But they did not treetop well and did not do well on the HHT (hanging hair test). But 100 laps on a cordovan strop changed everything. I recommend that you strop that edge before you try to change it. You might be pleasantly surprised.

If you cannot strop the edge where you want it, my second recommendation is to send it out for honing. RA is a great razor and you do not want to learn to strop and make all your newbie mistakes on it. If you send it out, you will learn what you are looking for in a shave ready edge. And you can practice honing on a cheap ebay blade.
 
Thanks guys.

@rbscebu, I wish I'd checked in before I started my first honing attempt! I made a fair few passes on 12um and 9 um film before stopping to see where things were at. It now cuts arm hair much more readily but I thought I'd check in here. I tried the sharpie pen on the edge but am not familiar with how to read it. On one side, the marker is taken off the edge uniformly after a pass or two on 9um film except for tiny faint region which remains at tip. However, on the other side there is faint sharpie remaining in the middle of the edge but taken off elsewhere. It also appears to me that the bevel is thicker at the heel and toe than the middle on that same side, if that helps at all.

@Shangas, will keep tips in mind, thanks!

@Eastcoast30, thanks, I'd be inclined to agree with you as I am pretty new to this. I did strop my RA on leather before I started, maybe 40-50 passes, but it felt like it was dragging every hair as it cut and I wouldn't have wanted to keep going. I've tried an SR that I know to be shave ready which was a totally different experience. It felt like it was slicing effortlessly through everything and could easily slice into me if I wasn't careful! You're right, I should probably have started out with a cheap ebay blade. I was trying to be confident, let's hope it's not over-confident!
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Thanks guys.

@rbscebu, I wish I'd checked in before I started my first honing attempt! I made a fair few passes on 12um and 5 um film before stopping to see where things were at. It now cuts arm hair much more readily but I thought I'd check in here. I tried the sharpie pen on the edge but am not familiar with how to read it. On one side, the marker is taken off the edge uniformly after a pass or two on 5um film except for tiny faint region which remains at tip. However, on the other side there is faint sharpie remaining in the middle of the edge but taken off elsewhere. It also appears to me that the bevel is thicker at the heel and toe than the middle on that same side, if that helps at all.
Your straight razor should be tree-topping off the 5μm film. You are not doing everything correctly.

Here is where you will find all you need to know about putting together and using lapping film with straight razors.

Without pics of your sharpie test results, it is difficult to properly advise. Assuming that your lapping film substrate is truly flat and that you are doing everything, I mean everything, in the the lapping film thread above (if not, all bets are off), it sounds as though your SR has a frown in the edge. That would also mean that your bevel is not yet properly set.

For instructions on one way to set a bevel, read here:

Don't worry about the bevel being "thicker" (I assume you mean wider) at different parts of the edge. That is just aesthetics and will not affect the shave quality.

Pics would be a great help.

Don't be in a rush. Read both and all of the above-linked threads taking notes as you go. Then read it all again to check your notes. This may take you a day or more but will save you a lot more time that it takes to read all twice. Trust me, been there and done that.

Come back here in a few days after your study and report what you are achieving.
 
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Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
The sharpie test reveals much. Sometimes what it reveals is really only very small CSD, or Chicken S(tuff) Details that will quickly take care of themselves. You say you have a tiny bit of the middle on one side that is not giving up its ink. Not a big deal, if it is just a small bit. Keep honing and it will work itself out. The absolute tip of the toe doesn't have to be sharp. In fact for learning, it is better if it is NOT. A lot of new honers agonize over that last 1/32" or so, and so they end up honing a hideous upsweep into the toe. Don't worry. The rest of the blade will catch up to the lagging toe, in time. Just hone.

I am surprised that RA let that one get through his QC. But I guess everybody has a bad day once in a while. I agree with the others. don't make your learner mistakes on a nice razor. Far better to pick up a decent vintage blade for $40 or so, and let that be your sacrificial goat. Or begin with a shave ready Gold Dollar 208 or P-81 (AKA "1996") from UK ebayer Jacky Walsh. Don't start with a Gold Dollar that is not already shave ready and don't trust strangers who say that their razors are shave ready. JW's edges are just so-so but the important thing is that the heavy lifting is already done for you. If you go that route, first, see if you can improve JW's edge, on 1u film and the balsa progression. You should be able to get it to treetop fairly well on your first or second go. Then have a few shaves and experience the tonsorial ecstasy of a better than professional edge against your face. THEN go to your bevel setter and raise a burr and set the bevel, and run the full progression. When you can do that, you can safely tackle your RA razor.

Before you do anything, make sure you have read and understood the Method thread, and all of it's sub-threads, from beginning to end. Then just do as the threads tell you and everything will work out fine if you are capable of reading and following instructions.

 
Congratulations. It sounds like you’ve started the exact same way that I did. Stick with it and you will soon be getting excellent SR shaves. Make sure you pick up a quality leather strop and you should be set for a while. Heirloom strops are a good one to start with.

FWIW none of my four RA razors came shave ready. 3 out of 4 had imperfect geometry, All of them got there in the end. Ralf is a one man band, he’s getting old and he’s pumping out a lot of razors these days. Don’t expect perfection. They’re not all perfect but they’re normally pretty good and don’t take too much work to get going.

The most important thing while honing or stropping is to NEVER lift the spine before the edge. Speed doesn’t matter. Make a conscious effort to deliberately rotate the edge up and safely off of the surface before lifting the spine.

Lapping film and balsa are pretty forgiving to wonky geometry. Especially once you get to the balsa stage. There are a few tricks you can use to hit a dead spot in the middle.

1. X-strokes. Where you pull the blade off-of or onto the film as you move if forward. This should work in most cases.

2. You can also try doing more strokes on the bad side than the good side. This will move the apex towards the good side. You may be able to find a straight line through the problem area with a fatter bevel on one side.

3. The next option is putting LIGHT pressure on the dead spot. Rest a finger on the edge where it’s not touching as you hone. You’re razor is a full hollow and the blade will bend a little under pressure. This might be enough to get it.

4. Still no luck. Finish your honing strokes on the corner of the film. The corners will help you target a dead spot in the middle.

Don’t stress too much. Your first razor is unlikely to be an heirloom. You will practice on it. You will make mistakes on it and you will fix them again. Later on you can use it as a Guinea pig for different finishers. If you go slow you are unlikely to do any damage that can’t be easily fixed again. Starting with a decent modern razor of known quality, like you have, will certainly make your life easier.

Good luck, enjoy the ride and post pics if you get stuck.
 
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It's hard when you first start out, don't know if your doing it right are you making it worse is that enough are the questions I asked myself. I was lucky and a good fellow of here offered to help and show me. The biggest things were something to look at the bevel with and a good bevel set. Without these your wasting your time and wearing a good razor away.
 
Thanks for all this everyone.

@rbscebu - Thanks for the pointers. I also made a mistake in my earlier post, I have 9um film not 5um, as I noted from one of Slash's posts that 3M 5um film isn't the best. It is treetopping a few hairs after the 9um but I suspect it should be better. I did read through and make notes from those threads before I started but could well have missed some detail in practice! I tried to follow the burr method and could feel the burr all along one side but when I flipped over and performed the same number of laps on the other side the burr didn't feel as obvious to me but I figured it was more important to keep the laps the same? By that point I'd done about 100 laps on each side, then I moved to alternating for another 40 odd. I wonder if just needed to be braver and keep going to be 100% convinced of the burr on each side on the 12. I recall reading that stainless is a little harder to hone so I might need a fair few more laps? I'm also keeping pressure very light, just enough to keep the edge and spine on the plate. Plate is a sanded glass tile (took an age!) rather than acrylic as less plastic is always better in my book.

In any case I think I'll probably send it away for a hone for now. Feels a bit like defeat but at least I'll know that I'm starting from a good bevel and I don't want to risk wrecking a nice tool, as others have said.

@Slash McCoy - Thanks for the list! I've already read 7/11 of those but will get started on the others. It's great to have them all in one place, really useful. Thanks also for the tips on reading the sharpie test and not sweating the small stuff. Thanks also for your advice on the cheapie razors. If I go down the Gold Dollar route, did you suggest the 208 or P-81 specifically for a reason or will any do?

@Tomo - Thanks for the encouragement and tips. I think on balance I'll probably get a pro to hone up the RA for now, even though that feels wrong somehow!

@Darren J 67 - yep, definitely all questions that have run through my mind!
 
Don't think of it as defeat but as a stepping stone in a learning curve. I've not been at it long myself and get a satisfactory edge but nothing amazing then next time I wonder what I've done different as the results are nowhere near as good as last time. Frustrating isn't the word I would use . Like others have said get a couple of cheap ebay razors to practice on and good luck.
 
There's nothing as good as restoring an old ebay beater. I bought an old razor on ebay for $7. It was made in Kalamazoo Michigan, which is where I went to school (WMU). So the razor has sentimental value for me. I got the rust off with Bar Keepers Friend. I sanded off a bit of pitting and then polished it up. After that I honed out some tiny chips. I finished this one with pasted balsa, but next time around I will go with my jnat. I wish I had a before picture of this one.

Anyway, talk about lessons! I learned so much from this $7 razor. It is now one the best shavers I have. And it gave me the courage to work on more expensive blades. Prior to succeeding with this one, I had been sending my razors out for honing. I still send out the more challenging razors.

zoo.jpg
 
I think we all mostly start the same way, we get a blade we hope is shave ready then quickly find out that it isn’t.
There’s a masochism we all share, we don’t like things that are easy and that’s why we’re drawn to the straight razor. We’re drawn to other difficult things too, it’s what we enjoy.
Running right alongside this trait is the thinking that ‘if I’m going to do this, then a man should know how to sharpen his own razor’. And it’s true, a man should know how to keep his own razor sharp.
The problem is that learning to shave and learning to sharpen at the same time introduces a ton of variables and muddies the water considerably.
Is it my shaving technique that needs work or my honing? Or both? And to which degree with each?
We muddle through and it all eventually becomes clear but it takes a year or more, at least it did for me (more like 2-3 years and I still haven’t got it all figured out).
I think the right decision is to get it honed by someone good like you suggest, then be very careful stropping it so you don’t wreck a great edge (you may have already done this).
Little by little you’ll work it out. Maintaining an already good edge isn’t too hard just refresh on high grit film or stones.
When you finally get it it’s like a discovering fire moment.
The ability to sharpen a chunk of steel to the invisible sharpness required to shave your face is a special thing.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Thanks for all this everyone.

@rbscebu - Thanks for the pointers. I also made a mistake in my earlier post, I have 9um film not 5um, as I noted from one of Slash's posts that 3M 5um film isn't the best. It is treetopping a few hairs after the 9um but I suspect it should be better. I did read through and make notes from those threads before I started but could well have missed some detail in practice! I tried to follow the burr method and could feel the burr all along one side but when I flipped over and performed the same number of laps on the other side the burr didn't feel as obvious to me but I figured it was more important to keep the laps the same? By that point I'd done about 100 laps on each side, then I moved to alternating for another 40 odd. I wonder if just needed to be braver and keep going to be 100% convinced of the burr on each side on the 12. I recall reading that stainless is a little harder to hone so I might need a fair few more laps? I'm also keeping pressure very light, just enough to keep the edge and spine on the plate. Plate is a sanded glass tile (took an age!) rather than acrylic as less plastic is always better in my book.

In any case I think I'll probably send it away for a hone for now. Feels a bit like defeat but at least I'll know that I'm starting from a good bevel and I don't want to risk wrecking a nice tool, as others have said.

@Slash McCoy - Thanks for the list! I've already read 7/11 of those but will get started on the others. It's great to have them all in one place, really useful. Thanks also for the tips on reading the sharpie test and not sweating the small stuff. Thanks also for your advice on the cheapie razors. If I go down the Gold Dollar route, did you suggest the 208 or P-81 specifically for a reason or will any do?

@Tomo - Thanks for the encouragement and tips. I think on balance I'll probably get a pro to hone up the RA for now, even though that feels wrong somehow!

@Darren J 67 - yep, definitely all questions that have run through my mind!
Those are my two favorite GD models. They are the easiest to hone, with the fewest gotchas, with the possible exception of the 800. If you dress either one up in some nice horn or bone scales, ignoring the factory markings, they don't look so very different from a lot of entry level Solingen razors, TBH. Performance, when properly honed, is quite adequate. Of course with a bit of extra sanding and polishing, you could say the same about the Gold Monkeys, or the GD 66, but who's counting? Anyway I feel that they offer the best value for your dollar, out of all the GD models.

If you send your Aust out for honing, be sure and specify whether you want it honed with tape on the spine, or not. I suggest not.

Don't worry about how obvious the burr is. It is not a matter of degree. The burr is THERE or it is NOT THERE. It's not a contest. It is an objective.You need firm pressure when raising a burr. Lighter pressure when honing it off. Then lighten up as you go finer in the progression.

Good quality acrylic is if anything, superior to glass. Plus it is available in thicker thicknesses. I have plates that are an inch and a half thick, and it is a pleasure to hone in hand on them, because the fingertips can be kept well clear of the honing plane. Drop them, and they don't break. Not everything that is plastic is bad.
 
A bit late to the party, but in ay case welcome to the forum. Lots of experience here.

I started straight razor shaving almost four years ago and like you jumped straight into honing my own razors. Looking back, I am sorry that I didn't do my homework and to be honest I did some damage to nice blades that should have been avoided. In the end it doesn't matter because I have no intention of selling them, and they all shave very nicely, even though some have unnecessary wear because of my inexperience. None ended up in the bin.

I am in Scotland so if you need advice on supplies, like materials for balsa strops, feel free to ask. I have found local sources for everything you need.

If interested PM me and we can make an arrangement for a "prepared" Gold Dollar 66 so that you can practise your honing skills without risking damage to the very nice blade you already have. Prepared means slightly modified so that it can be honed without any trouble.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
Hi all, just another newbie diary here. I'll try and document the successes and failures and hopefully it'll be useful to some folks in the future!

Background
I'm based in the UK, so hopefully there will be some other useful tips for anyone trying to source stuff over here.

Motivation
I'm getting started for lots of reasons. Firstly, I'm fed up with the amount of waste, both plastic and other, from cartridge or even worse disposable razors. Secondly, with enough practice, I'm hoping for that perfect super-close shave. Thirdly, I think of it as a nice ritual, to take time and pamper my face. Finally, I just think it's cool to connect with an art that's been practised by generations of men before me!

My first SR
I've been able to try out a shave-ready SR before buying my own, so I've experienced what that's like. It also helped inform me about what I'm looking for in a razor. So recently I took the plunge and treated myself to a Ralf Aust 5/8", Spanish point, stainless blade, jimping on the top and bottom of the tang, and Olivewood scales. Really easy purchase through Ralf's site, with a great tool to customise the razor exactly how you'd like it, and it was posted within a day. Although, it then took a couple of weeks to make the short journey across the water from Germany to the UK.

When the razor arrived my first impressions are that it's a beauty. Looks great and feels great in the hand. It was exactly what I wanted. I was initially a bit unsure about the blade alignment in the scales (see another thread on here) but you guys convinced me it was nothing to worry about for now. I would say, as a potential warning to other newbies, that it definitely did not arrive shave ready. I was a bit surprised as others have reported that theirs had arrived sharp. Mine only barely shaves my arm hair and is a totally different experience to the SR I'd tried before. Needless to say I only managed one cheek before deciding to get this thing honed!

View attachment 1385639

Honing
So this is where I am now. Rather than send it away for its first hone, I figured I'd take the plunge now. I've got to learn sooner or later, right! I decided to go down the lapping film route and have been preparing all the gear. I also put together balsa strops for finishing. I read all the great threads on The Method and watched Slash's videos so I think I'm ready to give this a go. I'll post up details of what I bought and how I prepared it all, assuming I can get a nice edge out of it!
You may be surprised at how easy it is to hone using The Method. Follow the instructions and it will work. When you finish 14K film you should get a good shave. The balsa progression is icing on the cake. Shave at 14K and if it doesn’t shave well, you are not ready for the balsa. It is a good checking point.
 
Hi all, been a while but I'm back to give a diary update.

Following a lot of your advice, I sent off my razor for honing. Anyone from the UK looking for a great service, I sent it off to Will at TheVintageBlade (Etsy) and it came back fantastically sharp. Wow, what a difference a sharp razor makes. No tugging at any hairs and much less irritation. Also feels safer, no nicks, presumably because it's so sharp I'm not even slightly tempted to push into my face and can just let the razor do its thing.

Unfortunately, that beautifully sharp edge didn't last long. I hoped with diligent stropping I could keep it going a while but really after only a couple of shaves it was noticeably worse. I've tried to maintain using the diamond paste balsa progression, which certainly helps a lot, but I haven't managed to get back to the standard of the pro job yet.

Other observations:
  • keeping the skin taught makes a world of difference
  • there are a surprising number of facial contours, the jawline is tricky and the chin is worse. The videos make it look so easy...
  • you do get better, seemingly by magic. I feel like I'm performing exactly the same motions but somehow the shave is better in fewer strokes and half the time
My next plans are to pick up a GD or vintage razor, as suggested, so I can really practice on the film + balsa progression without fear. At this point I've experienced the difference that a super-sharp razor makes but I can't keep sending away to get back to that point!
 
If your edge is dulling after a couple of shaves, it is a near-certainty that you are not being absolutely consistent in keeping a very low shave angle. High angles put little divots in the blade that are first noticeable in a loss of comfort, and later become tugging.

The balsa progression can keep a basically-smooth edge tuned up perfectly, but it can't eliminate divots.

Keeping a low angle with perfect consistency in every area of your face is hard. I still have to correct myself from time to time. But it helps that I have a microscope that lets me see the divots, which is a great motivator.
 
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